The best way to combat these trolls seems dubious at best, so what can be done? Thankfully, most evidence shows that true patent trolling accounts for only a tiny fraction of overall patent litigation. While specifically anti-trolling legislation like the recently proposed STRONG Patents Act appears to gives the FTC the power to determine that certain demand letters are in "bad faith" and penalize the companies that issue these letters, Congress last passed comprehensive patent reform only 5 years [https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/632/text#toc-id645863c82106422dbabf0358ad52716d ago] in 2011, and the unintended consequences from those changes still appear to be manifesting. Without carefully analyzing the potential effects of broad reform, Congress may want to avoid rushing to combat the small amount of abusive litigation activity with sweeping changes that could negatively affect everyone.
Google Doc Link: https://docs.google.com/a/rice.edu/document/d/1BiU8C8YEnUlblV1szjfr4yLuwh2yI3t-qa8bbzp1qAY/edit?usp=sharing