Even if regulations change to
defend against patent trolls, IP and trademarks will continue to play an important and strategic role in large corporations.
This could be the year Congress takes serious
action against patent trolls, non-practicing entities that buy up patents and virtually extort companies to pay up for violating frivolous patents.
We thank Chairman Leahy, Ranking Member Grassley, Senator Feinstein, Senator Cornyn, Senator Schumer, Senator Hatch, Senator Lee, Senator Klobuchar, and Senator Blumenthal for their strong and effective leadership on this issue and for taking a powerful
stand against patent trolls.
One problem is that the pledge will have little effect
against patent trolls like Intellectual Ventures, which buy up old patents and use them to file lawsuits against productive companies.
From
litigation against patent trolls to software copyright analysis and licensing, our IP lawyers help our clients to maximise the value of their IP, both in the UK and internationally.
The Internet giants
warned against patent trolling, which refers to instances when companies that had no involvement in the creation or invention of a patent demand licences or other payments from legitimate companies by relying on dubious patents.
That is why EFF has filed an amicus brief [PDF] urging the court to uphold fee
awards against patent trolls (and their lawyers) when they assert software patents that are clearly invalid under the Supreme Court's decision in Alice v. CLS Bank (which held that an abstract idea is not eligible for a patent simply because it has been implemented on a generic computer).
In addition to announcing an investigation, Chairwoman Ramirez affirmed that the FTC stands ready to enforce antitrust
laws against patent trolls.
NAR took a forceful
step against patent trolls last week by filing a petition with the U.S. Patent Office challenging the validity of patent claims by a company that's been threatening infringement lawsuits against several real estate companies.
«One of the business models many NPEs leverage is offering a settlement that will cost less than at trial,» said Michael Strapp, a patent lawyer at Goodwin Proctor, who has written a guide to
defending against patent trolls.
Courts have a key part to play in the
fight against patent trolls, by penalizing patent trolls for bringing frivolous claims, Ramirez said.
We again thank Chairman Goodlatte for his strong and effective leadership on this issue, along with so many members of the House who took a powerful
stand against patent trolls.
In the article, «Patent Trolls Take Their Toll,» Lorelli discusses how the Leahy - Smith America Invents Act protects
companies against patent trolls, as well as ways that patent trolls have continued to impact companies across all industries.
«You have been an inspiration to us all in the fight
against patent trolls!»
I have previously said that the problem with some of Apple's arguments in the Samsung litigation (design patent damages, for example) are even against Apple's own interests with respect to other litigation, especially where Apple has to defend
itself against patent trolls.
To promote continuing growth in our startup economy, we need comprehensive patent reform legislation that will provide small companies the tools to fight back
against patent trolls and will curb the worst behavior of the most egregious actors.»
The Innovation Act takes important steps to discourage abusive behavior and provide productive businesses with the tools they need to defend
themselves against patent trolls.
The suit will almost surely raise constitutional issues concerning state power and patents but, for now, businesses will welcome a big new ally in the fight
against patent trolls; others include Google (s goog) and patent scholars like Mark Lemley and Brian Love.
Alice is a crucial tool for fighting back
against these patent trolls.
We think this proposal — which is also one of the reforms proposed at our Defend Innovation project — is a great first step in the fight
against patent trolls.
Two years in, we can say that while Alice has not solved all problems with software patents, it has given productive companies a valuable tool for fighting back
against patent trolls.
Twitter has been especially active in this space — both by fighting back
against patent trolls and in giving its own developers a voice through its Innovator's Patent Agreement (IPA).
To our knowledge, this is the first time a state attorney general has taken action like
this against a patent troll.
In recent months, similar sentiments have been expressed on Capitol Hill, where Congress is debating patent litigation reform, and even in the White House, where President Obama has come out
against patent trolls.
Minnesota is the latest state to join the fight
against patent trolls.
Numerous bills are pending before Congress and key policymakers have spoken out
against patent trolls.
It also gives the agency a tool to fight back
against patent trolls, or entities that often use low - quality patents to fuel abusive litigation and win extortionate settlements from productive American companies.
In 2016, NAR also acted forcefully with technology partner Move Inc. to protect its members intellectual property rights and pushed back
against patent trolls.