WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a final order approving agreed upon actions by MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC, and its law firm. The FTC alleged that MPHJ used deceptive communications when threatening thousands of small businesses, innovative companies and individuals with frivolous allegations they were infringing MPHJ’s patent.
Statement from Jon Potter, President, Application Developers Alliance:
“The FTC could have and should have done more to punish MPHJ and thereby deter all patent trolls from extorting businesses. Patent trolls like MPHJ send demand letters to thousands of businesses – extorting money, stifling innovation and costing our economy billions. The FTC’s consent decree with MPHJ is a prime example of why states like North Carolina are taking matters into their own hands and passing laws to discourage abusive behavior by all trolls.”
The weak enforcement action of the FTC demonstrates that comprehensive patent reform legislation is needed, including meaningful demand letter provisions, in order to deter trolls from continuing their abusive tactics.”
###
The Application Developers Alliance is a non-profit global membership organization that supports developers as creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs. The Apps Alliance, which now includes more than 200 corporate members and 36,000 individual members, launched in January of 2012 and initiated European services in early 2014. Membership includes app publishers, developer agencies, platforms, wireless carriers, hardware manufacturers, ad networks, enterprise tools and service providers.
