Patent Law

Zusha Elinson writing on January 6, 2009 for The Recorder states:

There are usually two options in patent litigation: fight or settle.

But San Francisco's RPX Corp. has thrown a wild card into a case between patent-holding company Acacia Research Corp. and 20 defendants.

Acacia announced on Friday that a subsidiary called Light Valve Solutions reached a licensing agreement with RPX, a new company that buys and licenses patents for its paying members. The idea is to take "dangerous" patents off the street for its members' protection. RPX involved itself with the case by announcing that defendants who sign up with RPX get a license to the Acacia patent, letting them out of the suit.

"If they don't sign up with us, they're still being sued," said John Amster, who co-founded RPX this fall. 

Amster wouldn't discuss the cost of joining RPX, or whether defendants would have to commit to a certain term of membership. RPX has said that dues can vary widely based on the size and nature of a company, from $35,000 to nearly $5 million.

Read the full article here.