Friday, January 31, 2020

Maurer & Haber - An Empirical Analysis of the Patent Troll Hypothesis: Evidence from Publicly-Traded Firms

Professors Noel Maurer & Stephen Haber wrote an interesting article: An Empirical Analysis of the Patent Troll Hypothesis: Evidence from Publicly-Traded Firms that addresses patent monetization, innovation, and patent trolls.

From the Abstract: "Do firms that earn revenues from licensing patent portfolios, rather than producing physical products—often called patent assertion entities (PAEs)—frustrate or facilitate innovation?

Using a sample of 17 years of SEC filings by all 26 publicly-traded firms that an expert (RPX Corporation) categorized as PAEs, we estimate spending on, patent acquisition, and litigation; and their revenues, rates of return, and risk-return ratios. We also estimate an upper bound of the transfer from operating companies to those 26 firms, including the cost of defending against their lawsuits.

We find that sample firms spent twice as much on R&D (as a percentage of revenues) than the average for large high technology companies. We also find that most sample firms lost money. 

Finally, we find that the magnitude of the transfer from operating companies (including legal defense costs), represents only 0.28% of the revenues of the U.S. high technology market. These findings are inconsistent with the characterization of the PAE business model in an influential policy and academic literature."
 
Copyright © 2020 Robert Moll. All rights reserved.

Thursday, January 30, 2020

OC Register - Cal Tech wins $1.1 billion patent infringement case against Apple, Broadcom

Another huge damage award for US patent infringement:

Yesterday, a jury awarded $1.1B in damages for Apple and Broadcom's infringement of Caltech's U.S. Patent Nos. 7,116,710, 7,421,032 and 7,916,781.

For details see OC Register article Cal Tech wins $1.1 billion patent infringement case against Apple, Broadcom.

Copyright © 2020 Robert Moll. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Professor Osenga - Saving Functional Claiming: The Mismatch of § 112 Reform in the § 101 Reform Debate

Professor Osenga's article Saving Functional Claiming: The Mismatch of § 112 Reform in the § 101 Reform Debate  discusses the state of US patent law reform. It also states linking 35 USC 112 as "part" of the 35 USC 101 patent eligibility reform effort is not a good idea especially for software related inventions.

Copyright © 2020 Robert Moll. All rights reserved.

USPTO - New Toolkit for those new to PTAB Proceedings

Today, the USPTO announced a Toolkit for those new to Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings:

"We are committed to expanding resources available to individual inventors, small businesses, and those new to or with limited experience with the patenting process. As part of that effort, PTAB has prepared a New to PTAB toolkit available on the PTAB webpage of the USPTO website.

The toolkit contains a wide variety of information about the Board and its proceedings. For example, the toolkit walks through the basics of how to file an ex parte appeal to seek review of a final rejection made by an examiner. The toolkit also details the various steps involved in post-grant proceedings, such as an inter partes review, and what options the parties have at each step to make their case. Additionally, the toolkit features videos and frequently asked questions including how to prepare for and present arguments at an oral hearing. Best of all, the toolkit provides points of contact for follow-up questions.

Check out the New to PTAB toolkit today. If you have suggestions on additional resources that we can make available regarding PTAB proceedings, please email us at trials@uspto.gov."

Copyright © 2020 Robert Moll. All rights reserved.