Why Exactly Companies Settle Out of Court Against Patent Trolls?

This world is full of inventions! Every day new inventions are made throughout the world in each and every field. This is a very bright thing for the mankind as new and advanced methods actually make life easier for the people or give them more suitable options. The only problem with most of the new inventions is that somehow they are related to an already discovered technology, product, service, etc. This is the reason it is imperative to get patent rights for the new invention, advancement or practice which your company is doing. The simple reason being that there are a lot of patenttroll companies out there who are looking to sue other companies for infringement.

Also Read: Top 3 Tips to Protect Your Business against Patent Trolls

These bad patents obtain patent rights for a product or service for the sole purpose of suing other companies who practice or have started practicing similar technologies, product, or service. These bad patents target only those companies which are not having their own patent or do not have anyone to protect them. These companies do not have any choice but to surrender against these bad patents due to the following reasons!

Top Reasons Companies Settle Out of Court Against Patent Trolls

·         They Fail to File a Patent

The companies that are being targeted by bad patents are the ones who fail to file a patent on time or do not think of it as a necessity. The products they are manufacturing, the technology they are using or the service they are providing is not owned by them legally. So, it exposes them for infringement.

·         They Cannot Bear Court Expense

There are companies who do own a patent for the kind of service they are providing but do not have enough money to bear the expense of hiring an attorney or facing other court proceedings expense. This is the reason they like to settle out of court with whatever the patent troll companies ask because the bad patents ask for an amount which is less than the court expenses.

·         They Are Afraid of Negative Publicity

For a company, the image is everything and no company wants to take any chance with their image. They do not want to be covered in newspapers and talked about in any business or social surroundings of their infringement. This is the reason they avoid these legal patent battles.

·         They Do Not Have Patent Insurance

This is the biggest mistake which the companies make by not having a patent insurance. Most of the companies think that the cost of patent insurance is very huge and it is wastage of money. However, they do not realise that due to patent insurance, the patent troll companies never ever think of infringing a company. The reason being that companies having patent insurance are not going to settle out of court and the bad patents do not want to fight a legal battle either!