So what happens when a whole country surrenders to the difficulty of commercializing patents and instead retreats to patent assertion as a means to shake down innovators? Look no further than France.
In 2011 the government of France and Caisse des Depots, a publicly managed investor in French economic development, launched France Brevets, with a board made up of representatives of several French government ministries. The organization set out to buy up intellectual property rights from around the world, acquiring patent families regardless of whether all the patents are of French origin, and then moved to convince companies to sign licensing agreements leading to royalty payments.
The stated intent by the organization’s licensing director? To “better monetize [French] technology.” The intent sounds a great deal like the goals of a so called “patent troll.”
To put it another way, Brevets has acquired patents its executives believe will allow them to extract the most money by suing innovators around the world, all for the benefit of France and some French patents. Congressman DeFazio, author of legislation to limit patent litigation, has called this ploy nothing more than “protectionism.”
But why shouldn't property owners be able to dispose of their property as they see fit? Sell it, trade it, do nothing. And why shouldn't the acquirers of sold property be able to do what they want with their new purchase? It is their property after all. The trouble is that, frankly, France’s efforts just don’t feel right to many people. That a government has launched an aggressive effort to sue private sector innovators, especially when the county’s own patent system is suspect, is deeply troubling—as troubling as a troll.
As France begins to scavenge the globe seeking out innovators to frighten, the country might consider its own patent problems before exploiting others’ shortcomings. For its first lawsuit, reported last month, France Brevets has chosen to bring its lawsuit in Germany, specifically because the French patent litigation system is slow. Even more bizarre: Brevets was concerned about the lack of certainty in the French system.
And more generally, had France abandoned its socialist economic policies and allowed free market induced economic growth, it wouldn't have to resort to trolling to try and fill its coffers in the first place.
That such goals and operating procedures smack of the worst of troll behavior could hardly be denied. With national governments getting in on the patent-assertion game, maybe it is time to call a troll what it is—a frightening abuser of innovators.
August 15, 2013