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'Patent troll' doesn't mean what you think it means.



Actually, it's all about slowing innovation, so it can very well be used as "enforcing bogus patents": Apple is famous for recently suing competition over abstract ideas. They don't even try to hide that fact.


Still, its useful keeping "patent troll" separate to describe a particular type of company. The own patents (mostly acquired from dead companies), don't make anything and live off squeezing other companies. Most trollish in that they live off extorting "license fees" with the threat of legal action, rather than actually winning lawsuits. They are structured in ways that makes them unafraid of lawsuits and use that to intimidate companies that are.


Patent Trolling is just another means to the same end.


Apple does at least build things, but it still has hundreds of bogus patents that it uses offensively to retard innovation. Perhaps we need a new derisive word to cover that behavior.




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