Sports technology companies have become the latest in a long line of targets for patent trolls or “non-practicing entities” (NPEs). We previously discussed the world of these trolls in 2016. But there is hope for real companies to fight back against those trolls. Two main strategies present opportunities other than settling. One is an Inter Partes Review that attempts to invalidate a patent, the other is uniting with other defendants in a joint defense group.
NPEs own patents, but do not produce anything that implements the inventions protected by those patents. Instead, NPEs monetize their patents by asserting patent infringement against companies that do produce goods and services related to that intellectual property.