Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Intellectual Ventures: world's worst patent troll

Patent trolls come in all shapes and sizes, but until now I didn't think they taught in the classroom. - CNET

Intellectual Ventures is a private company founded in 2000 to invest in "pure invention. According to a report in Newsweek last fall, the company is backed with $350 million from Microsoft, Google, Apple, Nokia and others. Unlike Maveron, and despite its name, Intellectual Ventures is not a venture capital firm in the traditional sense. No, it's still not clear just where Intellectual Ventures is headed.

They weren't kidding when they claimed to be linked with prominent inventors. They are individuals asserting patent rights, he adds, not just lawyers looking for a quick payoff. So far, the company has received one patent that grew out of its invention sessions and has 300 applications outstanding. This certainly seems to satisfy Detkin's definition of a --˜patent troll'.

So why is he being called a patent trol?. Has the enemy of the patent troll become one? Is Nate up to some old tricks in playing the 'patent troll' issue on both sides of the fence or what? Famous patent troll Intellectual Ventures only owns somewhere in the range of 1000 to 5000 patents.

Nathan Myhrvold's firm is trying to raise up to $1 billion to buy patents and to help inventors develop inventions. Intellectual Ventures is a somewhat different type of troll...a private partnership.

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