BNET.com blogger Erik Sherman interviewed GPC's Alexander Poltorak for a blog post on the ICAP Ocean Tomo auction of a "covenant not to sue" on behalf of Round Rock Research, a non-practicing entity with 4,200 patents (Patent Troll Auctions Free Passes From Lawsuits: Mobile in Its Sights, BNET.com, April 7, 2011). Dr. Poltorak explained why such an auction might be attractive to a company that hasn't even been sued yet.
Excerpt of blog post:
I spoke with Alex Poltorak, CEO of intellectual property enforcement firm General Patent Corporation, who was at the auction. He said that Round Rock had actually offered three different covenants for the same body of patents:
It was the second covenant that sold, raising suspicion that a handset company purchased it and that Round Rock plans to use its patent portfolio to target the mobile industry.
Why take this route rather than the more typically expected lawsuit? “I think they’re going for the low-hanging fruit,” Poltorak says. “You want to ask people who are much more open to licensing patents they’re infringing on. Let’s save each other a lot of aggravation and legal fees. Some people will respond to that. Others will not.”