Would the strategies used against patent trolls be suitable against copyright trolls in the context of copyright protection in Open Source software? Master Thesis LL.M Law & Technology Tilburg Law School Tilburg University 2019 Student: Supervisor: Yanitsa Stoyanova Mara Paun Arn. 420366 Second Reader: Srn. 2019164 Martin Husovec List of Acronyms and Abbreviations FOSS Free and Open Source Software IP Intellectual Property IPR Intellectual Property Right ISP Internet Service Provider NPE Non Practicing Entity OIN Open Invention Network PAE Patent Assertion Entity PE Practicing Entity R&D Research and Development SEP Standard Essential Patent 2 Table of Contents I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 5 1. Background ......................................................................................................................... 5 1.1. Patent trolls ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.2. Copyright trolls in Open Source Software ...................................................................... 6 1.3. For whom is Open Source copyright trolling problematic? ............................................ 8 1.3.1. The Telecommunications Industry .............................................................................. 8 1.3.2. The Open Source Community ..................................................................................... 9 2. State of the Art in the Literature ....................................................................................... 11 3. Research question, methodology and outline ................................................................... 12 II. Chapter 1: How different to each other are patent trolls and Open Source copyright trolls? ………………………………………………………………………………………………...14 1. Patents vs. Copyrights ....................................................................................................... 14 2. Strategies for enforcement used by patent trolls and copyright trolls............................... 17 2.1. Stay hidden and get infringed ........................................................................................ 17 2.2. Be opportunistic ............................................................................................................ 18 2.3. Use litigation as a threat but don’t litigate .................................................................... 19 2.4. Obtain Injunctions ......................................................................................................... 20 2.5. Go Forum Shopping ...................................................................................................... 21 3. Chapter Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 21 III. Chapter 2: Which Ex-Ante Strategies used against patent trolls may be suitable against Open Source copyright trolls? .................................................................................................. 23 1. License compliance ........................................................................................................... 24 1.1. Patent compliance ......................................................................................................... 25 1.2. Open Source Copyright Compliance ............................................................................. 26 2. Insurance ........................................................................................................................... 29 2.1. Patent Insurance ............................................................................................................ 30 2.2. Open Source Copyright Insurance ................................................................................ 32 3. Defense Networks ............................................................................................................. 32 3.1. Patent Defense Networks .............................................................................................. 32 3.2. Open Source Copyright Defense Networks .................................................................. 34 4. Chapter Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 34 IV. Chapter 3: Which Ex Post Strategies used against Patent Trolls might be suitable against Open Source Copyright Trolls? ................................................................................... 36 3 | P a g e 1. Disregard the danger of litigation ..................................................................................... 36 2. Negotiate and settle ........................................................................................................... 37 3. Stop using the infringing technology ................................................................................ 38 4. Litigate .............................................................................................................................. 39 4.1. Forum Shopping ............................................................................................................ 39 4.2. Narrow the scope of the IPR ......................................................................................... 39 4.3. Obtain information ........................................................................................................ 40 4.4. Prove non-infringement ................................................................................................. 40 5. Chapter Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 41 V. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 42 VI. Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 44 4 I. Introduction 1. Background Trolls are known from the legends and fairytales as greedy creatures who hide under bridges, built by someone else, and demand the travelers to pay a fee against the permission to cross on the other side of the river. Usually, they approach their targets unexpectedly when they are least prepared to defend themselves from a troll attack, but at the same time they desperately need to cross the river. If one wants to continue their journey they have to dearly pay to the bloodcurdling bridge guardian. Should the traveler refuse to pay, the troll becomes aggressive and not only precludes the passing of the bridge but also threatens the victim’s well-being or life. Sneaky, dishonest, violent and assertive, relying on threats, taking advantage of people’s weakness and fears, trolls have become a synonym for someone who is fishing for an easy and non-deserved prize by hiding in the dark and attacking its victims by surprise. Trolls also have their habitat in the world of intellectual property [“IP”]. Here trolls find their “bridges” in IP rights [“IPRs”] enforcement and litigation. Trolling has a long history in patent law and for long time it has been more common in patent law than in copyright law. Studies show that the first explosion of patent litigation and respectively patent trolling in the United States dates back to 1850 with an impressive number of patent litigation cases that even override the number of cases filed in recent years.1 Therefore, as patent trolling exists for longer than copyright trolling, it is more researched and there is more clarity around the concept of patent trolls and the associated complications that they bring to technology companies. On the other side, relatively younger concepts and trends in technology development bring new opportunities for the trolls. With the growing popularity of free and open source software [“FOSS”]2 trolls recently found new ways to copyrights too. Thus the nature of the specific licensing terms of FOSS and the specifics of the FOSS enforcement in particular, introduce new challenges for the companies who have to deal with IP trolls. 1.1. Patent trolls Patent trolls are “known as willing, if not eager, litigants, having built a business around patent enforcement”3 and mainly focus their attacks against manufacturing or practicing entities [“PEs”]. However, not all types of patent assertion is trolling. The term “patent troll” is often replaced with “patent assertion entity” [“PAE”] or “non-practicing entity” [“NPE’]. Even though these terms are repeatedly used as synonyms, their meaning is not identical and the difference between PAEs and NPEs is outlined by some scholars whereas there is no alignment what exactly these terms cover.4 “NPE” literary refers to an 1 Christopher Beauchamp and others, ‘The First Patent Litigation Explosion’ [2015] 125 Yale Law Journal 848, 2016; Brooklyn Law School, Legal Studies Paper No. 428 848 <https://ssrn.com/abstract=2699964>. 2 For the difference between Free and Open Source Software see here: https://opensource.com/article/17/11/open-source-or-free-software; As the difference is more ideological than practical, I will use the term FOSS to cover both Free Software and Open Source Software and may refer to both types of software as to synonyms (although they are not). 3 Colleen V Chien, ‘Of Trolls , Davids , Goliaths , and Kings : Narratives and Evidence in the Litigation of