Week 13 - Social Media Learning #2

Hi everyone - for this last post this week, I wanted to talk about key strategies in education for social media learning that could be implemented in this IEOR 190G class next year and even in the general Berkeley curriculum!

In designing classrooms and curriculums to integrate social media as a key tactic, I want to propose these topics to consider:

1. Selecting the Right Tool

For professors trying to differentiate their instruction, social media tools embrace collaboration and global access to people and other resources. It gives students the chance to:

• Exchange ideas
• Provide constructive feedback
• Provide avenues to connect content with our learners' many different interests.

Differentiating with social media is most effective when we plan learning experiences based on content, process, and product and incorporate readiness, interests, and learning profiles. The key here is that the student's VOICE is allowed to speak. The following guidelines can help any classroom teacher ensure that the tool used will address students' needs:

1. Be clear about the academic learning outcomes.
2. Assess what students know and don't know.
3. Identify related student background connections.
4. Utilize social networks that can:
   • Address needs for struggling learners
   • Ensure that advanced learners are growing.

2. Readiness

Readiness focuses on a student's current academic skill level. Work is structured to help them address any gaps or needs for enrichment. Students work in like-skill groups for specific, targeted support to address a common need, such as guided reading or tiered (leveled) activities. They also collaborate in mixed-skill groups to support struggling students with needed skill development. Additionally, experiences can stretch the advanced students in a mixed-skill group -- they may have the core skills, yet the critical thinking challenges them and their teammates.

Some great social media tools:

• Kaizena: a space where students get feedback for revising their work.
• Weebly: blog tool that can create "center" activities

• Survey Monkey: online survey tools for capturing students' progress. 

3. Learning Profiles

When students address concepts from diverse perspectives, especially in collaborative groups, it can lead to in-depth understanding. Learning profiles are about providing each student with experiences that incorporate a variety of learning style elements, not just one.

Try these tools:

• Thinglink uses pictures to place links in different places 

• Piktochart offer a visual explanation of a concept or idea.

• Tackk lets you create small interactive pages or build a portfolio of work

Week 13 - Social Media Learning #1

Hi everyone! I wanted to talk about social media in education for this blog post. This is the first time that an in-person class has placed such a big emphasis on social media learning, and it was quite refreshing. As a member of Generation Y, we are the ones who have grown and watched social media become an integral part of our social lives. Now, it is great to see that this medium can finally enter the educational space.

I have taken quite a few online classes where social media learning was a part of the curriculum, but I feel that was necessary because we never had actual meetings and physical interactions with our peers in the course. 

When we take a look at the facts regarding Generation Y and social media, it seems surprising why the education system has not embraced this medium more heavily yet. 

Generation Y seems to be more active in the social networks when compared to older age groups. We can observe it at Facebook – the most popular social network. The younger generation is changing the way they take advantage of the social media tools. Facebook is for mostly Millenials, which practically means a social network is turning into a multi-tool service – instead of following news services, Generation Y is following fanpages and communicating via social networks in place of sending e –mails In case of dissatisfaction, they prefer to make a complaint on a company fanpage rather than send a regular complaint form to the producer.

There's numerous ways to include social media in education:

1. Blogging
2. Podcasts
3. Twitter
4. Facebook posts
5. Video sharing
6. Collaborative presentation

This video below shows a great idea for how social media can be supported by psychology:

Week 13 - Key Takeaways #2

Hi everyone! Last blog post for the entire semester - it's been great to post weekly on here and engage with you all through our blogs and YouTube channels! Our last class session was pretty bittersweet, but I really liked that we had a guest speaker talk for half of the class on the changing dynamics of the patent marketplace from someone who has so much knowledge in this space.

I wanted to impart to you all the final key takeaways that I learned from this course:

1. Social media:
• This was my first time that I had used social media significantly in a class. Starting my own blog has always been a dream of mine, but I was glad that Professor Lavian was able to push some of us in the right direction to really start our own platforms regarding patents. Now, I have a much better understanding how to work a blog and create engaging content that will allow others to want to interact. In addition, I really loved learning how to maintain my YouTube channel because it was so interesting to be able to talk and generate video content, which is a lot harder to do than print content! Overall, I have been able to start my online presence through these platforms, which I will touch upon next!

