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The First Step To Making Patent Trolling Illegal
There has always been an unseen threat hanging over the heads of developers: patent trolling. This is where a non-practicing entity (NPE) buys up some random patents no one is using and sues people with them.
The problem is many patents are extremely broad so like covering in-app purchases or media streaming. If someone (a patent troll) were to buy these patents they could then sue people with them and make a lot of money.
Of course suing people to make money is not exactly what the patent system was for so this form of making money is incredibly sketchy. And we have seen a few cases where judges have invalidated patent troll patents. However this is, in my opinion, too little too late.
The damage has been done and the patent troll has got away Scott-free. Just declare bankruptcy at the NPE. But things may be changing. A case in Delaware has seen the judge actually investigating the non-practicing entities revealing that they have been built on a foundation of fraud. And as such the judge is recommending criminal prosecution.
The EFF has a longer piece on this. Basically the judge called the alleged owners to testify. Surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly, the ‘owners’ didn’t know anything. One was even a random food truck owner. They appear to have been set up by another company…
