A subsidiary of patent troll Acacia has recently acquired a patent for technology relating to hearing aids from a major company in the industry. The subsidiary of Acacia Research Corporation has acquired the patent in its ongoing effort to broaden its licensing success.
Many major tech companies have partnered with Acacia in licensing agreements for their patentable technologies. Acacia, a US company with headquarters in California, is known for using strong arm tactics to secure a leadership role in the technology licensing space, and continues to aggressively expand its patent portfolio through licensing agreements such as this one.
Acacia Research Corporation currently controls almost 200 patent portfolios that cover a wide range of technologies in various industries. Through its numerous subsidiaries, Acacia’s business model is premised on patent trolling. This involves Acacia buying patents and then licensing them or filing lawsuits against alleged infringers of its intellectual property.
This most recent acquisition in the medical technology space adds to Acacia’s existing patent portfolio on hearing aid technology which dates back to acquisitions the company made in 2005. These acquisitions were originally made by Acacia Patent
Acquisition Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Acacia Technologies. They acquired several patents at that time which covered hearing aid technology known as electromagnetic compatibility shielding, or ECS. This form of technology is common to most hearing aids on the market today.
It is a patented technology which helps to shield the devices from electromagnetic interference that is emitted by mobile devices like cell phones, wireless headsets and WiFi/Bluetooth devices. ECS technology is easy to incorporate into a variety of hearing aid styles, and the market for these medical devices in the US is lucrative with millions of units sold annually.
The average price of hearing aids incorporating ECS technology can vary widely from $1000 to over $3000.