1. Online presence:
• By having us create blogs, Youtube accounts and re-posting Twitter links, Professor Lavian is actually helping us to create a "following" through our social media platforms. This is extremely interesting to see considering how far your ideas can spread if you generate content that appeals to a wide audience. The intersection of technology and patents is something that I feel I have a good base of knowledge with now, and I hope to continue to build upon this knowledge set in the future to create an online presence.
2. Individual vs. group activities:
• I really enjoyed the fact that our assignments were really a mixture of individual and group work. The individual work came in the form of creating blog posts and then creating new Youtube videos to accompany those. However, the true benefit from these assignments were the comments, where we all engaged as a class together. The structure of the class allowed for a great discussion and is something that I hope I can see in the future from other classes as well. When classes are just limited to individual work, it "silos" everyone and people cannot share their ideas and creativity.

Overall, loved this class! I feel that I came away with tangible skills on the patent world, while gaining a better understanding of the intangible aspects of the marketplace and the changing dynamics. I will be sure to keep up to date on the latest patent news because it has such a profound effect on our lives!

Best,

Payal

Week 13 - Key Takeaways #1

Hi everyone! We've been able to discuss a lot of key takeaways from this entire semester, and I really appreciated the way the professor has structured this course. We talked a lot about some takeaways and what we learned from the course, and I wanted to start off with these:

1. Peer engagement:
• The peer engagement through the comments was a great way to learn through the semester, from the minds and brains of our peers! I loved that I could get constructive feedback and positive encouragement at the same time for all of my assignments. It was great to see the passion that my peers had for helping my own content become that much better!
2. Creativity:
• This class really pushed my creative side, as I was always thinking of ways to make my posts more creative and witty and engaging. For a class on patents, I loved that it pushed my boundaries and really put me in the "authors" position, as I had never before realized how hard generating content is, as I was always the consumer of content, never the producer.

Stay tuned for the next few takeaways!

Week 12 - Post #4

Last post for the week - overall, I really enjoyed listening to Efrat's lecture on the intersection of business and patent law. She really had some great diagrams and key takeaways that put all we have been learning this semester into play. 

One key takeaway she discussed was the difference between the "Old Patent Marketplace" vs. the "New Patent Marketplace in the 21st Century"

In discussing a marketplace, first we need to understand the following:

• Key Players
• Key forces/drivers
• Relationships between all in the ecosystem

The Old Marketplace (as defined by Efrat):

In the old model, there were really only three key players that existed:

1. IP Creators/Holders - the usual "creative" minds behind patents
2. IP Users - those who wanted to license these ideas for applicable products and further items in the marketplace or for research
3. Enforcement - the US PTO would be in charge of overseeing this one-way relationship between these two

Overall, the communication was a one-way street. Legal enforcement could easily see the channel communications, and notify for any legal infringements that occurred between the licensing agreements of these two entities. This is before the introduction of the patent troll...

The New 21st Century Marketplace (as defined by Efrat):

In the new model, there are now FOUR key players that exist:

1. IP Creators/Holders - the usual "creative" minds behind patents
2. IP Users - those who wanted to license these ideas for applicable products and further items in the marketplace or for research
3. Enforcement - the US PTO would be in charge of overseeing this one-way relationship between these two
4. *Intermediaries - these encompass more than just patent trolls and have introduced a new class of companies involved in the patent practice
1. NPE's
2. Patent funds
3. Market makers
4. Financial services

Now, when we take a look at the practices and what has been happening in the 21st century market, it is extremely hard for ligitation and enforcement to keep track of where the "flow" of patent sales/licensing occur. Because more parties are now involved in this ever-changing marketplace, and some of those parties are not operating for the betterment of the patent system (aka trolls).

This marketplace mimics how the global marketplace is changing and adapting. The entrance of new players, most of whom are threats to the patent world, changes the dynamics of how our system works and creates a NEED to change patent law and the rules that govern this system. Our government needs to ensure that it is responding to these changes quickly!

Week 12 - Post #3

One of the key issues that Efrat explained to us in her lecture was surrounding the "America Invents Act." I wanted to delve deeper into this topic and see how it has truly impacted the patent world, when it was put into play around mid-2013.

