[ NNSquad ] Patent trolls want $1,000-for using scanners

[Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>]

Patent trolls want $1,000-for using scanners

http://t.co/0z3KK4j5  (ars technica)

    Vicinanza's experience puts him at the heart of a type of "patent
    trolling" that has taken off in the past year. The Project
    Paperless via AdzPro letter-writing campaign is a kind of
    lowest-common-denominator patent demand. Patent-licensing
    companies are going after the users of everyday technology rather
    than their traditional targets, the tech companies that actually
    make technology.  This year, more than ever, trolls have moved
    beyond tech in a big way.  Smaller and smaller companies are being
    targeted. In a paper on "Startups and Patent Trolls," Prof.
    Colleen Chien of Santa Clara University found that 55 percent of
    defendants to patent troll suits are small, with less than $10
    million in annual revenue. Even in the tech sector, a full 40
    percent of the time, respondents to patent threats are being sued
    over technology that they use (like scanners or Wi-Fi) rather than
    their own technology.

 - - -

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
 - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren 
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
_______________________________________________
nnsquad mailing list
http://lists.nnsquad.org/mailman/listinfo/nnsquad