Patent troll

A patent troll is a derogatory term used to negatively characterize a company that acquires patents for the purpose of threatening product developers and demanding payment of patent royalties. While the term non-practicing entity (NPE) has been used, it is fair to say that many large companies that do produce products may not produce the particular product on which which they hold a patent. Thus, the term "patent troll" has been the subject of much debate based on the fact that if the underlying patent is valid and legitimately obtained, it should not matter who asserts it and against whom. Many are now distancing themselves from the use of the word "troll."

A similar problem is companies who do develop products, but when their product fails, they change their focus to extracting money from more-successful companies.

So-called "trolls" are particularly a problem for the large software corporations such as IBM, Microsoft, and Novell.

The problem is particularly acute when a company fails, and the only assets it has left are its patents. The receivers have a legal duty to shareholders to obtain maximum value from the remaining assets, and this may involve pursuing competitors who have succeeded in exploiting and marketing similar concepts to the ones that the failing company failed to exploit and market. The more successful the competitor, the better the chance of extracting a generous out-of-court settlement. Thus patents reward failure and penalize success.

Statements

Google's Head of Patents and Patent Strategy said in March 2009:[1] "Of the 20 patent lawsuits filed against Google since late 2007, all but two have been filed by plaintiffs who don’t make or sell any real product or service — in other words, by non-practicing entities or “patent trolls.”"

Troll examples

Here are some examples of companies that are considered patent trolls:

• WebEx - a company that acquired NCR's patent portfolio [2]
• Acacia Research Corporation
• Blackboard inc.
• Intellectual Ventures

External links

• Patents Trolls Gaining More Momentum, BoycottNovell.com, August 2008
• Wikipedia's article: Patent troll