Have You Been a Victim to a Patent Troll?


TIA is joining a coalition of industry stakeholders to combat the increasingly abusive tactics of patent trolls. Patents touch nearly every aspect of retail operations, and patent trolls have built a business of suing companies and individuals for things the troll didn’t invent and the business is using legitimately.

In 2013, non-practicing entities filed 67% of all patent infringement cases, and this number will increase as patent trolls continue to target anyone and everyone. If you have received a demand letter for a patent infringement and can share the details of the case, please let us know. As we will be working with a coalition of other industry stakeholders, by taking our message to Capitol Hill to:

  • Curb abusive demand letters and punish those entities sending them;
  • Protect end users by providing a consistent application of the customer stay when the manufacture is best positioned to fight the troll;
  • Eliminate trolls’ ability to hide behind shell corporations;
  • Understand the basis of the claim of infringement through reasonable pleading and transparency requirements;
  • Protect against baseless fishing expeditions in the current patent litigation system’s discovery process that drive up legal costs; and
  • Shift fees when trolls file frivolous cases.
If you have been affected, please send all relevant information to Will Sehestedt (sehestedt@tianet.org,
703.299.5713).