Patent troll

Patent troll (also "patent pirate") is a derogatory and controversial phrase coined by former Intel assistant general counsel Peter Detkin in 2001. Originally, it described an individual or company with a patent portfolio containing important, fundamental software patents, which it never intended to commercialize. Instead, a "patent troll" would actively pursue a strategy of looking for potential infringers and proposing license agreements to companies. Where the patent troll is unable to achieve a licensing agreement, it threatens, or enters, patent infringement litigation. To avoid litigation, companies often choose to settle by purchasing a license. Today, "patent troll" is used to describe a number of businesses using similar patent strategies.

Legality

The "patent troll" strategy is lawful. Patent protection grants an inventor or his assignee a right to exclude others from making, using and selling the patented invention for the term of the patent. As far as the United States is concerned, this is enshrined in the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 8). Moreover, patents are transferrable entities which can be sold, bought, assigned to anybody and so on. Important to the patent troll strategy, an owner of a patent does not have to commercialize the patented invention in order to obtain protection. Moreover, courts have held that enforcing patent rights is not patent misuse.

Miscellaneous

• Some law offices in the U.S. offer courses to deal with patent trolls and so-called junk patents [1].
• The field of software patents lends itself more easily than many others to patent trolling, as it is particularly difficult for patent examiners to determine whether a software patent is truly innovative ^[2], (SPI).
• Peter Detkin, who is said to be the first to have coined the expression "patent troll", now works for Intellectual Ventures, which is perceived by some as a patent troll. [3]

See also

• Acacia Technologies
• Eolas
• Jerome H. Lemelson
• Intellectual Ventures
• NTP, Inc.
• Open Invention Network
• Patent misuse
• Rates Technology
• Scientigo
• Submarine patent
• Troll
• Trolling for fish
• SCO v. IBM

Origin of the phrase: http://www.phonetel.com/pdfs/LWTrolls.pdf

References

• Technology industry hits out at "patent trolls", June 2, 2004, BBC News
• A Patent War Is Breaking Out On The Hill, July, 2005, Business Week
• The Software Patent Institute implicitly states that there is a problem with prior art in the software field.
• Joe Beyers, Rise of the patent trolls, CNET News.com, October 12, 2005
• A Shareware Life - Computer Solitaire Patented: Patently Ridiculous

Notes

^ Bernard A. Galler (7 September). "Some Interesting Examples of Prior Art for Software-Related Patents from Older Non-patent literature" (html). {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |publishyear= ignored (help)