patents: Intellectual Ventures vs. Google

Google set to face Intellectual Ventures in landmark patent trial | Reuters:



patent litigation before a jury of non-expert citizens is akin to a lottery

The trial takes place amid an unfolding debate in Congress over patent reform, in which Intellectual Ventures and Google are on opposite sides. Google is backing attempts to curb software patents and make it easier to fight lawsuits, while IV has warned that Congress should not act too rashly to weaken patent owners' rights.

Since its founding in 2000,  Intellectual Ventures has raised about $6 billion (3.6 billion pounds) from investors and has bought tens of thousands of intellectual property assets from a variety of sources. Google was an investor in IV's first patent acquisition fund, but did not join later vehicles.