Patent Busting Project
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Patent Busting Project is an Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) initiative challenging patents that the organization claims are illegitimate and suppress innovation or limit online expression. The initiative launched on April 19, 2004[1] and involves two phases: documenting the damage caused by these patents, and submitting challenges to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).[2][3][4]
Patent Busting Project | |
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Commercial? | No |
Type of project | Challenging illegitimate patents |
Owner | Electronic Frontier Foundation |
Established | April 19, 2004 |
Website | eff.org/issues/patent-busting-project |
The EFF's basic assumption is that many such patents are invalid due to prior art which has historically been difficult to document in software and internet fields. (Many patent owners file patents to cover seemingly trivial concepts without any intention of enforcing the patents, but rather to use as part of a larger patent portfolio in their own defense against potential future patent lawsuits.)