The Digital Era has advanced the scientific landscape in ways never before imagined, but it has also brought with it a lot of dangers. Cyberscams against the world, and in the academic field specifically, are on the rise, and unless you stay up-to-date and ahead of the field, it’s easy to become an accidental victim of these crimes.

When it comes to obstacles to advancing science, cyberscams are one of the biggest problems now. The most recent development to hit the scene are patent trolls, entities who step in, claim patents as their own, and then enforce their “rights'' by extorting companies who are using the technology included in the patent. Since most scholars don’t have the money to hire big teams of lawyers to defend themselves from this “legalized” extortion, they pay the fine and walk away, leaving their ability to move forward with their research in the hands of the scammers.

What is Patent Trolling?

Patent trolls, officially termed “non-practicing entities,” or NPEs, enforce the rights of patents they have no real business owning. They take out or buy a patent that has a lot of leeway in how it is used, then claim that a business or person is infringing on their rights and must pay a fee in retribution.

The trouble is that these NPEs don’t manufacture the product or service they have the rights to. They’re accessing patents that are linked to technology that is so widely available, it’s easy to find someone who is using it without realizing it’s actually patented. Researchers may be using this technology to advance their scientific findings, but then a patent troll steps in and demands money in exchange for that use. It’s legalized extortion, and unless the researcher is backed with a strong legal team and a bankroll, they have to give up the rights to the technology. Even if they fight the claim, the money and time spent in their defense takes away from the resources they could be using for their research and development.

How Do Patent Trolls Get Away With Their Crime?

Patent trolls are surreptitious in their movements. They don’t make a lot of waves or loud noise. Their intent is to get money from patents already in existence, not creating new ideas for it. When a troll knows their stuff, they can monitor industries and individuals to see how they might be using the technology and check for potential infringements. They analyze patent applications that are published online to watch for new ideas that could be infringing on “their” patent.

The most common target of these entities are small or weakened companies who don’t have the resources to defend themselves. The trolls then act as bullies, sending legal representatives to these vulnerable companies to force them to pay licensing fines. These smaller battles are not unseen for larger companies, and as the NPEs build their settlements, larger businesses are willing to settle rather than risk expensive patent litigation.

Because patent trolls use licensing fees that they have barely (or not at all) contributed to, they are considered to be abusing the patent system. However, they’re almost entirely immune to counter allegations.

The Impact on Scientific Advancement

When scholars and institutions are spending their time in patent litigation, they aren’t working on their own research. Even if they choose not to fight the allegations, their finances are being exploited by these NPEs. Defending against litigation is often more than small companies can handle and the threat of litigation is usually all it takes to get a vulnerable company to cave and agree to a settlement.

All of this takes time, energy, and resources away from the research, and at the end of it, the ability to use the patent’s product or service is often removed, causing the researcher to go back and start from scratch.

Use Impactio to Show Your Credibility

Impactio is an all-in-one solution to publishing academic manuscripts that is used by legitimate scholars around the world. The field of academics is full of threats to your credibility. When you use Impactio, your reputation is automatically improved.

With Impactio’s at-your-fingertips tools, it’s simple to drag and drop your text into sections, design charts and tables for data compilations, and publish your final document in professional PDF documents or web pages.

To prevent your credibility from being questioned for unprofessional finished work, be sure you use a program that is well-known for its legitimacy, like Impactio. Patent trolls may be on the lookout for weak researchers, but your work is strengthened when you use Impactio to put it together!