Bill Gates (Microsoft co-founder) and Nathan Myhrvold (Intellectual Ventures founder, former Microsoft CTO). Credit: Reuters

TWO days ago we wrote that it certainly seemed (based on new evidence) like Microsoft would start siccing trolls on (and against) companies such as Amazon and AWS customers -- something that some pundits had already hypothesised about (since the “Azure IP Advantage” announcement [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]).

"Is this a new modus operandi for Intellectual Ventures? Is Microsoft, a close ally of Intellectual Ventures, in the know about this?"We are now hearing, right from the mouths of Intellectual Ventures apologists, that the patents it gives away to other fake companies (which produce nothing) are being used to attack legitimate companies down in the Eastern District of Texas. Is this a new modus operandi for Intellectual Ventures? Is Microsoft, a close ally of Intellectual Ventures, in the know about this? Will some of these firms that Intellectual Ventures is arming go after AWS customers and never against Azure customers? We shall see...

As IAM put it today (remember that IAM repeatedly groomed this troll, the world's largest patent troll): "In December last year, however, IV’s Invention Science Fund made three separate transfers of 49 assets to an entity called Location Based Services LLC, a Plano-based business that appears to be controlled by Leigh Rothschild. He is listed on IV’s website as being part of its invention network and, according to the site, has turned to IV in the past to help monetise his own patents. He has also been only too happy to pursue alleged infringers through the courts and now appears prepared to try to monetise some of IV’s grants. Last month, Location Based Services filed three infringement lawsuits in East Texas against Rand McNally, MITAC Digital Corp and Garmin International."

"It's going to be difficult to keep track as Intellectual Ventures already has literally thousands of proxies, based on reliable press reports."It's not an isolated example. The title of the article is, "As IV increases its rate of patent sales, more of the assets it divests are ending up in court".

So it's Intellectual Ventures -- not just Microsoft -- which is now fueling massive number of lawsuits by giving patents to trolls. It's going to be difficult to keep track as Intellectual Ventures already has literally thousands of proxies, based on reliable press reports. ⬆