Forum Assignment 4 - Due Novemeber 20, 2009 - 11:55 PM

[IanLee1521]

The same rules apply to this forum assignment as the last... Please post your Name and Student ID at the top of your post. Site any sources which you use at the bottom. Also note, if you were missing your name and id on the first assignment, I made sure to email you and let you know. On this and the next two I will NOT be doing this.

If you are having issues signing in or posting, let us and more importantly the webmaster know early enough... There is not much we can do for you an hour before the assignment is due.

** NOTE! YOU MUST USE SOME EXTERNAL SOURCE! **

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The topic for this forum is regarding patents in general and patent trolling in particular. This was originally brought up by the guest lecture on 10/29, but should still be answerable if for some reason you were not able to attend that class.

There are three parts to be answered:

1) What rights does holding a patent give to the holder?
2) Should patent trolling be illegal? Why or why not?
3) What issues can arise when trying to litigate against patent trolls?

Something like 3 paragraphs (1 for each part) should be expected in your response.

---------------------------------

Grading:
Starting at 25 points (full credit) you will lose 5 points for each of these aspects not discussed, as well as 5 points if you do not include sources / references used.

[KevinCandelaria]

Kevin Candelaria
W1211660

1. A patent grants the holder the right to exclude others from making, using or selling your invention and if someone does try to make use or sell your invention without your permission the holder has a right to sue the one that has infringed upon the patent. The patent holder also has the ability to lease out his or her patent in exchange for money.

2. Wikipedia lists the definitions of a patent troll as one who "Purchases a patent, often from a bankrupt firm, and then sues another company by claiming that one of its products infringes on the purchased patent, enforces patents against purported infringers without itself intending to manufacture the patented product or supply the patented service, enforces patents but has no manufacturing or research base or, focuses its efforts solely on enforcing patent rights. If there was a way to differentiate between when someone was trolling or just filing a patent i would say that yes, patent trolling should be illegal. But, it is not that easy to tell when someone is a patent troll or is a legitimate holder. It is a hard issue to make a definitive choice on because making patent trolling illegal in a way would undermine the legitimacy of all patents and give corporations a large upper hand when defending against lawsuits regarding patent infringement. I could see some possible rare cases in which someone comes up with an idea and patents it but does not have any money to act on his patent by trying to manufacture or solicit his or her idea and would therefore be put into the category of a patent troll. But In the big picture, patent trolls can discourage companies from creating new product out of fear of being sued by a patent troll.

3. An issue that can arise when trying to litigate against patent trolls is it is almost always cheaper for a company to settle out of court for a few hundred thousand dollars as opposed to settling in court which would cost the company millions of dollars so there is virtually no risk involved for the patent troll. Another Issue is that the patent holder gets to choose which court the case is settled in so they will often choose a court like the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas because it is known to heavily favor the patent holder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll

[avngo]

Andrew Ngo
1207413

Holding a patent allows one to license the patent for money. It also excludes others from making, using, or selling your invention. Lastly, the best thing, according to the speakers, to have a patent is that the holder could sue people infringing on your patent and make a lot of money off of the lawsuit, such as Alcatel-Lucent v. Microsoft where Alcatel-Lucent received $1.5 billion in patent damages. However, holding a patent does not give the holders a right to practice or use their invention.

I think patent trolling should be illegal because it is unethical in terms of how the holders utilize their rights on the patent. Most of the time, the patent holder is not practicing or using their rights to the patent, and have it to just sue others on infringing on their patents they own. A lot of times, people buy patents from bankrupt companies for a very cheap price and then hold it to be able to sue infringers for a lot of money.

