Patents not only protect valuable technology, they are increasingly becoming assets in their own right, traded and licensed in a standalone market. WIPR looks at Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation to find out more about NPEs.
Companies have always invested in research and development and filed for patents to protect those investments, but now more than ever they are going on the offensive. If one company cannot out-sell a competitor, it may try to out-litigate it.
A competitive edge is not the only reason to litigate a patent. There are companies that do not manufacture or otherwise produce anything in the industries where their patents are normally used.
‘Non-practising entity’ (NPE) is often used to describe companies like Intellectual Ventures, Acacia Research, Millennium Partners and Round Rock Research LLC because they assert patents and agree licensing deals for patents without, as far as anyone can see, manufacturing, producing or selling products covered by those patents. What’s more, this makes them difficult to countersue.
The rest of this article is locked for subscribers only. Please login to continue reading.
If you don't have a login, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content. Please use this link and follow the steps.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription to us that we can add you to for FREE, please email Atif Choudhury at achoudhury@worldipreview.com
NPEs, Intellectual Ventures, RPX Corporation