The district courts and Congress can and should take steps to create a fair hand for product manufacturers. Nonpracticing entities, also known as “patent trolls,” file nearly one in five patent infringement suits today, a tenfold increase from the late 1990s, according to PatentFreedom.com. Certainly, research institutions or individuals have an absolute right to protect their inventions, but many NPEs obtain patents for the sole purpose of forcing third parties to purchase licenses.
Aside from the question of whether NPEs abuse the patent system (and the answer is often “yes”), what can be done when the deck is stacked against product manufacturers? Congress and the courts should change the game to give product manufacturers a better hand.
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