u/Real-Yogurtcloset844

Jerome H. Lemelson taught us what a patent troll is. He gamed the system for a cool $650 million. He showed us how weak our patent system is. Here are some of his exploits.

• Method of Operation: Lemelson often didn't produce or commercialize his inventions. Instead, he used his patents to sue large corporations like Ford, Motorola, and Toyota, often long after the technology was adopted.
• "Submarine Patents": He was accused of manipulating the patent system by keeping applications pending in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for decades, allowing them to "surface" only after an industry had already adopted the technology.
• Proponents' View: While many in the industry viewed him as a troll, others recognized him as a prolific independent inventor who was defending his intellectual property against infringers, particularly in his early career with toy companies.
• Impact on Patent Law: His litigation tactics and the subsequent backlash played a key role in the development of the modern definition of "patent trolls" and led to legal challenges against his methods.

 

He did leave a charitable trust to bequeath all the money he sucked out of inventors -- but given his M.O. in Life -- I must wonder about the veracity of his charity.

Has any one individual inventor -- in this century -- ever actually filed and won a Patent Infringement case?

Lemulson -- the famous Patent Troll -- made that his life's work -- but that is the exception.

I'm asking if a patent is even worth it for individual inventors -- since they can't afford to sue anyone. Not only that -- it's just too easy to work around and "improve" a Patent.

So why bother with a Patent? It just helps those wanting to copy it. What do you think -- are patents dead?

"In this century, two major legal shifts have made it much harder for individuals to win:

1. ^(eBay Inc. v. MercExchange (2006))^(: This Supreme Court ruling made it much harder for small inventors to get permanent injunctions (court orders to stop a company from using the inve)^(Message Mods)^(ntion).)
2. ^(The America Invents Act (2011))^(: This created the) ^(Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB))^(, which allows companies to challenge the validity of a patent in an administrative court. This process is often called the "patent death squad" by individual inventors because it is expensive to defend and results in high invalidation rates.")

 

^(THESE GUYS WON A CASE:)

• Michael Kaufman (2022): After a decade-long battle, inventor Michael Kaufman secured a $10 million award against Microsoft. The case involved a user-friendly interface for computer databases that Microsoft's software development programs infringed. Kaufman noted that the process was "sobering," as he nearly ran out of money before reaching a verdict.
• Thomas Campana / NTP (2006): Although acting through his company NTP, Thomas Campana's patents on "push-email" technology led to one of the most famous settlements of the century. Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry, was forced to pay $612.5 million to settle the infringement claims and avoid a court-ordered shutdown of its service in the U.S..
• Jacob Krippelz, Sr. (2012): An individual inventor who successfully sued Ford Motor Company over a patent for an "exterior vehicle lighting system" (puddle lights). After years of litigation, he initially won a $56 million judgment, though such awards are often subject to adjustments during lengthy appeals.
• Lonnie Johnson (2013): The inventor of the Super Soaker won a $72.9 million royalty dispute against Hasbro. While he was a successful aerospace engineer, he maintained ownership of his toy patents and successfully held the toy giant accountable for unpaid royalties.  Bartlit Beck +4