The phrase "active patents" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to refer to patents that are currently in effect and enforceable, as opposed to expired or abandoned patents.
Example: "The company has several active patents that protect its innovative technology from competitors."
Alternatives: "valid patents" or "enforceable patents".
To get an idea of the size of the problem facing the likes of Apple and Samsung, consider this: O'Connor believes - based on estimates from patent firm RPX - that there are about 250,000 active patents in the United States that may have some relevance to the activities of mobile device manufacturers out of a total of about 1.5 million active patents.
The company now holds more than 40,000 active patents, which generate considerable income from royalties.
Alas, such behaviour would likely draw attention from the Illinois, Indiana and Ohio highway patrols, as I-80 is tolled in those states.James MoyerColumbus, OhioBig BlueSIR - IBM should be commended for its commitment to innovation in its recent move to forgo royalties on 500 of its active patents ("Big Blue becomes bountiful", Economist.com, January 11th).
That means that about 17% of all active patents in the United States are potentially patents on smartphone technology. .
There are now potentially more than 250,000 active patents relevant to a single smartphone, according to RPX, a San Francisco based patent aggregator and licensor.
The article reports on a decade of national and international patent filing and granting trends along with the number of active patents In-force and Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) filing patterns.
Some of the other tasks and activities that come up include dealing with active patent applications, as well as making decisions regarding payment of patent renewal/maintenance fees.
Toyota was the most active patent-filer in this area.
Knowingly infringing an active patent can lead to disastrous consequences for your business.
Samsung Electronics has 61,608 active patent families, with Canon in second position with 34,905 and IBM rounding out the top list with 34,376.
Unlike IFI's annual Top U.S. Patent Recipients, this broader ranking measures the size of a patent owner's global portfolio based on the number of active patent families.
