US Patent Trolling Costs $29 Billion a Year

New submitter Bismillah writes "This piece of research from Boston University seems to put an end to claims that patent trolling is 'socially valuable,' and instead is a social loss. 'We estimate that firms accrued $29 billion of direct costs in 2011. Moreover, although large firms accrued over half of direct costs, most of the defendants were small or medium-sized firms, indicating that [non-practicing entities] are not just a problem for large firms.' The total cost to society could be around $80 billion, according to the researchers. What's more, the costs have gone up fourfold since 2005."

No, really?

[qbast]

That's a truly groundbreaking discovery. I mean, who could possibly expect that patent trolling may be bad practice?

Frosty Piss

[Anonymous Coward]

Patent trolling not nearly as fun as trolling /.
Fact

That's a lot

[Anonymous Coward]

The patent trolling industry is worth £29 billion a year??? We must protect this vital industry - just think of the loss to the economy if anything happened to it.

whats good for the goose

[fermion]

You know if the MPAA put such a number so that we would feel sorry all the starving children and whiny stuntmen and stop pirating films online, we would all be aghast that such nonsense was posted on our august boards. However, since it is patents, I am sure we will all find the validity.

Re:Now he gets to be the bully

[netwarerip]

Former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold, who now heads up the controversial Intellectual Ventures patent rights company, told the All Things Digital conference two weeks ago that "I was never a popular kid in class".

"I'm not going to be popular in this class."

Maybe if he spent $250 and bought a freakin vowel he'd have a better shot.