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PG suggests that this won't stop the trolls but it might deter more traditional companies. Does anyone have stats on who is doing the most damage to early comp

by bpm140 15y ago

PG suggests that this won't stop the trolls but it might deter more traditional companies. Does anyone have stats on who is doing the most damage to early companies? Given the press, it's easy to think that trolls are the biggest offenders by an order of magnitude. Is there data that suggests otherwise?

pg 15y ago
The two types of attacks are so different that it's hard to compare them. Patent trolls attack more victims, but all they want is money. Attacks by competitors are much rarer, but more damaging when they do happen.
monochromatic 15y ago
I'd be surprised if the trolls (except Lodsys) are causing a lot of grief for companies under 25 employees. They seem to be more interested in a smaller number of bigger scores.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
kirillzubovsky 15y ago
Indirectly, this pledge my also help to slow down the trolls. Trolls buy up patents in order to sue or resell. Startups have no money to pay up, so the only option is to resell. But, if a potential acquirer has pledged not to use patents against small companies, buying them off from trolls wouldn't make for a good public image. As a result, trolls won't press on the patent holders, at least until they are acquired by a company that is capable of paying the bill.
- beagle3 15y ago
  ... thereby making it cheaper for trolls acquiring patents, like Intellectual Ventures, as there is less market for the patents -- but not slowing them down.
mnemonicsloth 15y ago
There's such a huge variance in the value startups create that it probably doesn't matter. It only takes one obscure archival services contractor to sue Google out of existence in 1999.
james-fend 15y ago
I was thinking the same. It'd be hard to find stats as alot of the litigation is under a 'no speak about it' type of clause. But operating a single-founder startup myself, I am alot more worried about the patent trolls than big companies right now.

by bpm140 15y ago

pg 15y ago

The two types of attacks are so different that it's hard to compare them. Patent trolls attack more victims, but all they want is money. Attacks by competitors are much rarer, but more damaging when they do happen.

monochromatic 15y ago

I'd be surprised if the trolls (except Lodsys) are causing a lot of grief for companies under 25 employees. They seem to be more interested in a smaller number of bigger scores.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

kirillzubovsky 15y ago

Indirectly, this pledge my also help to slow down the trolls. Trolls buy up patents in order to sue or resell. Startups have no money to pay up, so the only option is to resell. But, if a potential acquirer has pledged not to use patents against small companies, buying them off from trolls wouldn't make for a good public image. As a result, trolls won't press on the patent holders, at least until they are acquired by a company that is capable of paying the bill.

beagle3 15y ago
... thereby making it cheaper for trolls acquiring patents, like Intellectual Ventures, as there is less market for the patents -- but not slowing them down.

mnemonicsloth 15y ago

There's such a huge variance in the value startups create that it probably doesn't matter. It only takes one obscure archival services contractor to sue Google out of existence in 1999.

james-fend 15y ago

I was thinking the same. It'd be hard to find stats as alot of the litigation is under a 'no speak about it' type of clause. But operating a single-founder startup myself, I am alot more worried about the patent trolls than big companies right now.