My quick scan of the article not even hint that there was a problem with “patent trolls”, companies that apply for trivial, already in use, or other frivolous patents that were already undermining the patent system.
There have been numerous high profile cases, including SCO (Santa Cruz Operation) which was once a real company but devolved into a lawsuit company trying to shakedown other companies involved with UNIX. IBM was the wrong dog to taunt, and they were taken down. It is the rare time that the IT community at large rooted for IBM.
I don’t know about the law in question, but the system was already broken before it came into play.
“Move over Patent Trolls, Efficient Infringement has arrived on the Hill”:
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/10/25/efficient-infringement-arrived-hill/id=74131/
“Now troll abuses have been judicially curbed by: (1) new requirements for pleadings; (2) new district court discretion to address abusive patent enforcement by cost shifting; and (3) the threat of state and federal fines based on new initiatives defining abusive trolling as an unfair and deceptive practice. Perhaps most importantly, the recent FTC Patent Assertion Entity (PAE) case “study” characterized past Hill references to “patent trolls” by anti-patent lobbyists as “unhelpful” (case study. p.17). Thanks to this, pro-patent advocates no longer need to offer a seminar on arcane patent litigation in order to prevail in the debate. Simply put, there is nothing to see here. The courts have addressed the problems to the extent there were problems to be addressed, and even the FTC found that the use of the term “patent troll” was unhelpful because it was prejudicial and unwarranted to lump all patent owners together as if simply owning a patent somehow makes you a villain.
But now, after quickly dispatching with the patent troll meme as much ado about nothing, we can, should and must now unleash a more simplified counter attack by referencing a commonly deployed patent abuse known as “efficient infringement.” This deliberate disdain for patent property is the business model driving mega-tech IT incumbents to continually pressure Congress to enact measure such as HR 9 and S.1137.
Efficient infringement is a cold-hearted business calculation whereby businesses decide it will be cheaper to steal patented technology than to license it and pay a fair royalty to the innovator. Large entities realize there are a certain number of patent owners that are just simply not going to assert their patents for one reason or another, frequently because they don’t have the money to do so. Then there is another group of those that will assert their patents but will not win. The calculation progresses to realize that there is a small group of those who are likely to assert and prevail, thanks to all the hurdles put in place (i.e., patent eligibility challenges, the PTAB, etc.). The calculation further recognizes that even if a patent owner prevails a permanent injunction is virtually impossible to obtain as the result of the Supreme Court’s decision in eBay v. MerchExchange, and damages are likely to be minimal thanks to a continual judicial erosion in damages available to victorious patent owners who hold valid patent rights that have been adjudicated to be infringed.
This cold-hearted business approach to stealing intellectual property resonates when it is conveyed properly. Here is a simple script for research universities to use when they communicate with candidates’ pre-election and Staffers and those who prevail after the election. These arguments are easily adaptable to all pro-patent advocates.
Hard to take an article seriously that says this:
“So the center of the intellectual property universe will move to China.”