Microsoft Exec to Release Patent Troll Study

According to Xchange, a former Microsoft executive has underwritten a study aimed at patent trolls.  The study will be aimed at determining who is to blame for the large amount of patent suits -filed by non-practicing entities – that have hit the U.S. courts in the last decade.

If the study is effective, it will be interesting to see where the claims made by patent trolls originated.  While it may be impossible to figure out when patent trolls first appeared (since some cases probably didn’t even make it to trial), it may shed some light on trends within the IP community.

However, one comical aspect to the study is that the executive’s former company, Microsoft, makes its money by collecting patents.  To Microsoft’s credit, the company is far from a non-practicing entity.