Photo Credit: https://www.research.ibm.com/patents/
Did you know that IBM received the most US patent grants than any other company for the last 25 years? The company profits by collecting a large collection of patents to license and sell off the patents to rival companies.
Of the twenty largest patent filers, eighteen of those were data and technology companies. Latest data on patent applications reveal that majority of the patent grants and applications in the US are technology focused.
The rush to file patents on tech might be due to past dragged out lawsuits like the Apple v. Samsung case. As a way to defend against future lawsuits, companies will file copious amounts of patents in preparation for future litigation. This is called “defensive patenting.” Essentially, if one company has a huge patent portfolio and are sued by a rival, there is a high probability the rival can be countersued for infringing on another patent owned by the company. Recall that the Apple v. Samsung trial lasted seven-years, with both parties having huge patent portfolios. The court in that case awarded Apple $539 million in damages, finding that Samsung infringed the design and utility patents.
Currently, Samsung has patents for a self-healing screen and a foldable smartphone.
Does this seem fair for future inventors? Does it block innovation?
Article by Carissa Chow