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Not really a well thought out suggestion, but wouldn't we get a lot less of these lawsuits when there were a stronger defense mechanism in case the alleged pate
by stfu 14y ago
Not really a well thought out suggestion, but wouldn't we get a lot less of these lawsuits when there were a stronger defense mechanism in case the alleged patent owner looses? It seems that changing the patent system is a long shot project, but making it unattractive to sue could maybe become a quick-fix easier to implement. These kinds of digging-in-the-dark lawsuits are seemingly a by-product for many startups as soon as they get somewhat their feet on the ground.
- keithpeter 14y agoFrom over here in the UK, the quickest fix would be a central patents court with expert judges and qualified patent lawyers.
- andrewpi 14y agoI'm not sure if a central patents court would necessarily fix things. The US already has a central patent appeals court ('the Federal Circuit'), and if anything, it has strengthened the rights of patent holders during the time it has been in existence.
- roc 14y ago> "wouldn't we get a lot less of these lawsuits when there were a stronger defense mechanism in case the alleged patent owner looses" In these sorts of cases? I doubt it. Each troll shell company would just be set up with no assets to speak of beyond the patents-at-issue. And in the event of a loss, those would be left worthless and no practical redress would be possible. (They're not far from that already. The only difference would be a smaller patent portfolio for each shell company.) Any work-around for that --say, requiring some sort of bond up-front by the patent owner that might be recouped by the defendant to offset legal fees-- would hit legit inventors and small companies much harder than trolls. The system would be tilted even further away from serving anyone but massive corporations.