An organization that uses its patents to generate revenue without manufacturing the products that the patents pertain to. The patents are usually purchased from a third party, which may be going out of business or is no longer interested in bringing the product to market.
Also called a "non-practicing entity" (NPE), which is the more noble term, the patent troll looks for infringers that have invested heavily in the product and often has to threaten them with or actually instigate a lawsuit in order to obtain licensing revenues. Companies that are involved in the business that the patent covers may indeed sue others for patent infringement, but that does not make them a patent troll. A patent troll is a holding company that buys patents based on their potential profitability if enforced.
Also called a "non-practicing entity" (NPE), which is the more noble term, the patent troll looks for infringers that have invested heavily in the product and often has to threaten them with or actually instigate a lawsuit in order to obtain licensing revenues. Companies that are involved in the business that the patent covers may indeed sue others for patent infringement, but that does not make them a patent troll. A patent troll is a holding company that buys patents based on their potential profitability if enforced.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Competition made Microsoft open source embedded .NET
- Hair line cracks?Is the "Kontrol" program from "Tron" beginning to crack?CE would be smart to go Linux.Less hassles, more reliability and no licensing costs.It's a no-brainer - Linux > Windows.LOL!"The handwriting was probably on the wall here years ago, when Linux bought Wind River, and when innovative start-up Cavium bought...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Apple's "force fed ads" patent more likely related to content, not hardware
- Perhaps neitherHopefully you are right and they'll use this process to allow customers to earn free content. Unfortunatley I see this as being a way for Apple to increase its warchest by forcing its followers to view ads. Perhaps it'll be a blend - view enough ads to put $10...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-17
- Groklaw suggests Microsoft sue, do over authentication
- Are you in any way trying to legitimize patent trolling?You are well aware that what Microsoft is doing is what we all used to call patent trolling aren't you?My guess...Nothing will happen... this is just MS trying to protect UAC and runas from paten lawsuits.Besides MS would be idiot... well...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-13
- Microsoft Patents Sudo - So Sudo me!
- i do think that it time for some rule and regulation .and some major MS legal bashing . anti-trust Adrian this is shameless self promotionYou would not even have this if a reader had not given it to you. Means nothing but what youre getting out of it, HITS....
- Discussion threads 2009-11-12
- SCO story ends with a whimper
- William Shakespear should have expanded on his "first ... the lawyers" bit!It is hard to feel sorry for people who go crying all the way to the bank!BAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!Good riddance.Someone remind meThis turned out exactly how Bitty/No Ax predicted, right?: o )SCO Xenix & UnixRather sad that their expertise at delivering...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-19
- Court reverses Microsoft patent-infringement ruling
- Maybe there is hope for the patent system yet.Just hope is all.But....We ALL know they were bribed.... Lol.Since when was MS's activation technology taken to court? They're sued for anything nowadays it seems like. Milking the cash cow I presume?The patent system is fineOn the whole, the patent system...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-30
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- Open_Source is the futureOpen_Source 'Linux distro' driven appliances are the future, such as the many companies already doing extremely well.Closed source is a huge lethargic insecure monopoly trying to license/patent everything, however it is failing miserably. Look at the exploits of Windows, $9 Billion in damages last year just from...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-21
- OIN outmanuevers Microsoft, buys Linux patents
- Win-Win for Linux distro's!As long as the Open_Source movement steamrolls ahead little by little the M$ Regime will deteriorate over time. RE: OIN outmanuevers Microsoft, buys Linux patentsIs it fair to say that OIN out maneuvered MS if you cannot tell if the patents have value? Surely, the open-source...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-09
- OIN outmanuevers Microsoft, buys Linux patents
- The Open Invention Network seems to have one upped Microsoft. Â Or has Microsoft one upped OIN? Either way, it's win-win for Linux. Yesterday, OIN, whose mission is to defend Linux and open source from patent trolls, purchased 22 Linux related patents Microsoft recently sold...
- Blog posts 2009-09-09
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- Software downloads 2009-09-09
- Linux group buys up 22 patents
- Nothing but good news here. You are now free to innovate.And Microsoft was hoping these would end up with a patent troll who would assert them against open source companies . . . . Makes me want to cry!!And where in your paranoid imagination did you come up with that?Honestly,...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-08
- What do Linux vendors want with those former Microsoft graphics patents?
- Trolls are worse than MicrosoftMS could face retribution from the likes of IBM, whose portfolio and depth of patents dwarf most other stockpiles. Most likely this has been the main source of MS restraint - only saber rattling - to date.A troll has no legitimate business to protect and...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-08
- Word saved? Microsoft gets stay of injunction in i4i patent battle
- M$ bribed againIts dirty cash is destroying the fabric of justice and America.This kind of misscarige of justice would not have been possible if the gouverment was run by conservatives.Uh......... NoI think you need to go back and re-read the history of the case.MS clinging to hold on...You can only...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-04
- Microsoft granted stay of Word injunction
- RE: Microsoft granted stay of Word injunction Still thieves not "innovators".failed to live up to his role as "gatekeeper"...In English, that translates to "We lost, therefore somebody must have cheated." Microsoft as a company clearly believes that it simply can do no wrong. They must have attended the...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-04
- Red Hat: Microsoft taking cloud back to the 80s
- Red Hat should feel right at home then because using their software is like using something out of the 80's. I'll prefer a modern company like Microsoft instead of a company based on 30 year old technology such as Red Hat. My theory is that Red Hat is...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-03
- MSFT appeals judge's block of Word
- It is hard to be sympathetic...... to a company that a wilfully infringed the patent in the first place, and b is more than happy to rattle the same software patent sabre at other companies when it's in its own interests to do so.Letting MS off the hook would basically...
- Discussion threads 2009-08-26
- Apple: 'Continues to study' Google Voice apps; AT&T: We played no part
- Uh, no."Simply put, Apple considers that takeover one helluva bug." Did you read the same letter I did? Because the words [i]I[/i] saw said that Apple hadn't approved GV because it duplicated iPhone functions and did some iffy stuff with Contacts. Apple doesn't consider that a bug, they consider it...
- Discussion threads 2009-08-21
- Microsoft Word patent-infringement case: Playing chicken
- They will patchand then will try vigorously to render the offending patent invalid.i4i will become the next Eolas: irrelevant but with a lot of money from MS.If you don't infringe, then why do you care to provethe patent is invalid?Because a court does think you infringeDo you know what is...
- Discussion threads 2009-08-21
- Microsoft appeals for stay of Word injunction
- Microsoft didn't mention this when they should have!Great day for Open Office - i4i said it has looked at OpenOffice and found it doesn?t infringe on its patents. Oh dear. Poor Microsoft. From Groklaw -http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20090817235436439"I have a question for Microsoft. Why didn't they tell us about this i4i patent litigation...
- Discussion threads 2009-08-19
- Will XTent go whole or in pieces?
- The intellectual property held by this company could cause the industry a lot of grief down the road if it gets cut in pieces, or goes to some patent troll. by Dana Blankenhorn
- Blog posts 2009-08-17
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