It's no secret patent lawsuits are on the rise, and it turns out the same can be said for the ones filed by what have affectionately been called "patent trolls."
According to a new study published today by University of California Hastings College of the Law, lawsuits filed by patent trolls -- or as they are re-categorized "patent monetizers" -- saw a dramatic increase between 2007 to 2011.
As part of a research project put on by the Government Accounting Office, the law school teamed up with legal tracking and analytics tool Lex Machina to break out a cross-section of 500 lawsuits filed during that five-year period, pulling out 100 lawsuits a year that were picked by random.
"Lawsuits filed by patent monetizers have increased from 22 percent of the cases filed to almost 40 percent of the cases filed, and the increase has occurred in only five years," the study said.
The overwhelming majority of those cases settled and never went to trial, it added.
Other major findings include the fact that four of the five most lawsuit-happy patent holders from the data were considered patent monetizers as opposed to companies with existing products and services.
Related stories
- ... [Read more]
No comments:
Post a Comment