Tired of fighting sometimes frivolous patent-infringement suits that cost millions of dollars in legal fees, companies such as Google and Apple Inc. are using ownership questions to help their court cases. Unveiling litigants can get a suit dismissed, disclose the real entity behind a case or identify a target for revenge. Even before Suffolk lost its case, Google retaliated last year by filing a patent-infringement suit against British Telecom.
Hmm, why wouldn't an "investment company" want to be know for playing the litigation lottery?
Big companies hide behind little-known firms to avoid countersuits. Investment companies don't want it to be known that they're involved in patent litigation. And some patent owners keep portfolios separate to file multiple lawsuits against a company over different technology.
Federal law requires corporate disclosure statements in all lawsuits, so publicly traded companies have to reveal when they own an entity that's filed a lawsuit.
The disclosure rules don't apply to private companies.
Umm, why not?
