Patents in Motion: The Troubling Implications of the N-Data Settlement

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Anne Layne-Farrar (LECG) suggests all is not well with the FTC in Patents in Motion: The Troubling Implications of the N-Data Settlement.

ABSTRACT: A little over a year ago, in January 2008, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a settlement with Negotiated Data Solutions (“N-Data”) regarding the firm’s patent licensing practices in relation to the Ethernet standard for computer networking. That announcement has prompted a number of responses, both positive and negative, not so much because of the specifics of the case but rather because of the broader questions it raised. I highlight a few of these questions below, along with their broader policy implications.