'Patent Trolls' Are Saviors To Some Inventors
Jeff Nesmith writes for the Cox News Service about companies like Acacia Research who pursue patent infringement claims on behalf of some small inventors. One of the Nesmith's examples is Paul Ware, inventor of U.S. Patent No. 4,707,592, issued Nov. 17, 1987: "A financial card transaction system for protecting the financial transactions against fraud.''
TechSearch, and later Acacia, have put more than 200 retailers on notice that they are violating Ware's patent. Some, including ExxonMobil Corp., Radio Shack, Gap and more than 20 others, have paid license fees rather than face patent infringement lawsuits.Other companies, including Kroger, Universal Tire and Office Depot, have rejected license fee demands and challenged the patentability of Ware's system. A request that the patent office re-examine his patent has been filed anonymously.
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