Patent Reform: How do we cross the finish line?

July 2010

Intellectual Property Telecommunications

Abstract

Over the last several years, widespread abuse of patent litigation has imposed a severe tax on domestic and international companies. A disproportionate amount of this tax is born by high technology companies, including in the telecommunications sector. The primary culprits are non-producing entities (also known as “patent trolls”) who have successfully exploited a broken patent system to extort licensing fees from target companies. Patent troll activity has continued to rise in the U.S over the last decade. While high technology/telecom companies comprise less than a quarter of Fortune 100 companies, nearly 70% of all patent litigation falls within the high technology/telecom sector. Networking giant Cisco disclosed that it spends $40 million annually on the U.S. patent system – most of which funds defensive litigation. Other telecom heavy weights such as Verizon, AT&T, and Motorola are also involved in dozens of new patent litigations initiated by trolls.

Authors

Jeremiah Chan

Legal Director, Google Inc., USA

Jeremiah is Legal Director on Google’s Global Patents Team and leads an international team that is responsible for patent operations, analytics, and strategic initiatives. Google’s patent portfolio has received numerous accolades and has been recognized as one of the strongest portfolios in the world (U.S. Patent 100, IEEE Patent Power Rankings, and Thomson Reuters Global Innovator Award). Jeremiah’s team was featured in IAM Magazine (Issue 69, January/February 2015). Prior to joining Google, Jeremiah served as Head of IP for JDSU, a global supplier of broadband and optical solutions. Jeremiah managed a department that was responsible for all patent, trade secret, trademark, and copyright issues. This included portfolio development, litigation management, licensing, and technology transactions. Before JDSU, Jeremiah was in private practice with the law firm of Fish & Neave (now Ropes and Gray), where he specialized in litigation, opinion work, and client counseling. Jeremiah has been recognized as one of the world’s leading IP strategists (IAM Strategy 300) and has served the IP industry as a thought leader for many years. He speaks and writes about IP-related litigation, technology transactions, portfolio development, and IP-driven mergers and acquisitions. He also serves on the Santa Clara Law High Tech Advisory Board. Jeremiah graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with highest honors and received his J.D. from Cornell Law School.

Matt Fawcett

Senior Vice President General Counsel and Secretary, Network Appliance Inc, USA

Matthew Fawcett is NetApp’s senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary. Matt leads the worldwide legal team. Under his leadership, NetApp’s legal team has been recognized for many achievements, including the Best Legal Department of 2014 (Best Legal Departments 2014, Corporate Counsel, June 1, 2014), one of the most innovative departments (The 2013 IC-10: Inside the Legal Profession’s Top Innovators, Inside Counsel Magazine, August 30, 2013), and as a top GC (America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel, The National Law Journal, March 31, 2014). Matthew has advised leading technology companies on a variety of issues, including mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, and litigation.

Companies

Google Inc.

Google is a global technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products. Its mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google’s patent portfolio has received numerous accolades and has been recognized as one of the strongest portfolios in the world (U.S. Patent 100, IEEE Patent Power Rankings, and Thomson Reuters Global Innovator Award).

Network Appliance Inc