Discovery Communications, the parent company of The Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, recently sued Amazon for patent infringement. The accused device is none other than Amazon’s version of sliced bread, the Kindle wireless reading device.
News of this story left many people asking, “Does Discovery have an electronics division? Is it planning to launch its own electronic reading device?”
Nope and Nope. Turns out, Discovery is a good old-fashioned patent troll. Um, I mean “non-practicing entity.” The company doesn’t make an electronic reader, nor does it plan on making an electronic reader. Rather, it just happens to be the proud owner of an issued patent that counsel believes Amazon is infringing by making and selling the Kindle.
Troll bashers will assume the company acquired the patent through a bankruptcy proceeding or via some other unsavory tactic. The truth couldn’t be a colder reality, though. Turns out, the company’s founder, John Hendricks is a non-practicing inventor, and the asserted patent is the result of good old-fashioned, home grown inventing.
This CNet article explains Mr. Hendricks efforts:
“…John Hendricks is a bit of an inventor. In the 1990s, Hendricks tried his hand at coming up with systems to digitize content. He explored technologies involving the digitization of TV content as well as e-book systems. In 2004, he sold the TV patents but Discovery kept the e-reader patents.”
According to most definitions, Discovery, in this matter, appears to qualify as a patent troll. The company doesn’t manufacture or market anything under the patent, and arguably waited for a market to develop before filing its lawsuit.
But could The Discovery Channel really be a troll? Or, is it possible that Discovery is doing nothing more than enforcing its rights that flow from Mr. Hendricks’ decision to disclose his invention to the world?
This is certainly one to watch. We might just have to redefine “patent troll” once again.
