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LSDefine
Simple English definitions for legal terms
patent troll
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A quick definition of patent troll:
A patent troll is someone who collects patents and threatens to sue people who they think are using their ideas without permission. They don't usually make anything themselves, but they make money by getting settlements from the people they sue. Sometimes they have patents that aren't very clear or important, but they still try to use them to make money. People also call them patent-holding companies, patent assertion entities, or non-practicing entities, but not all of these are patent trolls all the time.
A more thorough explanation:
A patent troll is a term used to describe a person or company that hoards patents for the purpose of threatening alleged infringers with legal action. They typically do not manufacture the products for which they hold patents, earning their income primarily from the settlements that they receive from the people or companies that they have threatened.
Patent trolls hold patents that are often vague and ambiguous and seek to enforce patent rights extending beyond the patent’s actual value or contribution to the prior art. This means that they may threaten legal action against companies that are not actually infringing on their patents, but are instead using similar technology or ideas.
For example, a patent troll may hold a patent for a broad concept like “online shopping carts” and threaten legal action against any company that uses an online shopping cart, even if the technology used by that company is different from what is described in the patent.
Patent-holding companies (PHC), patent assertion entities (PAE), and non-practicing entities (NPE) are often classified as patent trolls, though not all of these entities are patent trolls in every case.