Turns out that for Apple Inc., being one of the most innovative companies on the planet does have at least one big drawback. The Cupertino, Calif., company says it is the No. 1 target for so-called patent trolls. In court and regulatory filings, Apple provided a rare look at the amount of litigation it is facing from companies whose main business involves threatening to file patent lawsuits against other companies unless they agree to make royalty payments.
Recent public comments by Apple show that the Cupertino gadget company has reason to believe it’s the most popular target of so-called “patent trolls,” companies whose only business is suing over patents. “No firm has been targeted by PAEs more than Apple,” wrote Apple in public comments filed with the Federal Trade Commission. “Apple has litigated against PAEs 92 times in the past three years alone and has received many more demands.” Apple’s most recent filings, at the FTC and in Supreme Court amicus briefs, are unusual in the amount of detail they offer about the particulars of its patent battles. The statistical information it revealed comes from internal Apple legal information as well as a study that Apple commissioned conducted by PatentFreedom, a defense-oriented patent consultancy.