The so-called patent hooligans refer to those enterprises that do not engage in the production of products or services. They rely on the acquisition of existing patents of other companies, but obtain income through legal proceedings. Patent hooligans tend to choose apple and Google, which are well-known and have huge amounts of cash.

It is reported that on Monday, the four technology companies filed a 23 page petition in federal court in San Jose, California. The plaintiff's law firm is WilmerHale (Perkins Coie).

The main allegation of the four companies is that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has rejected the patent examination process between the parties in some recent patent infringement lawsuits. In this process, the United States Patent and Trademark Office will reassess the validity of the patents involved.

Mark Chandler, Cisco's chief legal officer, said in an article on Monday that the new rules and practices of the U.S. patent and Trademark Office violate the legislative intent of the 2011 U.S. invention act, which establishes procedures for protecting intellectual property rights in the United States.

Before that, Cisco took another action. On Thursday, Cisco filed a 54 page petition with the U.S. Court of appeal, challenging the U.S. patent and Trademark Office's refusal to review a patent owned by Israeli company Ramot.

Mr. Chandler said Ramot sued Cisco in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas last summer, noting that the court was popular with patent plaintiffs because it could quickly resolve cases.

When Cisco filed an intellectual property petition asking the patent and Trademark Office to declare the Ramot patent invalid, the patent and Trademark Office rejected the petition on the grounds that the trial of the infringement case would be concluded before the patent reassessment.

It is reported that the four major technology companies have asked the court to issue an injunction to prohibit the entry into force of the new U.S. patent and Trademark Office's restrictions on the validity of patent retrial.

The media pointed out that it is particularly important for apple, Intel and other large technology companies to review or evaluate some patents, because if the U.S. patent and Trademark Office declares a patent invalid, it will be one of the best ways for technology companies to crack down on patent fraud.

It is reported that the practice supported by technology giants has become a deterrent to patent rogue companies, which may prevent them from initiating claim lawsuits, because once the patent is found to be invalid, the patent rogue companies will permanently lose their patent assets.

Intel, which is involved in the lawsuit, said that if the chances of patent retrial are less and less, it will encourage patent rogue companies to initiate more claims against technology companies.

Apple, which has more than $200 billion in cash, has become the biggest victim in the claims filed by patent hooligans. Apple has encountered countless patent infringement lawsuits, a considerable number of which come from patent rogue companies (they often Sue several technology companies around the same patent). Although most of the lawsuits were dismissed, Apple also lost in some cases Forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars.

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