Blog 8: Where and How did Patent Trolls Come From?

I would like to talk more about patent trolls, in depth actually, in terms of their origins, terms, and definition. Interestingly, the term "patent troll" goes back to 1993, which was used at least once with a slightly different meaning. It was used to describe countries that file strict and aggressive patent lawsuits. 

For instance, the education video, The Patents Video in 1994, depicted a green troll guarding a bridge and demanding fees. 

The origin of the term patent troll has been also attributed to Anne Gundelfinger, or Peter Detkin, who are both counsel for Intel during the late 1990s. 

Today, patent troll is considered as a controversial term because none of the numerous definition it has are considered satisfactory from the perspective of understanding how patent trolls have to be treated in law. Patent trolls have various definitions, which I have covered in my previous post, and have various related expressions, such as, NPE, PAE, NMP, patent shark, patent marketer, patent assertion company, and patent dealer

Such confusion over the term "patent troll" is clear in media reporting.