The interesting article at "IP finance: Meet the Trademark Troll" poses the question of how to determine the value of defending a trademark opposition (the low cost option) vis-a-vis pursuing a civil litigation strategy (the high cost option).
From a theoretical economics perspective, one would expect not to see the "Trademark Troll" business model very often. The main reason is that the choice of trademarks is very wide and flexible, compared to the situation in patents and technology (a necessary and sufficient condition to having a product). If faced with an opposition, abandoning the mark is often an easy choice, leaving the Troll empty handed.
But it bears considering that Apple Inc. has, in the past few years, barged into this territory head on by branding new products and services using the "i" prefix, regardless of the pre-existence of trademarks for iPhones (like in the case with Cisco), iPads (as in the case with Fujitsu), or iAds (like in the Innovate Media case) to name the most prominent.
So, is Apple reverse-trolling trademarks? And, if so, is this an inexpensive strategy as the rumored $1 million settlement leaked by a consultant despite the confidentiality of the settlement? or is it as expensive as the potential $10 million also hinted at in the confidential settlement breach? (Did Apple pay big bucks in iAds settlement?)
1 comments:
How will Apple react to this breach of confidentiality? This kind of publicity could end up costing them tens of Millions of dollars in future negotiated settlements. I can only assume that whoever leaked this information is going to suffer the full wrath of Apple's legal team. Remember Gizmodo... re: iPhone 4 leak. This company better be prepared. Apple can't allow this type of breach to go without punishment. The irony of it all is that the leak apparently came from a small consulting firm that makes its reputation on protecting the intellectual property (e.g. confidential information) of its clients. This can only be seen as a pathetic attempt to trade off of the goodwill of the 800 pound Gorilla!
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