Week 8 - Patent Trolls

Hi everyone! We know about "trolls" on the Internet as millennials, but I never realized this term would have real world implications to patents! These patent trolls have many official names,  patent holding company (PHC), patent assertion entity (PAE), and non-practicing entity (NPE). However, the essence of what they do is to sue anyone or any company that has infringed upon patents they hold in order to gain money from licensing fees. These NPE's do not even produce products/services that incorporate the patent, but simply "hold them" in order to sue other company's for their money.

I feel that the practices of these trolls are extremely anti-business and discourage innovation, as it constantly keeps entrepreneurs and other innovating companies on their feet worried if they will be sued by these patent trolls. They need to deal not just with the lost time of dealing with the patent litigation, but also with the MONEY to pay for attorneys to deal with these NPE's in court.

Check out my video below for more info!

Thanks,
Payal