NAIP Patent Blog

• Forget Patent Trolls, we should be worrying about Troll Patents. - The term "patent troll" is now so toxic that even the man who coined the term prefers not to use it. The solution? Shift the definition to the patents. Will it catch on? (from Patently-O)

• Who's scared of IPR in China? Well, Multinational Companies are. Of over 100 multinationals surveyed, nearly three-fourths cited IPR issues as a major concern. They have also noted "incremental" improvements in this aspect by the Chinese government, but with the economic downturn, whether that trend continues remains to be seen. The survey results can be found here. (from IP Dragon)

• Here's why these companies are scared. A brief recount of a conversation between an American company and a law firm about how the company's entire million-dollar investment in China just upped and disappeared over night. And thanks to unwise practices, the American company has no legal recourse. Plus other stories about IPR theft in China. (from China Law Blog)

• Study: free markets superior to patent monopolies. A fascinating study published by Science magazine in which an optimization/maximization experiment was assigned to students with two reward model: one analogous to the patent system, one to the free market. The results were close, but the Free Market model slightly edged the patent model for best results. The paper can be downloaded (account required) here. (from Ars Technica)

Posted in: News | | |