Be Sort To That Troll ...

Be form to that patent troll, he mightiness only endure an inventor

has only had a abrupt thought, sparked off past times reading Duncan Bucknell's slice on strategic responses to patent trolls. The abrupt bolt of lightning is this: we've got a major occupation of discrimination correct now, caused past times people existence besides 'trollist'.

Every entity that owns in addition to licenses patents, without genuinely making anything, is capable of falling inside the course of written report of entities called "patent trolls". The concept is a vivid ane - nosotros all know that trolls are evil creatures from Nordic folklore who command essential facilities in addition to brand demands of those who would purpose them. The give-and-take "troll" inwards English linguistic communication also resonates amongst "toll", a taxation levied on an unwilling payee. What ameliorate means to stigmatise a mortal who charges rent for the purpose of a patent than to telephone weep upwards him a patent troll?

The same phenomenon appears amongst the unpopular give-and-take "landlord", suggesting some powerful baron who volition batter downward doors in addition to fix dogs upon uncooperative tenants, exercising the jus primae noctis against their daughters (and sons, the Kat supposes, this existence the 21st century). But the landlord (or landlady) is to a greater extent than probable to endure an elderly pensioner, letting out a spare room for a fleck of much-needed cash than a propertied demon/racketeer.

Left: some trolls tin forcefulness out endure quite cuddly - thus let's non endure trollist

What the IPKat is getting to is this: the commercial human relationship of patent licensee to licensor should endure both judged in addition to regulated past times clear in addition to fair legal criteria rather than past times name-calling in addition to stigmatisation. The small-time inventor who creates in addition to patents a small-time inventor but lacks the resources to brand it, the academy enquiry squad whose academic brilliance extends the boundaries of scientific discipline but does non extend to the arts of industry in addition to marketing, the pension fund that invests inwards intellectual belongings rather than solid reason or part equities - are these all trolls?

What's more, if you're going to endure a nasty, evil troll, it's light-headed using patents to hitting other people over the caput with. For ane thing, their term is express in addition to highly vulnerable to challenge for invalidity; for another, they're expensive fifty-fifty for trolls to litigate. Also, abuses of monopoly ability are plain of written report to such devilish devices every bit compulsory licence applications in addition to contest laws. Finally, people accept been known to invent some inconvenient patents.

Merpel adds: it's strange, but a fellowship that has States of America or European patents, but manufactures nether them past times outsourcing to a province where sweat-shop labour is dirt-cheap in addition to legal rule of labour in addition to the surroundings is all but non-existent, seems to instruct far less criticism than a draw organisation that creates or buys patents - presumably from people who willingly sell them - in addition to thus charges for their use.

Right: never a groovy speller, Merpel struggles to grasp the departure betwixt 'sweat shops' in addition to 'sweet shops' ...

To conclude, no-one wants to encounter patents lying idle, or existence used every bit tools of extortion - but let's retain a feel of proportion when debating the merits of patent ownership in addition to exploitation in addition to non permit the purpose of emotive damage distract us from the existent issues.