Fenwick & West’s patent litigation partner Charlene Morrow spoke with Bloomberg Businessweek about the trend among technology companies to try to identify the ultimate parties behind non-practicing entities that repeatedly sue for patent infringement.
Among the benefits of finding the real parties in interest: To limit future lawsuits, companies can negotiate comprehensive agreements with multiple shell entities that have a common owner.
“You do want to know if you’re being hit by the same entity over and over again,” Morrow told Bloomberg Businessweek. “You don’t want a situation where you’re a repeat victim.”
In addition, knowing who is backing a patent infringement suit can help companies decide how to respond to the suit.
“Figuring out who’s behind a patent suit can affect how the case is handled,” Morrow said.
The full article is available through the Bloomberg Businessweek website.