Intellectual Ventures Aims To Tax Wind Power Producers With New Batch Of Patents

from the because-patent-trollery-is-designed-to-tax-innovation dept

Wind Power Monthly (I had no idea such a thing existed) has an article about how Intellectual Ventures is apparently targeting its patent trollery towards wind power, having filed a bunch of patents on very broad and basic concepts related to wind power. Of course, IV is trying to hide its involvement here by using one of its many shell companies. For reasons that are beyond me, Wind Power Monthly declines to name the shell companies. It's not clear why it does this -- even withholding the name after it got IV to confirm that it's an IV shell. There seems to be no journalistic reason for withholding the name, but Wind Power Monthly still does it.

Asked about the IV holding company, a spokesperson confirmed its relationship and added: "Intellectual Ventures does file some patents invented during sessions held by its in-house invention group... under the holding company [name withheld] to help maintain its patent portfolio."

The report further warns that patent trolls appear to be on the lookout to buy up other broad, wind power-related patents on the cheap as this particular market is expanding.

Second or third-tier wind manufacturers may be most exposed to trolls, especially as wind patents are currently relatively cheap, as they are during any downturn. Such manufacturers are a worthwhile target financially, may not have a robust IP strategy, and are far more likely to settle rather than fight in court.

Of course, right now we should be helping to speed up the adoption of alternative energy sources like wind power, but these patent trolling activities do the exact opposite, they make it more expensive. Notice that the article doesn't talk about any of these methods actually advancing the pace of innovation in the field, mostly because they don't. These aren't companies with experience building or managing wind power systems. These aren't experiences learned in the field. They appear to be pure trolling techniques designed to put a toll on the companies actually innovating in the field.

Filed Under: innovation, patent trolls, patents, shell companies, toll booths, wind power
Companies: intellectual ventures