Patent Troll: An Example

Hello everybody,

Here is an example of how Apple, one of the leading tech firms today, lost to a "patent troll" who dropped out of 8th grade. The link is here to the article, but I will discuss and summarize it for you here. http://fortune.com/2015/02/27/how-apple-lost-533-million-to-an-8th-grade-dropout-patent-troll/ Apple infringed upon the patent of Patrick Racz because of 3 infringements which cost the firms over 500 million dollars. How did Apple lose in court? First of all, Patrick's innovation did seem out of the ordinary for someone who dropped out of 8th grade and pursued horticulture. However, his patent filings were indeed correct in terms of the ideas behind Data Storage and Access Systems. Since Apple willingly infringed upon the patent, they were sued. In court is where Apple stumbled. First, the company did not bring witnesses who had actually read the patent so when asked on the stand their specifications and details they had no clue. Also, when cross examining Patrick Racz, they focused on his lack of education and that it would be impossible for him to create such a thing despite the fact that he did. Furthermore, Apple focused on how their company is about innovation and took years to develop this idea and technology. In the end, it was the jury who decided in Racz favor because Apple came in on it's high horse thinking they were Apple and were forced to pay half a billion. Ironically, Racz is an NPE but it was an interesting story.