Also known as "patent trolls". According to PatentFreedom, NPE's are "any entity that earns or plans to earn the majority of its revenue from the licensing or enforcement of its patents." By this particular definition, NPE's do not sell products or services. Furthermore, what makes these patent trolls interesting is that they typically do not infringe on existing patents.
Many individuals end up lacking the time, man-power, and funds to undergo the necessary research and development for establishing a product from a patent. This leads to the licensing and outsourcing of patents which unfortunately usually leads to being swept up by these patent trolls.
For example, 25% of NPE's only enforce patents that they acquired through others.
The following is a charge of patent lawsuits that involve NPEs over time:
This growth is observed due to:
- Growth in the market for patents
- Operating companies that are seeking to build a patent portfolio
No comments:
Post a Comment