Combating Patent Litigation: The Dark Cloud Over Cloud Computing

The growing cloud computing industry brings many new opportunities, but with success comes litigation, both from competitors seeking to gain an edge in a crowded market and opportunists seeking to make a quick buck. Valid patents and good innovations deserve due respect and consideration, but the vast majority of infringement actions are started by non-practicing entities (aka "patent trolls") that acquire and assert broad patents, many with questionable validity. There is no question that patent litigation is costly. Litigation that goes to trial can cost over $3 million, and result in damage awards that can exceed $15 million. Being involved in or losing patent infringement suits also impacts customer relationships and marketing opportunities, translating to even bigger losses. With the presumption of validity that each patent enjoys, and the current backlog of cases in the most popular district courts, the scales have been tipped in favor of patent holders. In