The news that Microsoft's European logistics operations will move from Germany to the Netherlands because of its patent dispute with Motorola points to just how high the stakes can be in patent litigation - even for big corporations. GPC's Alexander Poltorak commented on Microsoft's action in a Wall Street Journal blog post. ("Regulators Turn Eyes on Patent Combatants" The Wall Street Journal - April 3, 2012)
Article excerpt:Microsoft’s move makes clear that the power of the patent extends further than just intellectual property, at least when it comes to disputes over smartphones and tablets in Germany.
“It’s no longer who has more land or bigger machines; it’s not even who has more money. Today, it’s about who has more patents, who has better patents. Patents are a new currency of the knowledge-based economy,” said Alexander I. Poltorak, chief executive of General Patent Corp., an intellectual-property advisory firm.