Pimp my patent – Why Acacia Research is king of the patent trolls

Monday, March 08, 2010 | Posted by: Brian Maguire
Categories: Business | Tags: market, patents, Acacia Research, design, Business Week, Rachael King, law

‘Pimp my patent’ might just be runner as an obscure digital TV channel – with exclusive membership for lawyers. Based on the USA’s cult car show ‘Pimp my ride’, patent attorneys would trawl databases for patents to buy, then sue companies who have infringed those patents. In financial innovation terms, it’s a sort of derivative market, nothing is actually made, just innovative deals made out of current legal frameworks. The presenter wouldn’t be a banker, it would be troll; where differences end and similarities begin?

Rachael King writes about patent trolls in Business Week. Focusing on Acacia Research, a so-called ‘patent troll’ the company makes no products, but she argues, inventors hail it as a saviour.

Acacia has filed at least 337 patent-related lawsuits in its 18 years, it’s sales, she says are expected to rise to $68.8 million this year, from $34.8 million in 2006. Acacia acquires patents from inventors and then seeks fees from companies that it says infringe on those patents. Nice work if you can get it!