Former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myrhvold has made a lot of noise in recent years with his new company Intellectual Ventures, a hothouse of thinkers who brainstorm lots of ideas for new technologies - 20,000 patents at the last count.
Seen by some as the Henry Ford of innovation - as in this glowing feature by Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker - he has also been accused of acting as a patent troll.
Today a report in the Wall Street Journal (subscription) examines the huge sums IV is making by pressuring companies to license the patents it has filed - including deals of up to $400m from names like Cisco and Verizon. The most cunning thing is that he doesn't actually sue for infringement, but simply gets companies to roll over by flexing his enormous patent library.
In an interview at his Bellevue, Wash., headquarters, Mr. Myhrvold acknowledged facing resistance from companies he targets for licenses. But his patent inventory gives him leverage to extract settlements without litigation. "I say, 'I can't afford to sue you on all of these, and you can't afford to defend on all these,'" Mr. Myhrvold said.
But does the lack of lawsuits make it OK? Without attempting to implement some of these ideas - you know, actually build some of the technologies his brain trust dreams up - isn't there a good chance that Myhrvold is holding back the innovation he champions?
