Most Voters Still Clueless About Patent Trolls As Congress Advances Legislation

Tess Danielson | June 12, 2015

While Congress is diving into legislation that would overhaul patent litigation, voters have little to no interest in the top legislative priority for many in the tech industry. And the public’s understanding of so-called “patent trolls” hasn’t increased at all this year.

Even an HBO segment by John Oliver in April wasn’t enough to raise public awareness, as he did with net neutrality. Recent polling figures show that most registered voters don’t even have a basic understanding of the issue.

When asked to select the most accurate definition of a patent troll, 31 percent picked the wrong description, and 45 percent had no opinion or were unfamiliar with the term altogether, according to a Morning Consult poll conducted this month. Twenty-five percent picked the right definition.


“Patent trolls” is the lingo for a company that makes most of its profits using an acquired collection of patents to sue and collect revenues from other companies. The trolls have become a major topic of conversation on Capitol Hill in the past month. Viewed as a threat to the “innovation economy,” representatives on both sides of the aisle have taken up the cause to protect businesses, big and small, against firms that seek to take businesses to court or forcing them to settle.

in full: http://morningconsult.com/2015/06/most-voters-still-clueless-about-patent-trolls-as-congress-advances-legislation/