Patent trolls function as one
of the worst cancers on innovation. These companies, which don’t actually
produce any tech products, wield (suspect) patents and search out any firm,
large or small, that might infringe on said-patents and threaten to take them
to court. Most times they know they don’t have a case and settle before a
trial. The accused companies typically find it’s easier to pay a lower amount —
often called “nuisance fees” — than suffer the legal fees and time-wasting of a
court case.
Now Joe Mullin at Ars Technica reports
that one entrepreneur is fighting back harder than usual. FindTheBest CEO Kevin
O’Connor claims that the troll that’s come
after his company has been so brazen that it’s actually violated racketeering
laws.
O’Connor, who also cofounded
digital ad agency DoubleClick, which Google bought for the tidy sum of $3.1
billion, pledged a million dollars to help fight this troll. In July he penned
a piece called “How to slaughter a patent troll in 5 steps”
and reminded tech companies: You are
fighting for the entity you have poured your time and resources into. You’re
using technology to solve a problem that you believe in. What is the patent
troll fighting for? A settlement worth a few thousand dollars? Your cause is
bigger and worth the fight.
Big names are starting to take
the fight back to the trolls. Rackspace launched a public attack on a notorious patent troll earlier ….ToRead More….
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