Patent Law Practice Center

Problem Child – A Third-Grade Approach to Patent Owners

Last week on IPWatchdog.com, I published a five-part series that debunked many prevalent myths about patent trolls. See A Fractured Fairy Tale: Separating Fact and Fiction on Patent Trolls, written by Steve Moore of Kelley Drye. While a bit long, it should be considered mandatory reading if you want to understand the underlying facts instead of just buying into the hype and hyperbole associated with the so-called “patent troll problem.”

Moore, with co-authors Marvin Wachs and Timothy Moore, concludes that when you really look at the facts and underlying dynamics of patents and patent litigation, there really isn’t a problem at all. Perhaps there is litigation mischief in some cases, but overall what you see in the hard, factual data is not at all surprising. There really is no patent troll problem at all, and despite what many charge, the quality of the patents asserted by non-practicing entities is quite high, at least if you remove from consideration patents asserted by independent inventors.

But is there a problem? Yes. I think there is clearly litigation abuse, and some of that abuse probably does rise to the level of patent misuse. But we have laws on the books to handle that kind of litigation misconduct, which is exactly what it is — litigation misconduct. To try and sweep an entire class of patent owners together in a pile in order to address the few, easily identifiable miscreants is just plain stupid. We all knew that it was wrong when we were in third grade and the teacher punished everyone because one or two kids didn’t follow the rules.

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PLI’s Advanced Patent Licensing 2011: Current Developments and Best Practices

In the current economy, more and more companies are seeking to monetize their patent portfolios.  If your involved in the utilization of patents as business assets, you know that understanding patent transactions has never been more important.  I recently received this outline from Joseph Yang, Partner at PatentEsque Law Group and Co-Chair of PLI’s Advanced Patent Licensing 2011 (scheduled for October 24, 2011 in San Francisco and via live webcast) that explores the law of patent licensing and the business of licensing.

Here is an excerpt from the outline:

In any “patent” or “technology” licensing effort, it is critical to understand the interplay between the business and legal aspects of the transaction.  The legal team must build a legal structure that is consistent with the requirements of the law, while the business team must have a deal structure that meets the grantee’s business needs.  Unfortunately, there is often a inadvertent chasm between the two sides — the lawyer has little experience in business, and vice versa. (more…)