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