Unified Patents, the San Jose-based provider of consulting services to help businesses deter lawsuits filed by nonpracticing entities (NPEs), has launched two new programs designed to help startups avoid the threat of frivolous litigation.

The first, called Secured by Unified, enables members to include a logo on their homepage indicating they are members of the group. This would signal to abusive NPEs, also known as patent trolls, that attempts to extort money by threatening litigation will not work.

“We hope this new program sends a loud and clear warning to NPEs that asserting dubious patents in Unified's protected zones comes with enormous potential downside, and that they should think twice before bringing a lawsuit,” said Jake Ward, acting president of the Application Developers Alliance.