Litigating against patent trolls can be very costly, as proven with the Alcatel-Lucent v. Microsoft where there was $1.5 billion in fines. They normally try to spike up the fees by saying that there was a lot of damages that occurred by infringing the patent. The fees and cost tend to normally fall heavily on the infringer, meaning the people the patent trolls are trying to sue. The patent trolls can also choose where to have the court held in, and it is almost always in the Eastern District of Texas where they are plantiff friendly.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll
http://www.patent-faq.com/

[jasontan]

Jason Tan
W1111573

In the United States, patent gives the creator or inventor " the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States" for 20 years from the time they patent it. This was also what the two attorneys who gave the presentation said. But the inventor cannot file a patent if it has been used and benefited the public for over a year. Basically, a patent allows someone to monopolize their invention for up to twenty years. They can make all the money they want until the period is over.
Source:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/do ... nature.htm

Patent trolls described by our presenters are people who basically just owns the patents but does not use it for commercial reasons. They only buy and own patents to sue others for infringement. According to wikipedia "person or company that enforces its patents against one or more alleged infringes in a manner considered unduly aggressive or opportunistic, often with no intention to manufacture or market the patented invention." These people or companies are basically people who just want to make money from other peoples needs for the products, and I feel that is actually unfair. I feel it should be deemed illegal because it takes opportunities away from people who can benefit from those patents. Even though patent trolls encourages new innovations it should be deemed illegal because it is exploiting the justice system. But because there are so many ways to get around the justice system we sometimes do not really know if they really are a patent troll or not.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll#Causes

When trying to litigate against patent trolls, trying to negotiate the deal is difficult. They usually demand a large sum of money and usually from large corporations that has used an invention from their patent. Another problem is patent trolls sometimes would sue to get any amount they can get, which leads to a waste of effort and time of the courts and tax payers dollars. These cases are difficult to defend for the defendants because they do not hold the patent which raises the question , what if the defendant who infringed on someones invention but it was a medicine formula that can cure many diseases? I feel there are always exceptions.
Source: http://www.wsgr.com/PDFSearch/09202004_ ... irates.pdf

[nelson]

Nelson Avelar
ID 1159644


1. What rights does holding a patent give to the holder?
A patent is a right given by the government to an inventor who invents or discovers something new and useful for our society. This is usually given for 20 years since the day of filing. Patent allows an owner of an invention or an inventor the right to exclude others from making the same invention or developing this same invention. Also it prohibits other to make use and sell an invention without the consent of the owner. Another right is the licensing of patents to huge companies for a good amount of money.

2) Should patent trolling be illegal? Why or why not?

Patent trolling should be considered illegal. Some people just file patents with the idea of suing other if they use their patents. These people are literally living from the hard work of others. The government should restrain patents from people who are not producing or contributing to our society. Because, their point is to make money by suing other companies that tries to use their patent. If they don’t do anything with their invention then they should let other do it. Patent trolling is a way that some people or companies are using to take advantage of law system by keeping millions of dollars and they don’t give back to the society.

3) What issues can arise when trying to litigate against patent trolls?
Based on Wikipedia “in the United States, suits are often brought in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, known for favoring plaintiffs and for expertise in patent suits.” Taking advantage of this plausible law system many patent trolls come to this court to file a suit for infringing of patents. Since, patent suits are very expensive the infringer tends to settle things out the court because it will be much cheaper. Also is a very bad reputation for huge companies, and it affects them in selling to the consumer.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll#Causes
Notes too.

[choseit]

Christopher Hoseit
1109924

1. A patent gives the holder the right to do the following: “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States”.(http://inventors.about.com/od/patents/a ... rights.htm) This means that you can prevent other people from making and distributing the your idea until the patent comes due. The inventor does not have to do anything with the invention itself, the patent merely protects the inventor's idea from being stolen and used for someone elses profit and production. Another benefit of having a patent is that, “For utility or plant patent applications...the patent term begins on the issue date of the patent, and ends twenty (20) years after the patent application is first filed in the U.S.”(http://www.patentstation.com/mdm/p102.htm) Therefore an inventor's invention is secure for a significant amount of time.

2. Patent trolls are people who work to “to acquire patents with the primary purpose of making patent infringement claims”(http://news.cnet.com/Rise-of-the-patent ... 92996.html) This act itself is unethical and wrong because these people are not trying to add to society and to share their ideas, instead they are trying to make money off of the people who do. For this reason patent trolling should be illegal. However, even though how patent trolls use patents is wrong a question arises of whether individual inventors be punished as well? There is no clear line to be drawn that distinguishes inventors collecting on an infringed idea and small patent trolls. I think that it would be possible and is necessary to catch the major patent trolls to deter and send a message to smaller patent trolls.

