Patent Trolls Strike Back: Trolling Rebounds After Brief Supreme Court-Enabled Dip
Following last year's pretty good Supreme Court ruling in the Alice v. CLS Bank case, which effectively wiped out the basis of many software and business method patents by saying you couldn't get a patent on "generic" functions, there was a pretty immediate impact on patent trolling. Courts were invalidating patents based on the ruling, the US Patent and Trademark seemed more willing to reject patents based on the Alice ruling, and even trolls seemed to be admitting defeat. Uber troll Intellectual Ventures laid off a bunch of people and OG patent troll Ray Niro indicated he was moving on to more lucrative trolling opportunities, such as in trade secrets.
But, never fear, the Patent Troll Strikes back sequel is fast becoming reality. The good folks over at Unified Patent have a report out on the latest numbers, which suggest the decline in patent troll activities last year was merely a brief disturbance and that patent trolling has bounced back significantly. While 2014 definitely showed a dip, 2015 has showed that patent lawsuits have gone right back up again:
And, it's notable that a growing number appear to be patent trolls (or "non practicing entities" as some prefer to call them). The gold color are troll suits: 
And this is all particularly pronounced in the high tech field, where nearly 90% of all lawsuits were filed by trolls: 
And thus, despite the Alice ruling there seems to be tremendous evidence that we need patent reform as part of the solution. While another recent analysis shows that courts are still tossing out patent claims as invalid in a post-Alice world, it doesn't seem to be stopping the lawsuits. And that's likely because many trolls are realizing that even if their patents are invalid, it's still much easier for many to just settle and pay up than go through with the whole trial process.
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But, never fear, the Patent Troll Strikes back sequel is fast becoming reality. The good folks over at Unified Patent have a report out on the latest numbers, which suggest the decline in patent troll activities last year was merely a brief disturbance and that patent trolling has bounced back significantly. While 2014 definitely showed a dip, 2015 has showed that patent lawsuits have gone right back up again:
And, it's notable that a growing number appear to be patent trolls (or "non practicing entities" as some prefer to call them). The gold color are troll suits: And this is all particularly pronounced in the high tech field, where nearly 90% of all lawsuits were filed by trolls: And thus, despite the Alice ruling there seems to be tremendous evidence that we need patent reform as part of the solution. While another recent analysis shows that courts are still tossing out patent claims as invalid in a post-Alice world, it doesn't seem to be stopping the lawsuits. And that's likely because many trolls are realizing that even if their patents are invalid, it's still much easier for many to just settle and pay up than go through with the whole trial process.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story