Patent Risk Digest

From 2015 – 2018, the Patent Risk Digest provided a monthly update on market activity, policy, and legal developments related to patent litigation.

February 2017

Companies that make, sell or even just use technologies related to advertising practices, security systems, and mobile communications have all been hit with patent infringement suits recently. Also: why most prolific patent troll of 2016 is targeting SaaS (software-as-a-service) businesses.

January 2017

Updated data reaffirms that companies never before sued for patent infringement and companies with revenues less than $100 million are just the type that plaintiffs want to target in their next litigation. Also: why risk managers want protection against patent lawsuits as part of their standard liability coverage—and a look at patent risk by sector.

November 2016

If the sheer cost and number of patent infringement lawsuits that companies face every year doesn’t cause you concern about your own patent risk, you should take a look at the patent market. Along with litigation trends, market activity—the purchase and sale of patents between companies—shows the threat on the horizon.

October 2016

Patent risk tends to increase as new technologies emerge, or as existing technologies combine in ways to create new products and services. The convergence of technologies in smartphones led to a dramatic increase in patent litigation in that sector. So too now with the expansion of Internet of Things (IoT)—referring to the connection of a growing array of everyday products, services, and operations to the Internet—the conditions are prime for a surge in patent risk.

September 2016

The price tag on a single patent troll suit—a pricey split between a payment to the troll and legal fees—can be unexpected and steep enough to drive some companies out of business. In most cases, legal costs alone account for more than half of a company’s expenses.

August 2016

While a growing confluence of technologies used in products and services in the medical and healthcare space means better healthcare delivery and a trove of new medical and fitness products for consumers—it also means increased patent litigation risk for businesses. Read the full August issue.

July 2016

The widespread development and adoption of new technologies related to financial services is at the heart of a number of ongoing patent infringement litigation campaigns, targeting financial institutions, as well as companies in other sectors that use similar technologies in their basic operations. Read the full July issue.

June 2016

Companies that haven’t been sued by a patent troll for infringement are particularly vulnerable to new attacks. More than half of the 15,000+ companies that patent trolls have sued in recent years have been “first-time” defendants—those that never before faced such litigation. Read the full June issue.

May 2016

A patent troll litigation campaign that began in 2002 and has hit hundreds of defendants is still persisting—with more than 100 companies named in lawsuits just in the past 12 months. The patent infringement suits brought by Shipping & Transit LLC target a common business practice: emailing a tracking link to customers to monitor product shipping. Read the full May issue.

April 2016

Patent troll campaigns follow a formula. Each is organized around a single patent or group of patents that involve similar technologies, thus allowing the patent troll leading the campaign to target any number of companies that rely on that patented technology. Patent troll Phoenix Licensing has been executing just such a campaign for more than eight years. Read the full April issue.