The Federal Trade Commission has moved one step closer to launching a wide-ranging study of “patent trolls” and their impact on U.S. businesses.
The FTC voted 4-0 in late September to seek public comments on a proposal to gather information from approximately 25 companies that are in the business of buying and asserting patents. The FTC intends to use the information to examine how these patent assertion entities (PAEs)—also known as “patent trolls”—do business and to develop a better understanding of the impact they have on innovation and competition.
