The rulings are a blow to Munich-based patent holding company IPCom which has sued mobile-device makers over technology it acquired from Robert Bosch GmbH in 2007. The “100” series patents, which also apply to methods helping to place emergency calls, are the central piece of its portfolio.
IPCom, which doesn’t make any products, is one of a group of firms that license its patents and file lawsuits to generate revenue, earning the moniker “patent trolls” from its targets. Apple was among 19 companies and associations that petitioned the European Union in a letter this week to weaken the ability of non-manufacturers to win injunctions in intellectual-property cases.
“IPCom’s story has come to an end” with the ruling, said Martin Chakraborty, HTC’s attorney.
I love the phrase “IPCom, which doesn’t make any products”. Goes to the heart of the definition of a patent troll.
Dolby doesn’t make any products. Neither does ARM. Both companies make money by licensing their patents to other companies. Patent trolls? I don’t think so. IP is their product, that’s what they make.
And even if the NPE has not even made the r&d, it doesn’t mean it’s automatically a troll. Outsourcing negotiations to a company that knows how to handle it is totally valid way to monetize for an inventor (be it an individual, company or a consortium).
Let’s assume I have invented something valuable (I’ve probably used all my time and money developing it). I can’t afford to sue Apple if they infringe a patent of mine, nor could I handle dozens of negotiations for all the other companies. I’d still want to get paid for my invention. Easiest way to do it is to sell IP to an NPE. I can’t do that if NPE’s can never get their money back.
It takes a lot more to make a troll, being an NPE is just one, and not the most important symptom. Far more telling is the way of working. Are they just trying to scare other companies to settle for cheaper than litigation or do they try to negotiate in good faith, reasonability of demands, quality of the patents asserted, etc.