3. When trying to litigate against patent trolls there can be several issues. An obvious one is the time and money that it costs the defending company to go to court against the patent troll. And the main problem that the accused infringing companies have is the cost of a settlement in court, which can make a company go bankrupt. Also, taking a case into court can hurt a company's reputation which can thereby affect it's business.

[jmkeenan16]

Julie Keenan
W1146984

A patent gives the holder the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States. This generally lasts 20 years from the date the patent was filed. Although a patent blocks anyone else from taking advantage of an invention a patent does not grant the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell, or import the invention.

It is very debatable if patent trolling should be illegal or not? They are unfair in the sense that they have power of these small companies and use extreme tactics to make money. On the upside they promote competition, encourage investment in bringing new products to the market. At the moment. I think they should stay legal because they open the market for creativity. Until the new laws are made that can determine what is specifically patent trolling and what is a real patent violation it would be very messy to enforce.

It is hard to try to litigate against patent trolls. Litigation is very expensive, it can cost millions of dollars if you lose in court, so many small companies decide to settle rather than dispute. Some courts are known for their tendency to settle the the defendant making it hard for the company being sued. Forgent a Patent trolling company has earned over a million dollars in one settlement.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/do ... nature.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11860819/from/RSS/

[LeticiaC]

Leticia Contreras
W1186717

1. A patent gives the patent holder "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” usually for 20 years after the date of filing their papers. However, this date may change depending on the patent and how long it took to get patented.
2. Patent trolling shouldn’t necessarily be illegal. This is because of the fact that although obvious in some cases, it may not be clear in all cases. It will draw lines on some who rightfully own a patent and are mistaken for trolls, as well as let some trolls slip by. More importantly, this could just as well be very difficult to enforce. There might also be much debate on the penalties for trolls and who is to carry out punishment. There are too many obscurities for the fact of being a patent troll to be simply illegal.
3. The first issue that arises when going against a patent troll is that of the expense of litigation. After beginning the process however, it is very difficult to prove things like what the patent actually entails and how exactly the product is an infringement of the patent. It always comes down to detail and timing in order to prove or disprove such things, which is definitely the most difficult part for litigators in their struggles against patent trolls.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/do ... nature.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll

[kwokgeorgeha]

George Ha
W1142904

1) Patent is a property right granted by the government to an investor for disclosure of an invention. Taking a closer look at what it means-"The right to exclude others from making, using or selling the invention throughout the United States" and its territories and possessions. You can also license patent for money, sue infringers or do nothing. Suing infringers equals huge damage awards. The purpose of a patent is to encourage and spur the development. Anything to help improve the quality of life is patentable under the patentability requirements. The holder owns their idea and no one else can it use but the holder has the right to license it for money.
http://www.bitlaw.com/patent/rights.html

2) In my opinion I think it should be illegal because it is just a way to increase profits by accusing the use of infringement. Basically it is someone who oversees everyone else, in a way so things don’t get out of hand. Although this concept seems to be a good thing, in fact it isn’t. Patent troll is someone who tries to make a lot of money off a patent that they are not practicing and have no intention of practicing. It was used to describe companies that file aggressive patent lawsuits. Patent Trolling files suits against other businesses, accusing them of infringement in a sense this is created so corporate companies are more careful of what they actually put in their work. But there is a downfall because some infringement is accidental I believe many people find opportunities but forget that they didn’t “create” the idea. I believe they should be allowed to a certain degree but overall it should be illegal.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11860819/from/RSS/

3) Patent Trolls capitalize on the desire of many companies to dispose of litigation quickly and minimize risk. Thus it is cheaper for a company to settle out of court and also the patent holder gets to choose which court the case is settled. In older cases such as Alcatel-Lucent vs. Microsoft, and Polaroid vs. Kodak these were huge damage rewards. As mentioned in class by taking advantage of Eastern District of Texas is a better choice to minimize profit lost.
http://jiplp.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/con ... t/jpn230v1

[jeneerayleen]

Jenee Young
1194597

Patents allow the holder of the patent to license the invention and exclude other people from making, selling or using the invention This however does not necessarily always allow the patent holder to actually make the object. These laws are somewhat different between the three different types of patents but this license protects inventions from being used, sold or made by other people for a set amount of time.

