Retailers welcome Supreme Court ruling on patent trolls
The National Retail Federation welcomed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued Tuesday that it says will help stop patent trolls.
The ruling upholds the constitutionality of a process that allows bad patents to be reexamined administratively at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and thereby eliminates many lawsuits by patent owners who are called out as "trolls" because they don’t use their patents to make products.
The trolls are companies that purchase often-obscure and weak patents for technology that they did not invent, then demand licensing fees from retailers and other businesses that often do not realize the technology is even patented, according to NRF. Trolls usually lose in court, but court costs are so high retailers are often coerced into a settlement. Retailers have been heavily targeted by patent trolls in recent years.
“This ruling is a major step toward stopping patent trolls and their attempts to commit extortion against retailers and other businesses that have done nothing wrong,” NRF senior VP and general counsel Stephanie Martz said. “The threat of bankrupting a small business with legal fees has been one of trolls’ most powerful weapons. Making it clear that many cases can and should be resolved by fixing patents at the patent office rather than rushing to court to sue for infringement makes it much easier for our members to fight patent trolls.”
The ruling upholds the constitutionality of a process that allows bad patents to be reexamined administratively at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and thereby eliminates many lawsuits by patent owners who are called out as "trolls" because they don’t use their patents to make products.
The trolls are companies that purchase often-obscure and weak patents for technology that they did not invent, then demand licensing fees from retailers and other businesses that often do not realize the technology is even patented, according to NRF. Trolls usually lose in court, but court costs are so high retailers are often coerced into a settlement. Retailers have been heavily targeted by patent trolls in recent years.
“This ruling is a major step toward stopping patent trolls and their attempts to commit extortion against retailers and other businesses that have done nothing wrong,” NRF senior VP and general counsel Stephanie Martz said. “The threat of bankrupting a small business with legal fees has been one of trolls’ most powerful weapons. Making it clear that many cases can and should be resolved by fixing patents at the patent office rather than rushing to court to sue for infringement makes it much easier for our members to fight patent trolls.”