Patent Trolls Look to Pad Their Bottom Line at the Expense of Students

During his first week in office, President Joe Biden outlined his COVID-19 strategy for Americans, part of which was aimed at getting children back into the classroom. After almost a year-long absence for many schoolchildren, there are numerous details to be worked out and teachers’ concerns to be addressed before schools will be able to reopen. In the meantime, millions of students and educators will continue remote learning, making reliable connectivity more important than ever. This vital educational tool could be jeopardized, however, by an under-the-radar threat unbeknownst to most Americans — “patent trolls.” These businesses exist solely to use acquired patent rights to extort funds from their targets, but in this instance, the damage could extend beyond monetary to impacting the ability of students and educators to successfully continue remote learning.

While America’s wireless networks are up to the task of supporting online learning, access to those networks can be much more difficult for families with limited financial resources. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 80% of households with school-age children were using some form of online distance learning last spring, but students from lower-income families often fell far behind more affluent classmates.

In a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, almost 60% of lower-income parents said their children faced digital obstacles in their schoolwork, about twice the rate experienced by higher-income homes. Furthermore, significant percentages of remote learning students had to do their homework on cellphones or use public Wi-Fi due to unreliable Internet connections at home. More than one of every five of these same parents said they are not able to complete their assignments because they have no online access at home, at all.

School districts, nonprofits, and private sector companies are stepping up to help close the “homework gap.” Many internet service providers offer reduced-cost connectivity and installations for families that meet income guidelines. Numerous technology companies have donated laptops and other hardware to public schools. Nearly half of all school districts recently polled indicated they distribute computers and tablets to students, with a particular emphasis on assisting those from low-income families who need extra support in order to access class materials online.

Unfortunately, all of these good efforts are running into unexpected headwinds from nuisance entities that are simply looking to make a quick profit. Patent trolls continue to pursue litigation against technology companies that provide the tech devices students need. When successful, these trolls can inflict tangible harm to the availability and prices of the products that support distance learning and the millions of other daily tasks people perform online.

A company named Neodron serves as a cautionary tale. It has filed complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against some of the world’s leading manufacturers of connected touchscreen devices, asking for a complete product ban (known as an exclusion order) based on a few alleged patent infringements related to touch screen technology. Amazingly, Neodron’s two ITC complaints ask to exclude more than 80% of all tablets and close to 90% of smartphones from being imported into the United States, according to IDC, a data analytics firm.

The company never has and never will manufacture any kind of tech device, and so it has no real interest in protecting patent rights — and certainly no interest in supporting remote learning students. Patent trolls like Neodron pursue these complaints simply to coerce a settlement from their targets, who — even though the facts may be on their side — often choose to pay rather than face protracted court fights. (Historically, less than one percent of defendants in suits filed by patent trolls ultimately are found to have infringed the patents in any claim.) These clearly are nuisance suits but they can create enormous hardship — in this case for students and teachers who are highly dependent on technology at a time when in-person instruction is severely limited or precluded altogether.

To address this issue and protect the device availability that allows students to do their schoolwork from home, Congress should adopt the “Advancing America’s Interest Act.” If passed, this legislation will reform the ITC’s process by requiring, among other provisions, that the agency ensure the public interest will not be harmed before it issues any import ban. That would stop the ITC from giving precedence to a troll’s handful of patents at the cost of limiting remote learning access for millions. Together, the law’s reforms would prevent companies from gaming the system for undeserved profits.

Teachers and students, especially those who are low-income, are faced with many challenges during this pandemic. Losing access to essential tech devices so patent trolls can pad their bottom lines should not be one of them.

Note: This article first appeared in Real Clear Policy, March 30, 2021