Patent trolls and patent reform are currently buzz words. Patent reform is hitting the headlines hard, as Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Senate are all tackling bills and lawsuits stemming from recent litigation and patent abuses by patent trolls – aka: Patent Assertion Entities (PAE).
By now, you’re likely asking yourself, “How does this affect me, (the small business owner, the entrepreneur, or the inventor)?” Well, according to a new infographic, inventive entrepreneurs may find themselves more hindered by patent reform legislation than helped. Congress is considering patent reform bills that are more detrimental to inventors than helpful, and essentially does nothing to thwart patent trolls. According to “INFOGRAPHIC: Who’s Trolling Who – The Ugly, Hairy Truth,” these bills aren’t going to deter patent trolls, and instead, will effectively “hinder innovation” and “weaken our economy.” Furthermore, these bills will have a negative, deterring effect on inventors, and result in more intellectual property theft; not less!
Going to Court May Cost More than it’s Worth
Although patent trolls participate in a lot of malicious activities, and will attempt to profit from you anyway they can, most people define patent trolls by their litigation abuse. The patent troll has a single goal, and that is to steal money from you by making a claim to own a patent that can be connected to your intellectual property. They will claim to own a patent, and threaten to sue you – leaving you with two choices: risk heading to court and losing (both the court costs and the negative judgment could spell bankruptcy), or you could pay something upfront and make the whole thing go away, which is exactly what the patent troll wants you to do. They want to bully you into settling outside of court, so why do these new bills focus so heavily on in-court litigation?
What patent trolls do sounds a bit like extortion doesn’t it? Only current and pending bills don’t address that this is essentially a shakedown. Instead, the current bills include a “customer stay provision” which, according to the patent reform facts, on Save the Inventor, “overturns fundamental fairness of the justice system by obstructing and prolonging the process for anyone who goes to court to argue their patent was infringed.” Sounds expensive, and may not be worth the trouble, which is exactly what patent trolls want. Also, this provision includes multi-billion-dollar global companies. Considering that operating companies, essentially corporations, brought the majority of patent infringement lawsuits between 2007 and 2011, this spells big trouble for small time inventors and entrepreneurs who already have trouble competing with big businesses trying to muscle them out of the rat race. Big business can afford a long-term and expensive lawsuit, whereas you can’t – meaning these provisions favor corporations and patent trolls, when they’re supposed to favor inventors and entrepreneurs.
How Can You Protect Yourself?
Considering that new patent legislation is bad for the inventor, the economy, and investors, it’s essential that these groups, and anyone interested in protecting American innovation, band together and stand up for what is right. The only thing these laws protect are the market shares of corporations, both domestic and global, and as far as patent trolls are concerned, the bills contain nothing that will deter them; they’ll continue to terrorize intellectual property. So, how do you protect yourself, protect patents and protect the American economy? There are three ways:
1. Stay educated on patent reform.
2. Contact your congressmen and local politicians and express your opinions.
3. And, share this information with everyone you can.
