SMEs Warned of Software-Related Patent Trolls

At the 2015 World Toner Conference, Harvey R. Levenson, Professor Emeritus of California Polytechnic State University, warned the print industry of patent trolls, companies that do not produce the product that the patents teach. They want royalties or lump-sum payments from defendants who often cannot afford to enter lawsuits and choose to settle with great loss. Hence, jobs and companies survivals are threatened.

For the imaging industry, patent troll issues mostly relate to software patent, one of the areas in which most patents are applied for and issued. Small to medium size company are most vulnerable because they typically do not have the resources to find patent trolls, and it’s vital to find trolls and protect companies from exhaustion.

Prof. Levenson suggested that searching prior art is an effective way to avoid expensive lawsuit and the prior art can exist in the study of previously patents, literally searches, publish material and presentations of companies that developed and use technology.

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