Untangling The Patent Thickets

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS

"Thickets please ..."¹

In 1856, a group of firms jointly acquired a dominant position in sewing machine's patents and formed the first patent pool in the world, which lasted till 1877.² Around the same time, a company by the name of Draper acquired a commanding patent position for loom temples as well and ergo, began a long-term practice employing aggressive use of patent thickets.³ Organizations thereon have formed multiple patent thickets in the last 150 years.⁴ Such a strategy of "mutual non-aggression" became quite common in the semiconductor and computer industries⁵ and led to software companies obtaining a number of "defensive" patents.⁶ Despite that, it was in the 1970s that the term "patent thicket" originated, when Xerox dominated the photocopier industry.⁷ These defensive thickets reduced research and development incentives for many new and upcoming innovators but as an advantage to those who became a part of it, reduced