Changes

According the more economic literature, NPEs may be a good thing, as they may increase competition, innovation, lower downstream prices and enhance consumer choice, as Geradin et al. (2012) claim. However, most authors are somewhat neutral. A small literature has explored the role of NPEs in creating a market for intellectual property (IP). This includes Hagiu and Yoffie (2011), Wang (2010), Pohlmann and Opitz (2010), and Merges (2009), as well as more descriptive contributions from McDonough III (2006) and Abril and Plant (2007). The market for ideas papers explore questions like "What accounts for the relative differences between these different patent intermediation models? ", "Can patent intermediaries make the market more liquid, or will the inefficiencies persist? ", and "What are the efficiency implications of the emergence of these intermediaries for the patent market and society at large? ", as in Hagiu and Yoffie (2011), who conclude that patent intermediaries have so far failed to achieve meaningful scale, but that there are reasons to worry about inefficiencies for small firms, large operating companies and end-consumers. Wang (2010) distinguishes between offensive and defensive aggregators, and claims the former will be first to fall to directed legislation, while the second latter will evolve in standard-setting and licensing bodies. Pohlmann and Opitz (2010) reviews just five cases to find that while patent trolls are an efficient way to enforce IPR, their enforcement leads to excessive royalty fees. And Merges (2009) says "All the evidence points to a major incidence of rentseeking, mixed in with the emergence of a perhaps valuable market for independent ideas and inventions.". In work related to the market for ideas, Lu (2011a) claims that NPEs may deliberately assemble portfolios of complements. As such NPEs may act to reduce the anti-commons problem associated with patent thickets. And Beron and Kinsella (2011) suggests that problem of litigation costs for startups might be mitigated by 3rd party litigation.