Patent Law

Despite being used en gross by accused defendants, courts have largely resisted using the term ?patent troll? in their decisions. A Westlaw search revealed only seven examples of the pejorative term in court decisions:

• IP Innovation v. Ecollege.com (Fed. Cir. 2005) (The CAFC noted that the term had been used in the defendant?s argument, but refused to engage in a discussion of its implication).
• Colida v. Sanyo (Fed. Cir. 2004) (In dissent, Judge Newman argued that attorney fees should not be granted against an accused ?patent troll?)
• Hynix Semiconductor v. Rambus (N.D. Cal. 2008) (Judge Whyte granting Rambus motion in limine to prohibit use of the term ?patent troll? during the trial)
• Taurus IP v. DaimlerChrysler (W.D. Wisc. 2007) (Citing Magliocca?s article; piercing the corporate veil of the accused ?nonpracticing entities?)
• InternetAd Systems v. Opodo ( N.D. Tex. 2007)  (Defining a patent troll as a ?small company that did not manufacture products or supply services based on patents in question but enforced patent rights against accused infringers in attempt to collect licensing fees?).
• Overstock.com v. Furnace Brook (D.Utah 2005) (The court indicated a preference for finding that ?patent trolls should be subject to more general jurisdiction, perhaps as a way of deterring coercive baseless litigation.? However, the court could not find a legal hook for such a holding.).
• Black & Decker Mfg. v. Baltimore Truck Tire Service (D.Md. 1928) (Patent was issued to Mr. Fred Troll)

In the eBay decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the status of the patent owner may not operate as a categorical exclusion from the prospect of injunctive relief.