License on Transfer (LOT) Network, a non-profit body committed to protecting companies against ‘patent trolls’, has waived its annual fee for start-ups.
Between now and March 1, 2017, any new companies with less than $5 million in annual fees that join the network will not have to pay a membership fee.
“We’ve noticed a shift in the tactics that trolls are using to attack companies. As you may have experienced yourself, over half of companies sued by trolls make less than $10 million a year; trolls know that it costs on average $3.2 million to defend yourself in a patent lawsuit,” said the network.
LOT claimed that protecting early stage companies from “frivolous litigation” would mean that the network is helping them to focus resources on commercialising great ideas.
Canon, Dropbox, Google and other technology companies formed LOT in 2014 in a bid to “cut down on patent troll litigation and the growing practice of patent privateering”.