4 ms·

God damn; PATO is exactly my proposal. I shall sue him, having come up with it 15 years after his publication... ;-)

• ubernostrum 14y ago
  Except it doesn't work. Here's what really happens: PatentHoldingShellCompany60852, Inc. files a lawsuit. They have no products and no services and so cannot be countersued for any conceivable infringement. Even if you do manage to sue them successfully, the company's only asset is the patent. It declares bankruptcy, nobody involved in setting it up gets hurt, and tomorrow PatentHoldingShellCompany60853, Inc. is filing in East Texas to try to shakedown somebody else.
  • DaniFong 14y ago
    But you can invalidate the patent with an IPR suit. That would be an effective deterrent against patent trolls.
  • acdha 14y ago
    I think the modern wrinkle would need to be establishing a common defense fund with the goal of funding all the way through invalidating bad patents, not just settling a suit. Right now most of these players simply risk losing their time investment, not the grounds for future extortion or possibly even invalidating other settlements. A well-funded, well-known legal team could have an easier time doing filing to consolidate cases, making the strategy of repeatedly going after small companies less one-sided.