FTC Seeks Additional Public Comment on Investigation of Patent Assertion Entities | Practical Law

FTC Seeks Additional Public Comment on Investigation of Patent Assertion Entities | Practical Law

On May 13, 2014, the FTC announced the second of two Federal Register Notices regarding a study to develop a better understanding of how patent assertion entities impact innovation and competition.  The notice contains revised proposed information requests and seeks additional public comments.

FTC Seeks Additional Public Comment on Investigation of Patent Assertion Entities

Practical Law Legal Update 4-568-1345 (Approx. 3 pages)

FTC Seeks Additional Public Comment on Investigation of Patent Assertion Entities

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 14 May 2014 • USA (National/Federal)
On May 13, 2014, the FTC announced the second of two Federal Register Notices regarding a study to develop a better understanding of how patent assertion entities impact innovation and competition. The notice contains revised proposed information requests and seeks additional public comments.
On May 13, 2014 the FTC announced the second of two Federal Register Notices seeking to collect the following information about Patent Assertion Entity (PAE):
  • Organization.
  • Structure.
  • Economic relationships.
  • Activity, including:
    • acquisition;
    • assertion;
    • litigation; and
    • licensing practices.
The FTC defines PAEs as firms with a business model based primarily on buying patents and then attempting to generate revenue by asserting them against businesses that are practicing the patented technologies. The proposed collection of information is necessary to study the likely competitive effects of PAE activity.
The study was first announced on September 27, 2013 (for more information, see Legal Update, FTC Seeks Public Comment on Investigation of Patent Assertion Entities). In response to the comments the FTC received in response to its first Federal Register Notice, the FTC sharpened the focus of the study by, among other things:
  • Working with the US Patent and Trademark Office to minimize the collection of publicly available patent data from study respondents.
  • Clarifying that the study will include two case studies:
    • one describing PAE activity generally; and
    • one that compares PAE assertion activity to that of manufacturers and non-practicing entities in the wireless chipset sector.
  • Simplifying and narrowing many study questions.
  • Creating a spreadsheet that will enable study respondents to more easily respond to the information requests.
  • Narrowing the study timeframe by one year.
The notice includes the specific information requests that the FTC proposed to send to PAEs and other entities from which it seeks information.
Further comments can be submitted electronically here and will be accepted on or before June 18, 2014.