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If you’ve never heard of Intellectual Ventures, get your confused face ready. This patent holding firm, which makes nothing but does hold about 35,000 patents, has filed suit against Motorola Mobility for patent infringement. IV says it has been in talks with Motorola for some time, but has been unable to reach a deal for licensing of the IV patent portfolio. Unwilling to allow “ongoing infringement,” the lawyers are gearing up.
IV has made name for itself acquiring patents from all over the country, and using them to extract licensing fees from organizations large and small. Many of the patents are for extremely broad processes that could be applied to most pieces of technology. IV says that Motorola itself is infringing on six patents, but did not specify which ones.
It could be that Motorola is trying to wait out IV until the Google acquisition goes through, but that could take longer than expected. How do you feel about what IV does?
Comments are closed on this article
SodaAnt
October 10, 2011 at 10:50am
The real problem with trolls like this is that they have no deterrant factor. When one tech company sues another, the sued corporation countersues and they have a big two sided battle. HOwever, since patent trolls make no products that could be infringing, they can't be sued, so it becomes an even more one sided battle.
stevenr22
October 07, 2011 at 6:32am
Is anyone surprised that the founders of this company are from microsoft?
livebriand
October 06, 2011 at 7:25pm
Stupid patent trolls... why can't we just get rid of all these idiots by reforming the patent system?
Keith E. Whisman
October 06, 2011 at 7:23pm
soon it will be impossible to start up a new company producing new technology because the patent trolls will charge so much that you wont be able to get started unless you are an already successfull multibillion dollar corporation. Goodbye small business. what bothers me is how large companies do everything they can to destroy small businesses but they themselves started out as a small business. its like they think that now that I'm successfull I'm going to make sure nobody else succeeds.
tornato7
October 06, 2011 at 3:55pm
One day soon, all of the patents in the world will be held by patent trolls who produce no products. Then, no products can ever come out because they would be infringing on patents. We would revert back to a caveman like era.
Marthian
October 06, 2011 at 9:29pm
or we'd all be dead, some asshole would probably try patenting breathing and eating as well.
Neufeldt2002
October 06, 2011 at 3:45pm
Patent Trolls and their companies need to go the way of the Dodo.
Jox
October 06, 2011 at 4:14pm
I hate to resort to using this term, but: "Don't hate the player, hate the game". Patent trolls can only exist in a system as broken as this one. What's needed is a complete overhaul of patent law. Trolls will starve to death when they have no means of abusing the system.
-Jox
