patent trolls
Sue-happy licensors
Patent trolls are companies or individuals who acquire patents not to make products but to extract licensing fees or lawsuit settlements from those who do.
They target businesses already using technology, threatening expensive litigation unless paid.
The term is pejorative: Patent trolls cost the tech industry billions annually.
Also called non-practicing entities, a neutral term favored by those in the business.
- lawsuitsLegal proceedings seeking remedy
- cease and desistLegal order to stop
- licensingGranting official permission
- licensing feesPayments for usage rights
- infringementViolation of rights
litigation · injunctions · enforcements · legal fees · settlement · copyright infringements · intellectual property · patentholders · compulsory licensing · extraction · shell companies · holding company · non-disclosure agreements · prior art · trade secret · proprietary technology · non-obviousness · hidden agenda
- intellectual propertycopyright, trademark, trademarks, copyrights, IP rights
- IP lawcopyright, trademark, trademarks, trademark law, copyright law
- patent lawprior art, patentability, invalidity, claims, inducement
- patentsUSPTO, EPO, PCT
- cybercriminalshacker, hackers, scammer, scammers, phishers
- infringerspirates, plagiarists, counterfeiters, bootleggers, forgers
patent, troll, patents, patented, patenting, patentee, patentable, unpatentable, trolls