The key changes are as follows:

1. Change from "first to invent" --> "first to file" 
1. This directly aligns the United States with the rest of the world on this issue
2. Establishment of the PTAB (Patent trial and appeals board) - this allows for a post-granting review process by a patent legal entity that can judge the merits of grants that are uncertain or that come into question.
3. Joinder of parties: this legally prohibits plaintiffs from being able to sue multiple defendants
4. The AIA allows accelerated examination merely by paying a surcharge
5. The AIA continues the trend of moving validity issues out of the federal courts and into the USPTO by allowing a 9-month post-grant public opposition period for applications filed after Sept. 16, 2012, or March 16, 2013 for some applications.
6. The AIA allows owners to file applications directly.
7. The AIA allows commonly owned patents and applications to not be prior art against each other.
8. The AIA strengthens patent validity by stating that “failure to disclose the best mode” and “failure to have correct inventorship” may not be used to invalidate a patent.
9. The AIA allows third parties to submit prior art against pending applications if submitted within 6 months after publication or before the first Examination Report.
10. The AIA allows patent owners more ways to correct patents after grant. Expands post-grant patent reexamination for consideration of prior art to now include a second proceeding called supplemental examination which would allow the USPTO to consider any information that raises a substantial new question of validity.
11. The AIA provides a prior user defense against a charge of infringement for an infringer in all lawsuits after Sept. 16, 2011 who can show commercial use more than a year before the filing date.
12. The AIA provides inventors with a 75% discount on USPTO fees if they have no more than 4 patents and a gross income less than 3 times median household income.

I want to delve into the Pro/Cons of the act:

Pro:

1. Aligns the United States with the patent filing process of other countries
2. Could speed up patent review and decrease the huge backlog that exists today
3. Cut down "general costs" that will make this option more affordable to all citizens to file

Con:

1. Although costs are cut, the majority of the fees still left in the patent process associated are with lawyers - a fee that favors corporations that can employ an army of lawyers and legal consultants
2. The trend on filing "first" can be a huge push against the "small inventor" to create this urgency to go through the process when products and other spin-off ideas may not be fully developed
3. Under the AIA, patent related fees will increase 15%.
4. Under the AIA, a $400 surcharge will be added for documents not filed electronically.
5. The AIA establishes a specific post-grant review program for business method patents involving financial products so the USPTO can determine if these “bank patents” are legitimate.
6. After enactment of the AIA, clients can expect legal fees will increase due to added difficulty to provide legal advice under two legal regimes.

Week 12 - Post #2

For this post, I want to discuss the macroeconomic forces that are changing and shaping the patent marketplace. Efrat was great in breaking this down into four key forces that are key to the marketplace's survival:

I actually found this model that Efrat built very similar to the ones that I see in my business courses when evaluating the strength or weaknesses of a marketplace. Given the rapidly changing technology landscape, we need to analyze the external forces affecting the patent marketplace. 

1. IP Litigation at an all time high - this is mainly due to the fact that patent trolls have been proliferating and growing for years now, reaching all time highs. They have been suing large corporations, and have therefore brought light to the justice system of this horrifying trend that has affected our intellectual property ecosystem. I have therefore listed this trend and force on the marketplace as a THREAT.
2. Very active patent transaction market - we can see from this course how active this market, which just shows that innovation and the need to file these patent to protect intellectual property has been increasing. Overall, this is a good thing for the ecosystem. I have listed this trend as an OPPORTUNITY.
3. USPTO Overloaded/Underfunded - as many other departments in the government are underfunded, it is not a surprise to see this statistic in this model. With the recent government shutdown and an impasse between the two parties, I can really only see this trend become even more pronounced as government departments are stripped to their bare minimum to save money through the next few months. Unfortunately, this really increases the time it takes to not only file a patent, but also to process and certify it too. Again, this is only going to slow innovation in the US, and I have therefore listed this trend as a THREAT.
4. Global competition - globalization is something that has been a trend for the past few decades. Although it has to led to increased competition, overall, the trend has been one to push companies to continue to innovate and ensure they are continue to be on top of their game, as they see competition not just from within their own borders but outside their borders too. I have therefore listed this an an OPPORTUNITY.

Week 12 - Post #1

Hi everyone! This week, we had an amazing guest speaker from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. 

