[DUMBGRUNT]

Smartflash LLC is a company that operates out of a tiny office suite in Tyler, Texas. It has no employees or products and no assets except for a handful of patents—but it may be getting a whole lot of cash. A jury verdict (PDF) that came out late yesterday orders Apple to pay the company $533 million for infringing three of its patents.

The company is no “patent troll,” its lawyer insisted...

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/02/company-without-a-product-wins-533m-verdict-vs-apple-says-its-no-patent-troll/

[Inyo-Mono]

Smartflash. Are these like thumb drives?

[bigbob]

They’re patent trolls.

[TXnMA]

Old News, RTFA: The appeals court has just ruled that Smartflash's patents" are invalid -- thus stopping their suit in its tracks -- with no hope of re-suing.