Week 5 EOC: Patent Trolls

The definition of Patent Troll is a disparaging term for someone who sues for patent infringement but who does not make or sell any products using the patented technology. (Patent, Copyright and Trademark An Intellectual Property Desk Reference, Pg. 137) In this article of The Wall Street Journal called, "New Breed of Patent Claim Bedevils Product Makers" they talk about these "patent trolls" who are going out and looking for companies who are putting fake patent numbers on their products. This is quite sickening to me knowing that their are people out there doing this. It's like they don't have anything else to do with themselves besides be a troll and find a way to make easy money. "According to Chicago-based merchant bank Ocean Tomo, which tracks patent suits, nearly 350 federal lawsuits have been filed since the December appellate court ruling."("New Breed of Patent Claim Bedevils Product Makers," Wall Street Journal) The world patent troll is perfect for all these people that are in the patent business only for suing. They are truly Americans from that point, since everyone just wants to sue everyone and make a bunch of money. Times are hard so lets just sue everyone. This is unbelievable, it truly is. A good example would be of The Tompkins, a wife and patent, who have sued more than a dozen companies for expired patents. ("Mr. Tompkins says he heard about the December federal-court ruling from lawyer friends. He and his wife then spent hours poring over Internet advertising to check for outdated patents on products." ("New Breed of Patent Claim Bedevils Product Makers," Wall Street Journal)  Unfortunately there is no way to get rid of trolls in the world since they are stuck behind their computers searching the internet for more out of date patents on products. All these patent trolls are just lazy people who want to make some quick money no matter how it's done.