

Fighting patent trolls with the LOT Network - daw___
https://github.com/blog/1936-fighting-patent-trolls-with-the-lot-network

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joshstrange
Forgive me for asking a stupid question but why would someone from the LOT
network sell a patent to a troll and why wouldn't companies that make money
from selling to a troll join the LOT network?

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DannyBee
Patent Trolls are often buying "unused" patents from various companies.
Usually what happens is a startup or something goes downhill, and assets get
sold, or a slowly dying company decides to change it's view on IP assertion or
"maximizing shareholder value through licensing". Even normal companies often
sell patents not at the core of their business to make money on the side,
(where non-core would be like IBM's patents on bathroom reservations,
[http://www.google.com/patents/US6329919?dq=system+and+method...](http://www.google.com/patents/US6329919?dq=system+and+method+for+providing+reservations+for+restroom+use)).

As for "why wouldn't companies that make money from selling to a troll join
the LOT network?", because it would mean the trolls would not derive value
from the patents, since all participants in LOT would get a license when that
sale happened.

If LOT contains everyone the troll wants to sue, then the patent is not worth
anything to the troll.

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Flenser
Couldn't a LOT member still sell to a troll using the Change of Control
provisions?

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jtokoph
"Under the LOT Agreement, every company that participates grants a portfolio-
wide license to the other participants, but the license becomes effective ONLY
when the participant transfers one or more patents __to an entity other than
another LOT Network participant __, and ONLY for the patent(s) actually
transferred. "

Doesn't this mean that if every company were to join the network that we would
just end up back at square one with tons of money being pumped into this
organization?

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TheMagicHorsey
Ultimately useless because Trolls are now writing their own trivial patents.
In addition to this, tons of solo practitioner attorneys are out there writing
patents on their own hoping to sell some broad bullshit patent to a troll.

Still, this is a good effort in that it gets people thinking about the
problem. That's the first step before real reform.

~~~
anseljh
Got data?

