Patent-troll Protection for the Little Guys!

I have found that many small companies are unaware that Google and NetApp in April of this year developed a service, Unified Patents, to help small-entity patent-holders pool resources with large companies in the battle against non-practicing entities (NPEs), or "patent trolls." 

Don't think that your small company is safe; according to a Boston University study, 50% of firms sued by trolls have revenue under $11 million.

Unified Patents provides a troll-monitoring news feed and also attempts to buy or license patents before the trolls get their hands on them, among other defensive strategies.

The Boston U. study put the cost of NPE activity at $29 billion in legal fees and settlement costs in 2011.  And this does not even include associated losses due to management distraction at the target firms.

The Unified Patents service is based on so-called Micro-Pools in key technology fields.  A company joins the Micro-Pool(s) to which their patent(s) pertain.  Subscription fees to Micro-Pools are based on revenue and may be free for startups or small companies.

Micro-Pools also provide intellectual property expertise and intelligence.  For patent holders, this service is definitely worth checking out!