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If a patent is being upheld for the right reasons, it's not a troll. The patent troll is the definition of a bad actor in this arena. There's arguments for an
by soneil 7y ago
If a patent is being upheld for the right reasons, it's not a troll. The patent troll is the definition of a bad actor in this arena. There's arguments for and against patents, and especially so software patents - but there's not many arguments for the existence of bad actors.
- egdod 7y agoPatent troll is synonymous with non-practicing entity, according to most people.
- cbsmith 7y agoBut even NPE's aren't intrinsically a bad thing. It's just the NPE space is filled with these horrid trolls. Context matters.
- egdod 7y agoExactly my point.
- joshuaissac 7y agoThis is the definition I have seen almost everywhere, but I do not like it. Non-practising entities like ARM and patent-owning universities I would never consider trolls just for being an NPE. On the other hand, even practising entities may engage in troll-like activities, asserting a patent beyond its scope to bankrupt a smaller competitor, because legal costs are not usually awarded in the US for such lawsuits (e.g. Nuance vs Zi). It is just that in a lot of cases, if not most, the troll is a non-practising entity.