FTC Starts Fact-Finding Mission On Patent Trolls

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is finally going to take on patent trolls (it calls them Patent Assertion Entities), using its subpoena powers to force them to disclose information on how their companies are organized, how they acquire patents, and what they gain from patent assertion, reports Dennis Crouch for Patently O. How do patent trolls work? Patent trolls make money by accusing companies of violating their patents and suing for exorbitant amounts, and then settling for a much smaller amount. The idea is that as long as the settlement is less than the expected cost of going to trial,…