By: Jeff Roberts | PaidContent.org
For some time now, so-called patent trolls have aggressively targeted the biggest tech companies in the world. Now, they seem to be setting their sights on large media companies too. A shell company in Delaware is suing Bloomberg, the New York Times Co and four other news giants for infringing a patent related to “autocomplete” software—the process that allows computer users to receive suggestions for completing a word after they type a few letters.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit bears all the markings of a so-called patent troll—entities that do not invent or produce anything but simply acquire patents in order to sue companies with deep pockets.
Thomas Westgard
The use of the term "patent troll" is an inherent judgment about asserting intellectual property rights. Intellectual property rights can be a colossal pain in the rear for people who want to innovate in a field that's already occupied by someone. What gets me about this is, when Disney lobbied to extend the copyright law to keep Mickey Mouse out of the public domain, I didn't see the same kind of insults directed at them. When Google bought Motorola Mobility expressly for the patents, we didn't see a stream of articles calling Google a corporate patent troll. Individual inventors can't afford to hire lawyers outright, so there's a market for patent infringement lawsuits when some smart guy in a basement outsmarts the big corporations and patents a good idea first. I just don't see why inventors who have a patent, and then have to find a clever way to enforce it, should be subjected to derision that corporations don't have to suffer. The vast majority of patent lawsuits are filed by big corporations. Anytime you see people deriding lawyers, look who benefits. This "article" looks like part of a corporate PR effort like the one behind the Hot Coffee movie.
Double Standard - Corporate IP Suits Aren't Derided as "Trolls"
9/15/2011
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