Toppling Trolls
Patent trolls take a hit in a Supreme Court ruling.
By Jane Easter Bahls •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
In what some are calling the biggest patent law decision in a decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that patent owners are not necessarily entitled to a permanent injunction against another company using the patent in commerce. By siding with eBay in the case eBay v. MercExchange, the court tipped the balance toward companies that actually use patented innovations, and away from inventors, their estates and so-called "patent trolls."
Patent trolls make money by buying patents on various bits of technology and threatening litigation against companies that use that innovation. The companies are forced to either pay a license--often far more than the patent is worth--or face a permanent injunction against using it.
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