Congressional Research Services: An Overview of the “Patent Trolls” Debate

From the summary of the report by Legislative Attorney Brian T. Yeh:

Congress has recently demonstrated significant ongoing interest in litigation by “patent assertion entities” (PAEs), which are colloquially known as “patent trolls” and sometimes referred to as “non-practicing entities” (NPEs). The PAE business model focuses not on developing or commercializing patented inventions but on buying and asserting patents, often against firms that have already begun using the claimed technology after developing it independently, unaware of the PAE patent.

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This report reviews the current debate and controversy surrounding PAEs and their effect on innovation, examines the reasons for the rise in PAE litigation, and explores the legislative options available to Congress if it decides that these are issues that should be addressed

Read or download the PDF of the report here:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42668.pdf

FTC Report - The evolving IP Marketplace

THE EVOLVING IP MARKETPLACE: ALIGNING PATENT NOTICE AND REMEDIES WITH COMPETITION INTRODUCTION

Innovation benefits consumers through the development of new products, processes and services that improve lives and address unmet needs. It is key to meeting society’s greatest challenges in areas as diverse as energy production, communications and health care, and it is essential to sustained economic growth and global competitiveness. But innovation is a complex process. It involves a series of steps from idea to invention through development to commercialization, each of which can be expensive, risky and unpredictable.

Down the FTC Report (PDF)

The Cost of Obtaining a Patent in the US

Estimating US patent costs is a difficult matter because so much depends on the technology involved. Nevertheless, I am still routinely asked for ballpark figures and estimates, so what follows should give some guidance when budgeting through the filing of a patent application at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It will also be helpful to review Patent Attorney Fees Explained and US Patent Office Fees.

Full article at IPWatchdog: http://ipwatchdog.com/2011/01/28/the-cost-of-obtaining-patent/id=14668/