LOT Network
A patent network that only switches on when a patent ends up with a troll.
LOT stands for License on Transfer. Google, Canon, SAP, Dropbox, Newegg and Asana formed it in 2014 around a simple observation: many troll lawsuits are built on patents that a real company once sold off. Members therefore agree that if they sell a patent to an entity whose business is patent litigation, a license to every other member travels with it automatically.
As long as the patent stays with its owner, nothing happens – no cross-licence, no waiver. That makes joining cheap, and small companies pay no fee. Membership runs into the thousands. LOT complements the Open Invention Network, whose protection works against manufacturers but not against those with no product to lose.