Supreme Court Makes it Easier to Fight Patent Trolls

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a 2011 law designed to make it easier to defeat patent trolls was legal.

The law had been challenged by a company attempting to patent something which had long been done by other companies.

A patent troll is a company or person that acquires patents without the desire to actually develop the products. Instead of making money from the product, the company or individual launches patent infringement lawsuits.

The Supreme Court ruling upholds the process for challenging invalid patents and simplifies the process for companies to fight patent trolls.

The justices were unanimous in backing the legal standard used to cancel patents by a new appeals board at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Congress created the board in 2011 over concerns federal officials were issuing too many patents and fueling the rise of patent trolls.

The case before the Supreme Court focused on a patent held by Cuozzo Speed Technologies LLC that claims an invention for alerting drivers when they are speeding. GPS technology company Garmin brought a challenge at the Patent Office, which invalidated the Cuozzo patent after concluding its claims weren’t innovative when viewed against prior technologies.

Source: 9to5Mac, Slash Gear