TY  - GEN
N2  - In the past, “non-practicing entities” (NPEs), popularly known as “patent trolls,” have helped small inventors profit from their inventions. Is this true today or, given the unprecedented levels of NPE litigation, do NPEs reduce innovation incentives? Using a survey of defendants and a database of litigation, this paper estimates the direct costs to defendants arising from NPE patent assertions. We estimate that firms accrued $29 billion of direct costs in 2011. Although large firms accrued over half of direct costs, most of the defendants were small or medium-sized firms. Moreover, an examination of publicly listed NPEs indicates that little of the direct costs represents a transfer to small inventors. This updated version of the paper includes a reply to critics.
AB  - In the past, “non-practicing entities” (NPEs), popularly known as “patent trolls,” have helped small inventors profit from their inventions. Is this true today or, given the unprecedented levels of NPE litigation, do NPEs reduce innovation incentives? Using a survey of defendants and a database of litigation, this paper estimates the direct costs to defendants arising from NPE patent assertions. We estimate that firms accrued $29 billion of direct costs in 2011. Although large firms accrued over half of direct costs, most of the defendants were small or medium-sized firms. Moreover, an examination of publicly listed NPEs indicates that little of the direct costs represents a transfer to small inventors. This updated version of the paper includes a reply to critics.
T1  - The Private and Social Costs of Patent Trolls
AU  - Bessen, James E.
AU  - Meurer, Michael J.
AU  - Ford, Jennifer Laurissa
LA  - eng
ID  - 42074
KW  - Patents
KW  - Litigation
KW  - Litigation cost
KW  - Software patents
TI  - The Private and Social Costs of Patent Trolls
LK  - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1930272
UR  - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1930272
ER  -