Link to Efrat's LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekasznik

Her company ForeSight Valuation is doing some great things in the world of IP's and technology - as the a woman CEO, I really appreciate what she's doing in the industry:

I loved hearing from this speaker who was from the business school because it was interesting to see the perspective from a business professional as opposed to a scientist or engineer because I feel that patents really are at the intersection of business, law, and technology. It's important to gain a holistic perspective here.

I wanted to touch upon one particular slide that Efrat had in her presentation to our class (slide five). It was just amazing to see how much "intangible assets" have now dominated the total value of the S&P 500 Market. 

For such a key indicator as the S&P 500 to have almost 80% of its value derived from the intangible assets of company's that make up this globally recognized index shows how patent and intellectual properties has really dominated the stock market and the "value" that investors look for in a company when they want to invest. No longer are investors simply looking at the raw numbers for production levels, capacity, employee numbers, etc. 

Looking at how much the S&P has GROWN - seeing that "intangible assets" is such a big portion shows us how monumental this shift is:

They now look at a variety of different indicators - innovation, patent quality, copyrights, trade secrets, etc. These are now looking to be the "new age" indicators for solid investments for major corporations. Regardless of industry, these indicators are relevant to most major corporations trading on the S&P 500. Institutional and retail investors take into account these factors in order to figure out which company they should invest in. 

Week 11 - TED Talk #4

Last post for the week! Overall, I have really enjoyed being able to take a real-world perspective on these topics that we have been taking a look at this entire semester. This last TED Talk post is by Beth Simone Noveck.

Find the video link below:

Some background on Beth: she was the FIRST Chief Technology Officer for the US Government before being replaced by an ex-Google executive. She was a key driver with President Obama's "Open Government Initiative" and her whole goal within the government is to increase transparency. As a member of a generation where privacy attacks and invasion seems "commonplace" by the government, I appreciate Beth's work and her attitude towards the government to help the common citizen understand exactly is happening in the government. Her unique background in law and technology gives her a unique understanding to understand what is happening at the intersection of government and technology. 

She wants to create a two-way street for citizens and government to take control of data to create meaningful insights for all those stakeholders involved. This is an important concept that not many have taken, where they should empower the citizens of he US along with the government. Having an "opengov" (her term she coined) is what will ensure our future success.

Week 11 - TED Talks #3

Hi everyone! The next TED Talk that I wanted to discuss was on Kirby Ferguson's "Embrace the Remix." Find the link to the video here:

What I liked most about this video is that it really focused on particularly why patents are invented - to protect the creativity of people's minds! I think we usually forget that CREATIVITY is what sparks the mind and what allows for patents to be filed. Understanding the nature of creativity is extremely important so that we can create laws, legal terms and a legal framework to "protect" that creativity in the future.

He goes to describe the psychological bias that is prevalent around creativity and therefore, patents. I had never before heard of "loss aversion," which is a cognitive bias that makes all of us more willing to TAKE other's ideas, but makes us extremely angry when others take our thoughts and creative ideas. 

We can just bring this back to our regular lives, where we feel "okay" taking homework and help from our peers, but feel that we are "giving away" our thoughts when we need to help someone else. I never really made that connection before to the world of patents, and it's interesting to see that we rationalize these bias' to create a framework that has transferred down to patent laws.

When we realize that our "creativity" is likely taken inspiration from other's ideas, you get to realize that our entire patent system for copyright laws and patent laws almost have it backward, according to Ferguson! 

Week 11 - TED Talks #2

Hi everyone! Continuing with our trend for TED Talks, I wanted to link another interesting TED Talk regarding patents to this video here! It's actually revisiting a topic that we talked about a LOT in the previous weeks - patent trolls 

Find the video linked here:

This TED Talk was given by Drew Curtis, who is a law professor at the University of Missouri. What I have noticed is that a lot of those who are experts on patents are trained in law and have practiced in patent litigation for a number of years, and it easy to see why doing this would allow them to understand what is happening in the world of patents, especially with trends like "patent trolls."

His whole TED Talk was on his "strategy" for how he was able to defeat a patent troll that was trying to sue his news media company for a patent infringement. His whole mantra is that you should "not negotiate with terrorists." Drew brought up shocking statistics where he was able to prove that the costs from patent trolls on the US Economy > cost of terrorists on US soil. This really shows us how much monetary damage is ensuing because of these patent trolls. Overall, these are the key strategies to use:

1. Don’t fight the patent, fight the infringement – it’s a lot easier to prove that you haven’t infringed.
2. Either say you have no money, or that you’d rather spend money fighting the troll instead of giving it to them. Patent trolls need to recover their money, and if they’re less convinced they’ll get anything they are no longer interested in pursuing the case.
3. Tell them you will make this process as annoying and painful and difficult for them. These are the strategies a patent troll will use on you, but they need a quick return so it works really well when you reverse it.

