The Patent Troll Myth

buildingipvalue.com

4 pointsnull_para2 comments

"So what do these patent trolls do that is so wrong? Apparently, the answer is that patent trolls do not manufacture the technology that is embodied by the patents that they seek to enforce. But is this really wrong? The answer to this should be a resounding ‘No’. Consider the names of some individual inventors who ultimately formed companies to exploit their ideas, yet initially manufactured nothing: Westinghouse (air brake), Ford (car), Gillette (razor), Otis (elevator), Goodyear (synthetic rubber), Kellogg (grain harvester), DuPont (gun powder), Owens (glass) and Fermi (neutronic reactor). This list represents just a few of the individuals who, in most cases, worked alone and without corporate support, yet created not just new inventions, but whole new industries that today employ millions of people."

I guess they executed their ideas too...

It's a well written article, what does HN think?

I think its a troll.

"Apparently, the answer is that patent trolls do not manufacture the technology that is embodied by the patents that they seek to enforce."

This is a strawman. The issue isn't that patent trolls are generally NPE's. The issue is that they seek to leverage dubious and obvious patents that never should have been granted in the first place. By capitalizing on the overburdened USPTO's tendency to grant patents by default, they are retarding innovation in the industry and leeching profits off companies who are doing nothing but implementing obvious solutions to problems.

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