PATENT TROLLING

Table of Contents
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Patent Trolling Definition Early examples of patent trolling Present examples of patent trolling Arguments in favour of patent trolling Indian response to patent trolling

Patent Trolling Definition

Word troll taken from a Norwegian fairy tale Three Billy Goats Gruff. (Eat me when I am fatter plot) Peter Detkin in 2001 used this term to describe firms that acquire patents only to extract settlements from companies on dubious infringement claims. Other meanings acquired by Patent Troll
patent owners who obtain broad patents not to innovate, but solely to ensnare real innovators who might inadvertently cross the boundaries' of the trolls' patent patent owner that enforces patent rights against purported infringers, but does not intend to exploit the patent by, for example, manufacturing the patented product or supplying the patented service

Early Examples of Patent Trolling

Eli Whitney George Selden Alexander Graham Bell Philo T. Fransworth

Present Trollers
Intellectual Ventures Round Rock Research LLC Interdigital Inc Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) IPG Healthcare Limited Tessera Technologies Inc Rambus Mosaid Technologies Inc Acacia Technologies Jerome H Lemelson Scenera Research LLC Papst Licensing GmbH 15,000 3,392 1,958 1,718 934 776 774 666 521 513 323 271

Top 10 Most Active Trolls

Lawsuits
(2005Present)

Defendants
(2005Present)

Acacia Technologies Ronald A Katz Tech. Millennium LP Erich Spangenberg Sorensen R & D Trust Guardian Media Tech. Ltd. F&G Research Inc Rates Technology Inc Catch Curve Inc ArrivalStar

209 111 78 74 64 52 46 41 37 36

678 197 68 515 80 78 42 35 68 101

Acacia Technologies: An Overview

Acacia's subsidiaries currently control 200 patent portfolios covering a variety of applications, which include the following sectors and the licensees:
Advertising
Internet/Ecommerce Automotive Mechanical Communications Medical Computers Peripherals Security

Energy/Lighting
Wireless/Mobile Digital Media Software Database Semiconductor/MEMS Consumer Electronics

3M AMD Bloomberg Boston Scientific Canon Dell Exxon Fujitsu Gannett

Microsoft
Mitsubishi Nokia Philips Electronics Pioneer Samsung Sanyo Sharp Siemens Sony Texas Instruments Thomson

IBM
Intel Matsushita

Toshiba
Walt Disney Company Xerox

GE Hewlett Packard Hitachi

Intellectual Ventures Enforcing Its Patent Portfolio In Three Industries, Dec. 2010
Software Security - defendants include Check Point Software, McAfee, Inc., Symantec and Trend Micro.

DRAM / Flash RAM Memory - defendants include Elpida Memory Inc., and Hynix Semiconductor.
Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) defendants include Altera Corp., Lattice Semiconductor and Microsemi.

Few High Profile Infringement Cases

eBay Inc v MercExchange LLC 126 S. Ct. 1837 (2006) (Sup Ct (US)) Eolas Technologies Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 399 F.3d 1325, 1328-32 (Fed. Cir. 2005) NTP, Inc. v. Research in Motion, Ltd., 418 F.3d 1282, 1290 (Fed. Cir. 2005) Rates Technology Inc. v Google (Fed. Cir. 2005) Acacia v. Red Hat and Novell (2010, USA)

Arguments In Favour Of Patent Trolling

Patent Troll acts within their rights. Disclosure of Invention to the Public deserve promised reward Burdened Patent Offices and exploitation of vulnerabilities of patent system

Indian Response To Patent Trolling

1. Patentable subject matter 2. Pre Grant, Post Grant opposition 3. Domestic Working Requirement (S. 83, 146 & 122) 4. Compulsory Licensing (S. 84(1)(c ); 84 (1) (a), 84(7)(d), 84(7)(e) .

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