Abe Lincoln was a Patent Troll?
I guess he could be – he didn’t commercially exploit his patented technology, afterall.
That “patent troll” definitional thing is a bit tricky when you actually think about it.
But who is and who isn't exploiting the system is a grey area. Abe Lincoln obtained a patent, noted Brian Halla, CEO of National Semiconductor. He got it for inventing an inflatable pontoon that helped boats get past sandbars and other obstacles on canals. It's patent number 6469--see reference here.
Comments
I think Halla left out an important ingredient: which industry did Lincoln sue with his patent? Did he devise his patent to cover some obvious extension of current technology, then lie in wait to see if someone else would independently stumble into the snare he had set? Did he wait until the entire industry was using the obvious claims in his dubious patent before springing the trap, sending out dozens of C&D letters? Did he first achieve settlement victories over smaller players who were adverse to contesting his patent in courts, then use those funds to go after bigger players? Did his invention contribute nothing, yet enrich him fantastically?
Sorry, but I don't think old Abe fits the bill of 'patent troll,' and I think Halla was extremely disengenuous to suggest that he does.
Wikipedia has a user-written page on Patent trolling http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll What do you think?