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Raleigh, NC
Rob Tiller is vice president and assistant general counsel for Red Hat, where he manages patent, trademark, and copyright matters. He is a frequent speaker and writer on open source legal issues. Before coming to Red Hat, he was a partner with the law firm of Helms, Mulliss & Wicker, PLLC, where he specialized in commercial and IP litigation. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, and a former clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Judge Stephen Williams of the D.C. Circuit. For non-left-brain activity, he enjoys playing the piano.
Authored Comments
I thought you were going in a different direction on champerty -- calling into question the relations of trolls and their attorneys. It's common for patent trolls to give their attorneys an interest in the lawsuit, which creates increased incentives for lawsuits and more lawsuits. That sounds a lot like champerty, but I haven't heard of anyone testing that idea.
Anyhow, there may be some answers to your question of why we shouldn't limit assignability of patents, but especially given the trademark example, it's a question worth asking. It sounds like a reasonable way to confine valid patents to legitimate uses.