With nearly 20 lawsuits in nine countries, Apple Inc. and Samsung’s ongoing legal battles highlight a widespread patent war that shows no signs of a cease-fire. Aggregate damage awards in technology patent lawsuits have surpassed $4.8 billion since 2006, with individual awards as high as $300 million in the past three years. There is no doubt that we’ve entered a new era in patent litigation, that’s escalating almost as quickly as the technology in question.
This stands in stark contrast to what was happening few years ago. Smaller patent holders, the so-called trolls, were litigating against large companies, and exposing the true value of technology patents in the process. But with a lower success rate of 21 percent in 2010 similar to the trend seen in the years prior to the heydays of 2008 and 2009 the stigma that was attached to the trolls for taking legal action is swiftly disappearing.
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