How high are the risks of being sued by a patent troll?

Question

For seed funded startups in the social media sector, how often do you come across cases where a startup is being sued by a patent troll? Is the fact that most startups at this stage lack deep pockets enough of a deterrent?

Answers: 1 public & 0 private

34479e6a58
Patent Attorney

Hi,

I did a research paper on Trolls in Law school. Trolls tend to sue deep pockets, e.g. Apple, but they do sue small companies as well. Startups/ small businesses should try and minimize risks, by knowing what patents are out there (art search). That said, Trolls mostly assert software and business method patents: over broad claims and many infringers.

Hope this helps!
Mary

Recent questions

Do people really steal invention ideas?

I sometimes see questions on forums like Quora about how to stop people stealing your invention i...

4 5386 2
Is interpretation of known historical facts protectable under copyright law?

I am looking for useful sources on protecting copyright. I am in the process of writing a book ba...

3 6114 2
Fair Use and news feeds

What is the current wisdom on compiling news feeds on a third party website so far as copyright i...

1 3962 0
Looking for good patent firm

How to find a good patent firm to help me apply patent in USA

3 4320 2
What constitutes 'prior disclosure'?

This might be a silly question but I’m a bit confused by ‘prior disclosure’ as it applies to pate...

2 4823 1

Do you have a question about your invention or intellectual property?
Search the questions below or post your enquiry to one of our experts via Directory.
(User questions are no longer posted publicly on this page.)