Patent Litigation by Non Practicing Entities

Patent litigation by non practicing entities are also referred to as patent trolls.  Patent trolls are entities, individuals, or companies whose main business focus is to assert their patents on practicing entities in order to acquire monetary gain.  There are a variety of reasons why patent trolls are prevalent, among which are people who do not have the funds to carry out their invention, people who invent purely to sue larger entities, and people who choose to pursue other endeavors aside from their patents.  There are several key aspects to these patent trolls that make them a nuisance for many large corporations. Among these are the fact that:

1. Patent Trolls can sue anyone, even customers, because they have no customer base that could be affected.
2. Patent Trolls also don't worry about countersuits because they usually do not make enough to be worth the lawsuit.

In addition, patent trolls slow down economic process.  When a patent troll does not exercise the right to use the patent, it creates an environment where no one can benefit from the patent; unless of course the practicing entity pays or comes to an agreement with the patent troll.  Often times the price is too high to make it worth it for the practicing entity, which prohibits the practice of the patent altogether.  There have been several suggestions for combatting patent trolls, among these are:

1. Have stricter guidelines for approving patents.
2. Force patent holders to pay a substantial fee to retain patents
3. Create a system where patent trolls must pay practicing entities' litigation fees should they lose the lawsuit.

I hope this gave you a good idea of patent trolls and I look forward to your comments!