Chinese ‘Patent Trolls’ attack US entities

Home / Blog / China / Chinese ‘Patent Trolls’ attack US entities

WASHINGTON, September 1, 2014

Comedian Adam Carolla was elated when his Adam Carolla Show won the Guinness World Record as the most downloaded podcast on earth. That was in 2011.

On January 7, 2013, Personal Audio LLC slapped Carolla’s podcasting empire, Carolla Digital, with a lawsuit for alleged patent violations.

According to the complaint, Carolla used an “apparatus for disseminating a series of episodes represented by media files via the Internet as said episodes became available… employing one of said one or more communication interfaces to… download said updated version of said compilation files to said requesting client device.

In other words, creating a podcast, compiling sequential episodes online, and allowing the public to download them, violates Personal Audio’s patent. In essence, they claim to own podcasting.

Personal Audio recently announced it has dropped its suit against Carolla, but said it will continue to seek damages against CBS, NBC, and Fox, which have deeper pockets.

Personal Audio is known as a “non-practicing entity” (NPE), which produces no products for sale, but uses patent claims to extract money from so-called violators in the form of licensing fees. NPEs are popularly known as “patent trolls.”

A Boston University School of Law study estimates that patent trolls cost U.S. companies $29 billion in 2011.

What if patent trolling becomes a weapon of state-sponsored economic warfare?

“Chinese high-tech companies are on the counterattack regarding intellectual property rights, which used to be very much a soft spot,” said the China Daily. China’s Silicon Valley, Zhongguancun, recently received a $15 million infusion from the state to create a patent acquiring entity called Ruichuan IPR Funds.

Author Name :
ttconsultants

About TTC
We’ve constantly identified the value of new technology carried out by our pretty skilled executive crew with backgrounds as  our professionals. Like the IP professionals we empower, our starvation for development is never-ending. We IMPROVISE, ADAPT, and IMPLEMENT in a strategic manner.
 
You also can CONTACT US to set up a consultation.
 
TT Consultants is a leading partner in intellectual property (IP) management. Our worldwide service range comprises both legal and portfolio services, as well as strategic IP consulting and cutting-edge software solutions for effective IP management.
 
The TT Consultants offers a range of efficient, high quality solutions for your intellectual property management ranging from Patentability Search, Invalidation Search, FTO (Freedom to Operate), Patent Portfolio Management, Patent Monetization, Evidence of Use, Claim Chart Mapping, and much more. We provide both law firms and corporations in many industries with turnkey solutions.
Share Article
TOP

Request a Call Back!

Thank you for your interest in TT Consultants. Please fill out the form and we will contact you shortly

    popup

    UNLOCK THE POWER

    Of Your Ideas

    Elevate Your Patent Knowledge
    Exclusive Insights Await in Our Newsletter

      Request a Call Back!

      Thank you for your interest in TT Consultants. Please fill out the form and we will contact you shortly