Apple and 13 other companies warn that EU patent shakeup may encourage patent trolls

Seemingly not a week goes by without hearing some new story about a patent troll mysteriously emerging out of the woodwork, with questionable second-hand patents in hand, and suing a smorgasbord of tech companies for patent infringement. While the Obama Administration has taken steps to potentially reduce the drain on the tech economy stemming from frivolous patent lawsuits, there's no denying that patent trolls are still able to earn ill-gotten fortunes in patent troll-friendly courts around the country.

Now, Apple and 13 other companies recently signed their name to a letter sent to European officials expressing their concern that the patent troll problem may soon sprout up in Europe in light of plans to implement a unified patent system across most of Europe. Some of the other companies signing off on the letter include Cisco, Deutsche Telekom AG, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Samsung.

As it stands now, individual European countries typically have their own unique patent rules, procedures and regulations; which helps explain why Samsung and Apple currently have patent infringement cases pending in places like the Netherlands, Germany, France, the UK and Italy.

So while a unified patent system may operate to improve efficiency in some respects (reduced cost in obtaining patents, for example), the aforementioned companies worry that the plan in its current form may actually serve to benefit patent trolls in the long run.

For instance, the current draft of the rules of procedure for a Unified Patent Court (UPC) details a two-court system wherein one court would rule whether or not a party is guilty of infringement while another would rule on the validity of the asserted patent.

The letter highlights how this bifurcation of duties might potentially lend itself to mischief:

Consequently, the proposed patent system, the letter argues, "could undermine rather than promote innovation in Europe."

Naturally, the signed parties ask that a framework be put in place wherein injunctions would be put on hold until a "decision on patent validity has been reached."

The signed parties also take umbrage with the fact that there are no guidelines regarding the rigidity with which injunctions will be handed down. If injunctions are handed out too freely, the letter reads, the result would be particularly harmful as rulings from the UPC would "extend beyond a single country to most of Europe." As a result, patent trolls operating under a UPC could abuse the system and force settlements from company's fearing adverse rulings that would have ramifications across a number of European countries.

The letter concludes:

Lastly, it's worth noting that not every European country is on board with a Unified Patent Court. The New York Times relays that Spain, Poland and Italy have all expressed concerns and reservations with the idea.