PATENT TROLLING

Table of Contents

1. Patent Trolling – Definition2. Early examples of patent trolling3. Present examples of patent trolling4. Arguments in favour of patent trolling5. 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 15,000• Round Rock Research LLC 3,392• Interdigital Inc 1,958• Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) 1,718• IPG Healthcare Limited 934• Tessera Technologies Inc 776• Rambus 774• Mosaid Technologies Inc 666• Acacia Technologies 521• Jerome H Lemelson 513• Scenera Research LLC 323• Papst Licensing GmbH 271

Top 10 Most Active TrollsLawsuits Defendants(2005 Present)‐ (2005 Present)‐

• Acacia Technologies 209 678• Ronald A Katz Tech. 111 197• Millennium LP 78 68• Erich Spangenberg 74 515• Sorensen R & D Trust 64 80• Guardian Media Tech. Ltd. 52 78• F&G Research Inc 46 42• Rates Technology Inc 41 35• Catch Curve Inc 37 68• ArrivalStar 36 101

Acacia Technologies: An OverviewAcacia's subsidiaries currently control 200 patent portfolios covering a variety

of applications, which include the following sectors and the licensees:

Advertising Energy/Lighting

Internet/Ecommerce Wireless/Mobile

Automotive Digital Media

Mechanical Software

Communications Database

Medical Semiconductor/MEMS

Computers Peripherals Consumer Electronics

Security

   3M   Microsoft   AMD   Mitsubishi

  Bloomberg   Nokia   Boston Scientific   Philips Electronics   Canon   Pioneer   Dell   Samsung   Exxon   Sanyo   Fujitsu   Sharp   Gannett   Siemens   GE   Sony   Hewlett Packard

  Texas

Instruments   Hitachi   Thomson

  IBM   Toshiba   Intel

  Walt Disney

Company Matsushita   Xerox

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 matter2. Pre Grant, Post Grant opposition3. 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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