Although it is too early to know for sure, the RPX Defensive Patent Aggregation Service has just signed Epson and added it to other big names like Cisco and IBM. As you may recall this organization is like a mega patent aggregation club for companies looking to protect themselves from frivolous claims.
While our government is hard at work trying to figure out how to dole out billions of dollars to get people hired for jobs which seem to primarily require manual labor, I wonder if there aren’t better opportunities for these very same workers that could be created by just reforming the patent system.
Until that point, I hope RPX and/or companies like them help to level the playing field and afford some protection to companies who have (or are likely to) become frivolous patent litigation victims.
See Also Law.com