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April 01, 2005

Patent Trolling - Good or Bad?

"Patent trolling" involves finding and procuring patents, then suing infringers of those patents.

Some claim that this is an unfair, extortion-like practice, often exercised by those who are not even producing the "patented" invention. This position is somewhat intuitive. It doesn't seem fair that someone who isn't even making a product can prevent someone else from making that product. This is particularly compelling when the product would truly benefit society. For instance, a miracle drug or a safety device.

Even So, when I first learned of this business strategy, I thought nothing of it. In my mind, people and companies should always do a "background check" before starting production. If a patent reads on their potential business, they should go through the proper channels to license, or buy the patent rights. Then, lawsuits wouldn't be a problem.

However, this checking is probably uncommon, particularly among small businesses. An argument can be made that companies don't always have the resources to perform a "prior art" search before starting production. However, I don't believe that the lack of funds, and the resulting lack of knowledge, should matter when infringement is involved. After all, the inventor has taken the necessary, and often expensive, steps to protect the invention. It seems contrary to the whole idea of IP to let a business off the hook because they didn't know about the invention.

In my opinion, patent trolling puts the patent in the hands of someone willing and able to enforce the rights associated with patent ownership. This allows the true value of the patent to be exploited. By allowing patents to be more highly valued, I believe we enhance the whole system.

For more commentary on patent trolling:

Update 4/4/05: Here are two more links with insightful discussion on patent trolls:



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Posted by Melody Wirz at 09:33 AM.
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Comments

Patent Troll was coined by Peter Detkin while at Intel, but who is now, by his own definition, a patent troll.

Patents are a special commodity, with a history stretching back almost 600 years. What is surprising is the lack of understanding by many businesses, including multinational corporations, of how to effectively deal with patents, and lack of public appreciation of the importance that patents have played, and continue to play, in promoting technological progress.

Gary Odom, Patent Hawk (patenthawk.com)

Posted by: PatentHawk [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 2, 2005 10:00 PM

This term is worse than useless, it's misleading and harmful.

It also reeks of bias towards large entrenched interests that resent the fact that an inventor or buyer of a patent can assert their rights as an individual sometimes, and play ball with the big guys.

Sure, there have been some bad patents out there enforced by individuals. But we can't (1) allow prejudice against individual patentees, or (2) disfavor an efficient and possibly revolutionary business model in developing portfolios of patented inventions rather than products. To do so would be ... less than smart and prudent.

Posted by: Trevor Hill [TypeKey Profile Page] at May 3, 2005 01:27 AM

The term "patent troll" is a clever slur. But the facts are that patents are property and are bought and sold all the time. It does not matter who owns the patent, they have property rights. This is as it should be.


Patent aggregators are a consequence of large predatory companies refusing to license inventions which they are using, knowing full well that most of the inventors cannot raise the capital to do anything about the theft of their inventions. Capitalism has produced companies which fill that void, and extract fair compensation from the crooked company who was under the illusion they were going to get away with theft of the intellectual property. Now we all get to see predatory companies whining and crying because the system has produced a solution to the problem of the way those companies conduct themselves.


Those predatory companies can avoid all the problems they have brought on themselves by taking a license from the inventors, by becoming reputable corporate citizens instead of hoping to get the property free by bankrupting the inventor.


The Professional Inventors Alliance is made up of independent inventor-entrepreneurs, many of whom have personally suffered the ravages of a corporate crook trying to take their property. It would be an understatement to say that we all sick of having our property stolen. We are outraged that the real abusers of the patent and legal systems dare to try and paint us as doing wrong when all we want to to be treated equitably.

We urge readers to join our efforts to teach the public and congress about who the issues and expose who the real abusers are.


Ronald J Riley, President

Professional Inventors Alliance

www.PIAUSA.org

RJR at PIAUSA.org

RJR Direct # (202) 318-1595

Posted by: Ronald J Riley [TypeKey Profile Page] at August 31, 2005 09:31 PM

In reference to the above comments by Ronald Riley, it may be helpful to know that he is not a licensed patent lawyer, not a registered patent agent, not a legal scholar on patent rights and not an employee or ex-employee of The US Patent Office. He is a self-proclaimed "expert" on patent law without any university training on the legalities in this field. He is not a Ph.D. on intellectual property rights and is not part of any effective lobbying group that could seriously lead to change. In other words, Ronald J. Riley has absolutely no qualifications for offering his off-the-cuff opinions on the validity of the patent system. Even though he sounds authoritative and says that he consults with "legal scholars", he is just a novice trying to sound important. Most of the time, he has no idea what he's talking about. In addition, Ronald J. Riley has created several inventor related organizations with several websites. He has appointed himself "President" and "Director" of these little known groups and asks for donations on every page. He even takes credit cards! What are these donations for? To support his efforts to write nonsense about the patent system? If anyone is seriously looking for legal advice on patent law or the USPTO, you should consult with a qualified legal professional. Ronald J. Riley may have read a couple of books about patent law, but he is certainly not a patent attorney or anyone that should be taken seriously on these matters.

Posted by: William Scott at March 29, 2006 11:28 PM

William Scott Esq., since your were disbarred is it appropriate for you to use Esq.?

Now how about telling us who you work for? Are you employed by the "Coalition for Patent Piracy", aka. Coalition for Patent Fairness? The Coalition for Patent Piracy is a group of 8-12 washed up tech companies who each contributed $250,000 to hire PR firms to try and convince the public that their piracy of other's intellectual property is justified. Coincidently you come on the scene publishing endless disinformation. Tell me what it feels like to be a stooge for for such a sleazy group.

Ronald J Riley, President
Professional Inventors Alliance
www.PIAUSA.org
RJR"at"PIAUSA.org
Change "at" to @
RJR Direct # (202) 318-1595

Posted by: Ronald J Riley at June 26, 2006 09:19 PM