Hospital PACS Systems Targeted for Patent Suits

Hospitals are increasingly finding themselves in an unfamiliar position — as targets in patent licensing schemes. Patent holding companies (often called “patent trolls” for their habit of collecting tolls on the information highway) make no products and offer no services. They simply act as repositories for patent portfolios, which they assert against entire industries. With no products of their own to protect, these companies are often immune from most counterclaims and the typical defenses used when fighting with a competitor. Many of these patent holding companies are well financed, with substantial resources from major institutions behind them.