Taking on patent trolls
Earlier this year, Cisco Systems (CSCO) joined LOT1 Network, a nonprofit alliance originally forged by Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google as a long-term defense against patent trolls. Patent trolls are individuals or businesses that purchase patents at auction with the intention of monetizing them by filing lawsuits to enforce the patents. Patent trolls hold these patents instead of utilizing them in an effort to prevent other companies from developing an idea.