What’s next for patent trolls, and can the Supreme Court stop them?

Apple and Samsung rang in the new year right where they ended last year, in federal court, resuming their years-long patent litigation over smartphones. On Tuesday, a federal appeals court expressed skepticism over several Apple claims, such as its “quick link” and “pinch-to-unlock” patents. But this week’s hearing was just a sidebar in a larger story. 

In December, Samsung appealed to the Supreme Court to resolve a distinct and particularly interesting question. The immediate concern is whether Samsung, under an 1887 law, must give Apple the “total profits” from sales of smartphones that contained a couple of minor contested patents. The larger import, however, could be to head off a new strategy of patent trolls, who are always searching for ways to exploit our complex intellectual property system.  

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