The U.S. FTC releases long-awaited report on patent assertion entities

Three years after initiating an extensive sector study under section 6(b) of the FTC Act, the Federal Trade Commission has issued its report on the activities of patent assertion entities ("PAEs"). The report, titled Patent Assertion Entity Activity: An FTC Study ("PAE Report"), sets forth the FTC's analysis of PAEs' patent acquisition, patent assertion, and licensing activities. Recognizing that PAEs "reflect[] the legal environment created by the U.S. patent system," the PAE Report identifies four specific recommendations for legislative and judicial reform intended to reduce the burden of nuisance litigation. Several of the FTC's recommendations have already been implemented, at least in part, through recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil