The phenomenon of “mutually assured destruction” generally creates a sharp check on the extent of patent battles between operating companies. In high-technology fields especially, companies possess — or can quickly acquire — some type of patent that would read on their competitors. So if they get sued, they can sue back to gain leverage.
But the rise of the patent-holding company has changed that calculus. Noting how effective a streamlined patent-enforcement operation can be, some corporations are creating licensing arms to enforce their patents against rivals or, in some cases, against companies that operate in industries they’ve left behind. One example is General Electric, whose licensing unit has filed at least three patent lawsuits three times since 2006. (Other companies do this without a separate licensing arm, a la Encyclopedia Brittanica.)
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