I personally believe that patent trolling should be made illegal because it is a dishonest way to make money. The trolls just buy up patents and then either hold them so they cannot be used or they sell them to competing groups or businesses , which is a way to trick them and create a loop hole to sue the companies or settle out of court on the basis of infringement making them large amounts of money for doing nothing more than deceiving people and selling an already used patent.

The most well known negative outcome from attempting to litigate against patent trolls is losing, because in some areas it is common for judges to favor one way or another. If the trial is won by the patent troll then the firm, business, group or person may by law have to quit manufacturing and selling the product. This would lead to a much larger loss in revenue than simply settling out of court with the patent troll.

https://www.oppedahl.com/patents/#whatis
Class Notes From Guest Lecture

[JanessaSanders]

Janessa Sanders
W1087814

From the guest lecturers that came to us on the 29th, we learned that there are many different types of patents but all mostly guarantee the same rights to the patent holder. While patents vary between utility, design and plant, the patent agreements allows the holder to exclude others from making or using the item without their permission, licenses for the right to make a profit, the ability to sue if someone is infringing on your object or design, or the holder can simply do nothing with their ideas. These rights to a patent are licensed to the individual person for 20 years in the United States. During that time they are able practice using that patent but afterwards, unless they complete an extension, the patent goes into the public. While these rights vary for each they all protect the idea of the inventor and help to stimulate the want and drive towards innovation by protecting the rights of the person who owns the patent itself.

I personally think that patent trolling should be illegal because it makes a system that is attempting to be fair and organized into something that can be preyed upon by those who know how to play the system. A patent troll is someone who tries to make money off of a patent that they have not put into use but are suing others for infringement on their ideas. Many of these trolls tend to sue big corporations that don’t necessarily have the time or the manpower to check into each claim. Instead, many companies simply pay the infringement penalty that the individual claims is due to them because they don’t want any bad publicity coming up because of the issue. Because of these people who are simply making money off of threats and unjust claims and I believe that this type of behavior falls under some sort of blackmail and should then be illegal because of it.

However, the problem with attempting to go after many of these people is that the lawyers and governments could go after some people who have a real case of infringement and won’t be able to be reimbursed for the errors that have arisen against them. Even in the legal sector it is harder to go after some of the bigger companies for infringement violations and once the case is settled much of the debt is the responsibility of the loser. This action is called the “English Rule” and means that the cost of the trial and of the lawyers for both parties falls on the person who lost the suit. This makes people who feel that they may have an infringement case on their hands more apprehensive to come forward because they may not believe that they have a strong case.

http://news.cnet.com/Rise-of-the-patent ... 92996.html
http://www.pff.org/issues-pubs/pops/pop ... losers.pdf
And Class Notes.

[ENTROPY]

1) What rights does holding a patent give to the holder?
2) Should patent trolling be illegal? Why or why not?
3) What issues can arise when trying to litigate against patent trolls?

A patent gives the holder a license to an invention and prohibits other individuals from profiting from that same invention.

I think patent trolling is just a way for people to get money off ideas that they aren't necessarily using, but just possess. It would be unfair for those who actually want to implement an idea but it separates those who want to make a profit off stolen ideas, and those who aren't. But because it is considered to "encourage investments in bringing new products to markets", it isn't illegal. There's just too much ambiguity in patent trolling so it's hard to say whether or not it's straight out illegal.

The process of trying to litigate against patent trolls would be very complex, because there are so many things to figure out, such as proving to whom the idea belongs to, following the paper trail of that, and how it's being "trolled". But aside from that, it will cost a lot, no doubt. And often, victims do not have enough money to hire an attorney for long, so the corporate companies who are looking for profit would most likely win.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll
http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/Patent
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11860819/from/RSS/

[anisbet]

Anthony Nisbet
1169294


1. A patent gives the holder the property right in which the government grants "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale or selling the invention throughout the US or importing the invention into the US." After the patent is granted to the inventor, the lifespan of a patent is about 20 years (though there are a few factors that could change the lifespan like when it was issued to the holder as well as the type of patent). There are damage awards from people who infringe upon these property rights (people who use/sell the holder's idea) and the holder has the right to sue for large sums of money from their used idea.

www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/nature.htm

2. Though this tactic is smart for gaining wealth, I believe that patent trolls should be considered illegal. These people make large sums of money off patents that they either are not practicing or have no intention of practicing. The laws of creating patents were made so that a person, group or company's hard work would not be meddled with and these patent trolls are taking advantage of these rules and regulations for personal gain -- which I think is wrong. As smart as I think it is for this to be a profit gaining tactic, I believe it is also unfair for the people who worked so hard on their product to be sued by people who didn't contribute anything to the invention.

