TSMC suit may be patent trolls - Taipei Times

BAD FAITH LITIGATION?

The two companies, owned by a California-based private equity firm, could be seeking licensing fees or a settlement payout with the suit

Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) Director-General Liao Cheng-wei (廖承威) said yesterday he suspected that two firms suing contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) for patent infringement are “patent trolls.”A patent troll refers to a company that buys patents not for manufacturing products, but to sue other companies for compensation, accusing them of using its patents. Patent trolls, formally called Non-Practicing Entities or Patent Assertion Entities, were responsible for more than 50 percent of lawsuits in the US last year, costing targeted businesses tens of billions of US dollars a year, according to the US-based LegalCharity Web site.

Taiwan Intellectual Property Office Director-General Liao Cheng-wei, right, attends a news conference in Taipei yesterday.