A post earlier this year (“The Effect of an Economic Downturn on NPE Litigation” 1/27/09) cited historical data to suggest that NPE patent litigation increases in a deteriorating economic environment. Based on NPE activity through the first half of 2009, it appears that history is indeed repeating itself. According to Patent Freedom statistics, in 2008…
Read full postMany companies adopt ‘never settle, fight everything’ strategies when faced with NPE patent assertions. The rationale, generally borrowed from mass tort defense, is that by vigorously defending every attempted assertion via litigation, even those that could be settled for less than the cost of litigation, a company can establish a reputation as a ”hard target”…
Read full postIn February 2008, Quito Enterprises, a non-practicing entity (NPE), purchased a patent on personal recommendation systems at the Ocean Tomo Live IP Auction for $1.2M. Quito subsequently filed patent infringement cases against 13 internet companies including Netflix, Amazon, Yahoo, RealNetworks, last.fm, Pandora Media, Slacker Inc., Veoh, Hulu, NBC Universal, CBS, News Corp., and Strands that use ratings…
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