Seems like really helpful advice considering that how ruthless patent trolls are!

Week 11 - TED Talks #1

Hi everyone! This week, we were able to watch TED Talks in class about patents, and our discussions were actually lead by two of our very own students (great job Mo & Abbey)! Was really interesting to see how the topics that we have discussed in class are coming to fruition in the real world.

Personally, I have been a huge fan of the TED Talks for a long time. I love that experts in a field are able to speak freely in an open forum on whatever topic they feel they know best, where new topics and conversations can be started just by a simple 10-15 minute talk! Patents have never really been a focus of mine when searching for TED Talks, but for these blog posts, I am going to be reviewing specific TED Talks that I really liked regarding patents here on the blog.

First TED Talk: 

This talk was led by Ellen 't Hoen - find her social media links below:

She is the founder of Medicines Patent Pool, where she specializes in the intersection between medicine and law - patents!! She particularly takes a strong stance with medical patents, and is one of the most influential people in the patent world, where she's gotten a lot of recognition from her peers and academia. Ellen is all about ensuring that these life-saving medical patents are available to those in third-world countries who cannot afford the TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars that these medicines cost! She is the advocate for the everyman - and I really love that! It's great to know that people like her are working towards a more equal world to license these patents to allow for a more affordable option to those with less income.

Here's her quick bio if anyone is interested:

"Ellen ’t Hoen is an independent medicines law and policy consultant. In 2009, she founded the Medicines Patent Pool at WHO/UNITAID, to accelerate the availability of low-cost HIV treatments, especially antiretroviral medicines, in developing countries through patent licensing. In June 2012 she stepped down from the MPP, but remains involved in supporting it.

She is a research fellow at the IS HIV/AIDS Academy of the University of Amsterdam and authored the book The Global Politics of Pharmaceutical Monopoly Power. Drug patents, access, innovation and the application of the WTO Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health. It's available as a free download .

Before founding MPP, from 1999 until 2009 she was the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Médecins sans Frontières’ (MSF) Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. She won several awards for her work on the effects of exposure to the drug (DES) in the 1980s and 1990s, including the prestigious Harriet Freezerring award in 1989. She is a member of the World Health Organization’s Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Policies and Management and a member of the advisory board of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM)."

Week 10 - Silly Patent #4

Hi all - last post for the week! 

Optical illusion wear is really related to fashion, and is very popular with women's clothing in particular. However, this patent has incorporated actual optical illusion patterns to change the way that a person's body looks, as opposed to using simple colors and the clothing shape to alter appearances.


Abstract: The present invention is a variety of wearing apparel which employs two-dimensional patterns of optical illusions in three-dimensional applications in or upon the material of said wearing apparel. The applications of said patterns in the design of the apparel are for the purposes of a) novelty, b) highlighting body areas for attention and/or c) creating bodily appearance modification based on the natural properties of the optical illusion pattern itself.

Week 10 - Silly Patent #3

Hi everyone! This is probably the most silly of all the patents that I found of the four: "Animal Toy" 

This animal toy mirrors exactly what a regular tree branch looks like, and this violates many of the qualities of a patent in that it cannot mirror nature and the biggest prior art is an actual tree branch.

Abstract: An apparatus for use as a toy by an animal, for example a dog, to either fetch carry or chew includes a main section with at least one protrusion extending therefrom that resembles a branch in appearance. The toy is formed of any of a number of materials including rubber, plastic, or wood including wood composites and is solid. It is either rigid or flexible. A flavoring (scent) is added, if desired. The toy is adapted to float by including a material therein that is lighter than water or it is adapted to glow in the dark, as desired, by the addition of a fluorescent material that is either included in the material from which the toy is made or the flourescent material is applied thereto as a coating. The toy may be segmented (i.e., notched) so as to break off into smaller segments, as is useful for smaller animals or, alternatively, to extend the life of the toy. Various textured surfaces including camouflage colorings are anticipated as are straight or curved main sections. The toy may be formed of any desired material, as described, so as to be edible by the animal.

