The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued its much-anticipated report today on the increasing volume of patent litigation and the role of non-practicing entities – aka “trolls” –that own patents but don’t actually manufacture products based on those patents. Read More

There is a real problem with so-called “patent trolls,” and the heart of the problem is frivolous lawsuits. Some critics come close to arguing that every patent assertion by a "non-practicing entity" – a firm that doesn't manufacture the patented inventions itself – is frivolous. But that's not the case. Read More

Peter Detkin draws a distinction between patent trolls and IV, discussing "frivolous" litigation and "real party in interest." His conclusion: one-size does not fit all. Read More

Peter Detkin kicks off his blog series on the patent debate with five basic principles to consider when reviewing reform proposals. Read More

At Intellectual Ventures, we believe that inventors play a crucial role in society and our economy. Turns out, the American public does too. In March 2013 and June 2013, during two periods of intense debate over inventor rights in the U.S. patent system, we commissioned real-time polling from Crowdverb to understand where public opinion fell on some of the issues at stake. Read More