As I was researching the topic of patent trolls, I came across this study published by UC Hastings and Lex Machina, who analyzed about 13,000 cases spanning about 30,000 patents. What they concluded was that about 56 percent of the patent-related lawsuits filed in the U.S. in 2012 were filed by patent monetization entities. In an earlier blogpost, I introduced patent monetization entities as patent trolls, who are people or companies that license patents but doesn't actually have any business involving the patent.
This puts small companies, particularly startups, at a disadvantage because they cannot easily tell if a patent has been asserted and what territory is being claimed by the patent holder. As a result, tech companies like Google, Blackberry and others are asking the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice to scrutinize NPEs who are hurting consumers and businesses.
I found the top 10 businesses targeted by patent trolls in 2013, which in order are AT&T, Google, Verizon, Apple, Samsung, Amazon, Dell, Sony, Huawei, and Blackberry.
Hello Michael, I really like how you also described the impacts of patent trolling, and exposed the companies that were involved in doing so. I would suggest going in greater detail or provide some specific examples of how/what the top 10 businesses exploited this.
ReplyDeleteHey Michael,
ReplyDeleteFantastic job! I must say this was an excellent post! I thought it was great that you brought in a case study from UC Hastings. It is absolutely astonishing to learn that 56% of patent lawsuits are from patent trolls! It was also interesting to see which companies are affected most by patent monetization entities. Also, I agree that startups are particularly vulnerable to patent trolls!
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I really can't believe that 56% of patent lawsuits are from patent trolls! Clearly, there is something fundamentally wrong with the current system. I am sure the original lawmakers did not anticipate such a backlash.