Dive summary:
- Patent trolls beware, Federal Trade Commission chairwoman Edith Ramirez has announced a series of steps to investigate the growing number of patent assertion entities (PAE) trying to extract license fees from companies.
- Among Ramirez' recommendations is broad economic study of patent assertion activity, including issuing subpoenas to PAEs.
- In addition to the study, Ramirez annoucned the FTC would watch PAEs antitrust activity more carefully and keep an eye out for PAEs targeting businesses with false patent claims.
From the article:
"Compared to just a couple of years ago, PAEs now make up the majority of infringement lawsuits in the U.S. and half of the firms targeted are outside the IT sector, with retailers the most common low-tech targets. According to the National Retail Federation, more than 200 retailers have been targeted by PAEs."
