Businesses can employ several strategies to defend against patent trolls:
1. Patent Review Processes: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office offers processes like inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR) to challenge the validity of patents. Businesses can use these mechanisms to invalidate weak patents held by trolls.
2. Defensive Patent Aggregation: Companies can join defensive patent networks or pools, which acquire patents to protect members from litigation. By holding a large portfolio of patents, these networks can deter trolls from targeting their members.
3. Legislative Measures: Some jurisdictions have introduced laws to curb the activities of patent trolls. For example, the America Invents Act includes provisions that make it more challenging for NPEs to file frivolous lawsuits.