FTC Takes Aim At Patent Assertion Entities

The Federal Trade Commission has released its long-awaited report on patent assertion entities, This report is judicious in its use of the loaded term “patent troll,” but it does distinguish patent assertion entities (PAEs) from “non-practicing entities,” which it defines as “patent owners that primarily seek to develop and transfer technology.” Among PAEs, the report distinguishes “Portfolio PAEs” from “Litigation PAEs,” and says it’s the Litigation PAEs whose activities are “consistent with nuisance litigation,” and that information and communications technology are where most of the targets are. The report concludes that given the relatively small amounts at stake in the nuisance lawsuits, solutions are probably going to be found in patent and not antitrust law, according to this analysis from Jones Day, which also notes that in terms of patent law, much of what the report  recommends has already been at least partly mandated by way of Supreme Court decisions, amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and judicial precedent.