IT’S A TRILOGY! (More on Patent Trolls…)

March 5, 2014

-Kate Kotler, Writer

Mobile Marketing Agency

Rules  of  a  Trilogy  (Scream  3)

While   following   up   on   our   ongoing   coverage   of   the   proposed   patent   troll   reform  

legisla=on   snaking   through   Congress,  we   stumbled   across   the   following   ar=cle   on  

CNN.com:  

Opinion:  Not  all  patent  trolls  are  demons  by  Timothy  Holbrook  

Duh,   some   of   them   are   homunculi!   (Patently   -­‐pun   intended-­‐   stolen  

from  fusillade762  on  Fark.com)  

The  crux  of   the  opinion  piece   is   that  while   the  media   is  busy  “demonizing”  Patent  

Asser=on   En==es   (or,   PAEs,   the   polite   way   of   saying   “patent   troll”)   that   many   of  

these  companies  actually  serve  a  valuable  business  purpose  and  are  one  of  the  only  

solid   channels   bootstrapped   inventors   have   of   seeing   monetary   return   for   their  

crea=ons:  

“What  is  lost  in  this  mudslinging  is  that  much  of  what  PAEs  do  is  laudable  —  paying  

inventors.   Patents   don’t   grow   on   trees.   Someone   came   up   with   the   inven@on  

and  incurred  considerable  expense  to  obtain  the  patent.  Many  inventors  can’t  bring  

their  inven@on  to  market  themselves,  however,  so  selling  the  patent  may  be  the  only  

way  for  them  to  make  money.  By  buying  these  patents,  PAEs  compensate  inventors,  

one  of  patent  law’s  objec@ves.”

Mobile Marketing Agency

While   this   is   an   interes=ng   flip   side   of   the   patent   troll   coin   to   consider,   it   seems   to   us   that   altruis=c   PAEs  

comprise  a  small  minority  of  the  larger  patent  acquisi=on  community  and  while  Congress  should  consider  the  

legi=mate  business  purposes  of  this  segment  (and,  make  sure  their  ac=vi=es  are  protected),  they  s=ll  should  go  

aUer  reform  that  puts  the  kibosh  on  those  who  are  looking  to  exploit  the  system  solely  for  financial  gain.  IE:  Go  

aUer  the  overly  li=gious  patent  trolls  with  low-­‐quality  patents.  Holbrook  agrees,  

“Problems  arise  when  PAEs  sue  on  improperly  issued  patents,  ones  that  never  should  have  goHen  out  of  the  US  

Patent  and  Trademark  Office.”  

Unfortunately,  it  seems  -­‐such  as  in  the  case  of  PAEs  like  Chicago’s  own,  Anthony  Brown-­‐  that  most  rely  on  low-­‐

quality  patents  that  shouldn’t  be  li=gated  as  the  center  of  their  business.  

So  where  do  you  draw  the   line  with  the   Innova=on  Act?  Do  nothing,  do  everything  or  work  harder  to  find  a  

compromise…  ?  Well,  it’s  Congress,  so  we  can  only  venture  an  educated  guess  as  to  what  the  answer  will  be.  

!-­‐Kate  Kotler,  

Writer