Notes from Patent Lecture

3. Many issues can arise when dealing with patent trolls. Taking the them to court can cost massive amounts of money and time which is why the smaller companies rather just settle with the patent trolls because: it can cost millions which leads the company to bankruptcy, ruin reputation of the company; and if won by the patent trolls, the business has to stop manufacturing that product.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11860819/from/RSS/

[dpancher]

Danielle Pancheri
W1131885

There are three parts to be answered:
1) What rights does holding a patent give to the holder?
A patent is issued when an inventor comes up with a new idea or new improvement. It seals the inventor’s idea by the government granting them property right for a limited time period in enchange for the disclosure of their invention. A very common misconception is that a patent excludes everyone from making, selling, and using your invention; however it only excludes others from making it! There are several benefits of having your invention patented such as licensing the patent for money, excluding others from your idea, and to sue infringers. The speakers expressed that the best reason to patent your inventions is because it allows one to sue for infringement where one can make a great deal of money, if proven they were the first with the idea.
https://www.oppedahl.com/patents/#whatis

2) Should patent trolling be illegal? Why or why not?
Patent trolling is very unethical in the terms of how each patent troller goes about using their patents and should be illegal. A person who is involved in patent trolling should face severe consequences because they are hurting the general public and other companies that could be making a profit. According the the guest speakers patent trolling consists of three catagories.
1) Somebody who tries to make a significant amount of money off a patent that they are not practicing and have no intention of practicing and in most cases never practiced.
2) Individual inventors who do not produce or commercialize the patent invention, but sue corporations for infrindgement.
3) Patentees who patent technologies for the sole purpose of collection a license.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll

3) What issues can arise when trying to litigate against patent trolls?
Litigating against patent trolling often tends to be very costly because to negotiate the deal often means that a large sum of money is needed to back up your claim. The guest speakers mentioned the huge law suit against Alcatel Lucent VS Microsoft. The verdict went against Microsoft and they had to pay a massive fee of 1.5 billion dollars. Dealing with infringement of a product/technology is almost always costly, especially when dealing with such large corporations like Microsoft and Lucent. Since patent lawsuits are nearly almost always expensive, it is common that the infringer (person who does not hold a record of a patent) will settle a deal with the court to keep the fees lower and to just make the patent troll happy.

http://www.finnegan.com/resources/artic ... d4d6e9da23

[nicholascarter]

Nicholas Carter
W1215623

1) What rights does holding a patent give to the holder?

A patent is a property right granted by the government that gives exclusive rights to an inventor for their invention for a limited period of time as long as they disclose their invention to the public and the "patent application must include one or more claims defining the invention which must be new, inventive, and useful or industrially applicable," but not obvious.

2) Should patent trolling be illegal? Why or why not?

Patent trolling is an ethical issue, but I don't think it should be illegal. If someone legally has the rights to an invention or technology they have the right to do with it what they will, be it that they wait for a company or individual to infringe upon their patent and sue; that's their prerogative. For patent trolls, it is about getting paid out large settlements by enforcing patent rights, but they are rights, therefore they are entitled to enforce them. It is just unfortunate for the party that gets sued, but that is the nature of business. Ultimately, patent trolling is a business in itself, such as buying foreclosed properties for cheap and reselling them for huge profits.

3) What issues can arise when trying to litigate against patent trolls?

When trying to litigate against patent trolls, the company being sued, be it Microsoft or another large company, has a choice of going through a long expensive legal battle or to settle for certain sum of money. It is easier for a company being sued by a patent troll to settle and appease the patent troll rather than dragging it out in court battle that would most likely gain unwanted publicity. Basically, by settling out of court companies/corporations can save themselves a legal headache and a lot of money.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11860819/from/RSS/