The Clearing House Association, along with three other trade associations, submitted a letter to Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Grassley of the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the patent-reform bill in its current form, as it does not address the poor-quality business-method patents and the non-practicing entities plaguing the financial-services industry. In the letter the trade associations indicate their support for efforts to establish an oppositional proceeding at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where business-method patents can be re-examined, using the best prior art, as an alternative to costly litigation.