PHOENIX, Nov. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- LOT Network, the leading international nonprofit community of companies protecting against costly litigation brought by patent assertion entities (PAEs, referred to by some as "patent trolls"), today announced that its membership continues to diversify with strong additions from international markets. Today, LOT Network has hundreds of member companies representing more than 35 countries, including China, which is currently one of the most active patent markets in the world. As IP systems continue to evolve globally, international representation in LOT Network is projected to swell, led by forward-looking companies such as Alibaba, Ant Financial, Meituan Dianping, Square Enix, Tencent, Yamaha, and others.
In today's global, intertwined economy, the importance of innovation cannot be overstated, and PAEs are a threat to innovation, both now and in the future. In the US, PAEs are known to track patent activity and take advantage of the slightest opportunity, and this is likely to increase in other markets. Joining LOT Network provides protection again PAEs, as well membership among the world's most IP savvy companies who are driving innovation at a global scale. Moreover, there are competitive advantages offered by collective action against frivolous PAE litigation.
"As technology moves at the speed of innovation, we're seeing a global awareness developing around a need to be proactive about PAE litigation and adopt a global solution," said Hideke Sanatake, Executive Officer at Canon, and Deputy Group Executive - Corporate IP & Legal Headquarters. "As a founding member of LOT Network, we are glad to see so many Japanese, Korean and Chinese companies in LOT. We're seeing adoption from technology leaders who want to head off trouble before it starts."
Many of the world's top innovators in AI, cloud, electronics, and 5G are actively taking a stand against patent assertion entities. Hundreds of companies have joined forces with competitors and partners alike to address an issue that threatens global innovation. Members recognize that the patent system was developed to protect innovation, and that patents provide powerful rights, regardless of whose hands they are in. LOT Network's community wants a strong international patent system, but they have mutually agreed to work together to immunize themselves from the costs of PAEs.
Mr. Qi Zhou, IP Director at Meituan Dianping said, "It's a pleasure to join LOT Network, and we believe that the unique licensing mechanism designed by LOT Network could both help to reduce the speculative nature of patent transactions, while also further helping the patent market return to more rational valuations. We look forward to cooperating with all LOT Network members to create a better intellectual property environment that enables enterprises to do business with reasonable costs and in an efficient way."
Together LOT Network members, large and small, have entered into a legal agreement stating that if their patents fall into the hands of a PAE, the other members of the community gain a free license to use the technology. That means that a PAE can no longer use that patent to sue any company that is a member of the network, while all traditional uses of patents, such as selling them or asserting them even against other member companies, are retained. With hundreds of companies joining together, they are protected from litigation from nearly 2 million patents and counting.
About LOT Network:
LOT Network is an international community of the world's leading high-tech companies committed to protecting its members from costly patent troll litigation. LOT Network currently protects its members from litigation from over a million and a half worldwide patents and counting. Network members include market leaders such as Red Hat, Canon, Google, Tesla, Cisco, Amazon, Microsoft, Alibaba and Salesforce, as well as innovative companies across industries. Please visit http://www.lotnet.com to learn more.
SOURCE LOT Network
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