Week 10 - Silly Patent #2

Hi everyone! The next silly patent is the "Marine mammal communication device" 

It is interesting that the patent filing company was actually Walt Disney Company! Seems interesting that this company was the one behind this patent because Disney does not have too much to do with marine mammals in its various businesses. 

Animal communication has not exactly happened yet, but the patent itself is pretty interesting in its design.

Abstract: An innovative communication device and learning tool that enables marine mammals, such as dolphins, to communicate with humans and with each other. The communication device includes a keyboard having a plurality of hollow keys. Each key includes a switch which can be activated by the dolphin, and a two- or three-dimensional object which can be distinguished by dolphins from other objects in other keys both visually and through echolocation. A microprocessor based controller can be used to associate audible feedback, such as unique words or phrases, with each key and to generate that word or phrase when the proper key is selected. Thus, a dolphin can select a word or phrase by locating the associated key and by activating the switch for that key to communicate with humans or with another dolphin. Likewise, a human can activate the switch to generate a spoken word or phrase to communicate with a dolphin. A photosensor switch can be advantageously used as a non-contact switch to enable the dolphin to use its rostrum or other body parts to select a key by breaking an optical beam generated across the opening of the key. Thus the dolphin simply swims towards the object in the key to activate the switch by breaking the beam. In addition to controlling the audible feedback when a key is selected, the controller can be used to record a log of events of the session, including the keys selected and the time at which such selections occurred, as well as observer comments.

Week 10 - Silly Patent #1

Hi everyone! This week we had an interesting assignment to find silly patents that were filed. Professor Lavian gave us quite a few hilarious silly patents, Considering how strict the entire path is to file patents and how expensive the process is, it is quite comical how these were even allowed to become official.

The first silly patent is "Anti-eating face mask" 

Abstract: An anti-eating face mask which includes a cup-shaped member conforming to the shape of the mouth and chin area of the user, together with a hoop member and straps detachably engageable with a user's head for mounting the cup-shaped member in overlying relationship with the user's mouth and chin area under the nose thereby preventing the ingestion of food by the user.

The main idea behind this invention was to combat obesity by forcibly stopping all wearers from the mask of eating any food. I think this really is trying to solve the problem of obesity in the world. If we take a look at the facts about this problem in the country, you can see how this invention was created:

When we take a hard look at the amount of US population obese, I can relate to why this patent was created.

We can see from Figure 3 that there is HUGE market for devices related to obesity-prevention and reduction. If this patent could capture a share of this market, these patent inventors could be VERY rich.

However, what I find is hilarious is that in the diagrams, it seems like Hannibal Lecter's mask from the movie "Silence of the Lambs." 

Week 9 - Largest NPE's

Hi everyone! I wanted to take a look at these patent troll companies and their websites to see how they have positioned themselves in the patent world. These are pretty visible companies, and the average consumer (with no knowledge of patents or someone who has not taken this class) might get the wrong idea on what exactly these companies do.

Topping out the list of the NPE's with the biggest number of patents in their portfolio was a company called "Intellectual Ventures." What is extremely surprising is how far ahead they are of their competition for the number of patents in their portfolio! They hold almost 10x the amount of patents than their biggest competitor.

I wanted to do some more research on IV, and started off with their website! They call themselves a maker in the "invention economy," even though they do not produce anything themselves. Seems a bit fishy, and the entire website almost has a "propaganda-like" feeling to it.

Week 9 - Further on NPE's

Hi everyone! Welcome back from spring break!
This week, I wanted to take an even deeper dive into NPE's and take a look at who is really affected by these non-practicing entities.

I knew that most of the victims of the patent trolls habits were corporations, but I did not realize how many were specifically just in the technology industry. Rounding out #1 was Apple Inc. Some possible reasons why there have been lawsuits by NPE's against Apple is because Apple really is the poster-child for technology product companies. Because they mainly focus on tangible products that have a multitude of functions and incorporate hundreds of patents regardless of the item (iPhone, Macbook, etc.). This essentially makes them easy targets for the patent trolls.

However, what I was most surprised about was that Walmart and Target, notable "big-box" retailers were on the list! Who would have thought that these two would be the target of patent trolls?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this list!