PATENT TROLLING: THE ESSENCE OF THE PHENOMENON AND WAYS OF OVERCOMING

With the rapid development of innovative society, interest in intellectual property rights is growing, which, in turn, leads to numerous abuses in this area. The article is devoted to the consideration of such phenomenon as patent trolling. In particular, it analyzes the reasons for its occurrence, the negative impact on business, the mechanism of action of the patent troll. The author compares patent wars in Ukraine and in the United States. In particular, it is noted that in Ukraine patent trolls specialize in registering patents for well-known things, while peculiarity of patent trolling in the US is buying and registering patents, that protect new technologies. The author also analyzes the causes of the origin of this phenomenon. Attention is drawn to the imperfection of Ukrainian legislation. The author affirms that the patent trolls' vigorous activity is facilitated by a fairly simple procedure for granting patents, because for this it is necessary to undergo only a formal examination of the compliance of the object with the conditions of patentability, namely, novelty and industrial applicability. The author has considered ways to overcome patent trolling. In particular, it is noted that the only effective way to counter it is judicial way. The legislation of Ukraine provides for the possibility of appealing the issued patent in court. However, the author affirms that resolving conflict in this way takes a lot of time, and this in turn negatively affects on the conduct of business. The author of the article concludes that patent trolling creates a real threat to economic activity, breaks the principles of fair competition in the market, and therefore this issue requires not only further research and theoretical development, but also legislative changes. One of the ways to solve this issue is the introduction of a more stringent procedure for granting patents, including the examination of a patent application.