
Only time will tell whether this crackdown will really serve as a deterrent for those looking to abuse the patent system. Will the additional barriers placed between litigious PAEs and their targets be enough, or will the new complexities of patent laws—and the attendant higher costs of litigation—only serve to bolster the economic threat that these trolls can hang over the heads of the operating companies? And how will the extra hurdles in the patent application and protection process affect smaller companies whose growth often depends upon those patents? This legislation has the potential to be the bridge over troubled waters for startups and small businesses…or more ammunition for the trolls sitting beneath that very bridge.