FTC Planning To Go After Patent Trolls
from the this-ought-to-get-interesting dept
Well, well, look at this. Just yesterday we wrote about how the Supreme Court said this week that patent holders can't use their patents as a get-out-of-jail-free card when facing antitrust investigations from the FTC. While many had focused on the specific pay-for-delay situation in the case, we wondered if this would unleash the FTC to really go after a whole variety of patent trolls. The FTC has been gearing up to go after patent trolls for quite some time, and now it looks like it's finally happening.The FTC is launching a "sweeping investigation" of patent trolls that will hopefully expose some of the more nefarious practices of those shakedown houses:
The chairwoman, Edith Ramirez, is planning to ask the full commission to approve an inquiry that will include the issuance of subpoenas to companies that are known as patent-assertion entities, or, unflatteringly, as patent trolls. The move comes after the issuance of several executive orders by President Obama directing executive agencies to take steps to “protect innovators from frivolous litigation.”Also, the NY Times article notes that the FTC isn't just focusing on the tiny shell companies, but the big patent trolls as well:
If approved, which is likely, the F.T.C. investigation will require patent-assertion companies to answer questions about how they conduct their operations, including whether they coordinate their lawsuits with other patent holders and if they funnel proceeds from lawsuits and patent licenses back to the original patent owner.
People briefed on the plans said that the inquiry will focus on companies at both ends of the patent-troll spectrum. At one end are the small companies, essentially legal shells, which gather patents and cite them when sending demand letters to thousands of businesses claiming infringement on a patent for some activity. In 2011, a company targeted coffee shops for setting up Wi-Fi networks for customers.Stay tuned, because this is going to get interesting.
At the other end are large companies like Mosaid, which has its American headquarters in Plano, Tex., and Intellectual Ventures, a Bellevue, Wash., firm that was co-founded by Nathan Myhrvold, a former chief technology officer at Microsoft. Those entities buy portfolios of intellectual property rights from technology innovators like Microsoft and Nokia and use them to generate millions of dollars in licensing payments.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: antitrust, ftc, investigation, patent trolls
Companies: intellectual ventures
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
It seems it now isn't about invention and buying patents to make your product better, it is more off add to your patents to game you chances in settlements with threat of a lawsuit.
While this is a great step there are a lot else that could be done to alleviate the plaque of patent trolls. The patent office needs to be cleaned up and the rules and regs on patent approval need to be revamped.
Otherwise there are far too many shady lawyers and companies who will keep gaming the system to achieve large settlements while abusing the patent system.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Hog wash.
"if patent trolls actually passed the money on to the patent holders"
Are you implying the trolls do not own the patents they are threatening others with? This might put them in a less than legal position - no? Even if this were legal, how exactly would it reduce anything other than consumer bank accounts?
"10% of net profits from the device"
You are demented, seek help.
btw, I think you misspelled aggressor.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Landlords
The landlord buys property and rents it out, just like a patent enforcer buys property and rents it out. If the landlord finds a squatter, the landlord tells the squatter they must pay, even if the squatter didn't know that anyone owned the property.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
You know the trolls will do this...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Can I mount it on a shark?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Oh oh...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Might even make it more profitable for the big ones.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Much as I hate to I have to agree, the really big ones will probably face a pittance of a fine, a slap on the wrist, and a 'Now don't let me catch you doing this again!' at most.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Intellectual Ventures
[ link to this | view in chronology ]