Shopify Inc. headquarters signage in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – Shopify Inc. says it wants to push back against the trend of companies filing hundreds of patent infringement lawsuits against businesses every year, and is waging a court battle to make its point.
So-called patent trolls are often shell companies who own vast portfolios of patents, which they profit from when they demand license payments from businesses within the scope of the patents, or pursue court cases against firms they allege are patent infringers.
Ottawa-based e-commerce software company Shopify says patent trolls often target small businesses and startups, which can’t afford to fight or lose a legal battle, thus stifling innovation.
In a LinkedIn post, the company’s general counsel Jess Hertz says that people funding such lawsuits often hide cowardly in the shadows, but in the majority of cases exact a quick payout.
As a result, Shopify says it is pursuing litigation that will identify who is funding patent trolls in cases lodged against the company.
It says it filed a motion in a Texas court demanding Lower48 IP LLC, which has connections to a data analysis and portfolio management services provider in the oil and gas industry, to reveal any third-party interests it has.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP)
