Santa Clara Law Assistant Professor Brian Love will testify before the California Assembly Select Committee on High Technology during the committee’s October 30, 2013 Informational Hearing on Patent Assertion Entities. The subject of the hearing is “A general overview of Patent Assertion Entities, also known as ‘Patent Trolls,’ and their impact to the business community and economy” which will be held at Google Headquarters.
Professor Love will discuss the PAE business model, including factors that make it problematic not just for the Silicon Valley tech community, but also for retailers and individuals state- and nationwide. His testimony will define the term “PAE” and will explain using quantitative data how PAEs alter the traditional economics of patent litigation to achieve settlements that far exceed the value of their patent rights.
Professor Love’s scholarship frequently focuses on PAE’s and their impact on innovation. His most recent article on the topic, Expanding Patent Law’s Customer Suit Exception, discusses PAE suits targeting retailers and end-users, and proposes reforms that were incorporated in patent reform legislation presently pending in Congress. He is currently studying the potential impact proposed fee-shifting rules may have on PAEs, and his prior research includes an empirical study of PAE litigation and a proposal to reduce the level of PAE litigation using patent office fees.
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