09.30.10
Patent Trolls Disrupt Business Navigation
[Cartoon]
Trolls are described as mischievous and downright evil. This is a perfect description for patent trolls.
The patent process was established to protect an individual’s great ideas. Having a patent grants the holder an exclusive right to use the patent to seek revenues by providing a better product or service than their competitors.
Because patents may be owned by corporations and have a longer life span than the inventor or inventors, the law provides for selling patents. This is good when the buyer is fully intending to compete by providing the product or service covered by the patent. But, it is not good when the buyer of a patent has only litigation in mind.
When litigation is the sole purpose of purchasing a software patent, the troll seeks out large organizations. These are organizations that produce software in the realm of a troll’s patent. These are the organizations that could offer the greatest dollar amount in a legal settlement.
The troll attempts to build a case that the large organization has produced a software product that violates their patent rights. For the troll, it is not necessary that there be a good case. The reason is that it is not the potential of having a judge or jury offers a large settlement. The real potential comes from settling out of court with the large organization.
But why would a large organization want to settle with a troll? In most cases, it is easier to pay off the troll rather than spending months or years in a legal battle. The payoff is much more predictable than going to court to have a judge or jury award a large settlement. There could be a disruption in the organization’s business. This disruption could far outweigh any settlement.
So, trolls exist because they can. They are evil. They are despicable. They are counterproductive to the purpose of the patent process. They are one more potential problem for the Enterprise Architect to plan for.
Enterprise Architects are well-aware of the continuing evolution of technology. They creatively look for technology convergence that can provide breakthroughs in thinking. We are at one of those convergent junctions today. What is about to happen will give non-professional information technologists control of their use of automation in their business. No longer will they simply peer through windows and see only what applications let them see. They will be able to go inside, see how things work, and control their automation. – Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.
