Have you ever heard of a patent troll?
All innovators face the reality that many, many things have been thought of already, and are patented is some markets. We have to work hard to ensure our ideas are not only useful, necessary, and cool, but also completely new and original. That's why it's so frustrating to see our efforts bogged down with frivolous patent lawsuits. The "trolls" are the often-shadowy legal entities who file these suits, sometimes hundreds of claims at a time, many without merit. Why? Because they can. There is little or no legal barrier or downside to their doing so in the USA, and the suits can cost millions to fight, while the trolls dangle settlements of tens of thousands to make them go away.

Have you ever heard of a patent troll?
All innovators face the reality that many, many things have been thought of already, and are patented is some markets. We have to work hard to ensure our ideas are not only useful, necessary, and cool, but also completely new and original. That's why it's so frustrating to see our efforts bogged down with frivolous patent lawsuits. The "trolls" are the often-shadowy legal entities who file these suits, sometimes hundreds of claims at a time, many without merit. Why? Because they can. There is little or no legal barrier…  Read more...