Instead, the lack of patents is due to a lack of patent expertise in the private sector, and a lack of funds available to hire expensive patent drafting services from firms in Europe, South Africa, or India.
Meanwhile, there was a shortage of people qualified, in science and in law, to work in patent law, and in the biotech industry the need for new patent expertise was -- and is -- increasing.
For trolls, startups are easy targets, because startups often have limited resources, lack internal patent expertise and, with the average cost of defending a patent lawsuit hovering at $3.2 million, have a huge incentive to settle.
As Asia, especially China, builds its tech expertise, patent infringement is on the rise, says Bruce Lehman, former commissioner of the U.S. Trademark & Patent Office and now with law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
So she designed one herself, created a company called Neat Solutions and, using her legal expertise, patented it and negotiated contracts for its manufacture and distribution.
"Kodak doesn't have the sales force, the patents, the computer expertise -- any of the things it needs to easily build a bridge to people who buy commercial printers," said Bill McGlynn, a vice president in Hewlett's digital publishing unit.
In Google's hands, Motorola's trove of patents and cellphone expertise could become the font of a new wave of innovation, and a boon for Chicago too, if Motorola's research operation could remain in Libertyville.
Because of its diverse responsibilities, the Federal Circuit unlike its counterparts in Europe and Japan has never really acquired adequate expertise in patent jurisprudence.To be eligible for a patent, an invention must not just be novel, but also useful and non-obvious.
As Representative Shiff stated, "This legislation will raise the level of expertise in patent litigation, improve the reliability of patents, and allow businesses to spend more time inventing and less time litigating," and could "reduce the cost to consumers of everything from promising new medicines to the latest cell phones".
Quality In patents and trademarks, "quality" refers to the expertise of the patent examiners, their number in ratio to the quantity of patents filed and to the ability of these examiners to research "prior art" (previous patents) to determine if an application truly represents something new.
Unlike its specialised counterparts in Europe and Japan, the Federal Circuit, with its grab-bag remit, has never acquired expertise in patent jurisprudence.
