On his blog, Sun’s general counsel Mike Dillon provides an explanation as to why his company took the decision back in 2005 to reduce the number of patent applications it files:

… Part of the reason is financial. On average, it costs more than $20,000 to obtain a US patent and this figure grows significantly when you file around the world. Also, this amount does not include annual annuities required to keep a patent in effect. Being selective in what you patent can result in significant savings. However, the bigger reason for the change is that our focus has shifted from quantity to quality. To this end, we have completely re-architected the manner in which we determine the innovations we will patent. As part of this process, inventions are reviewed by a panel of the chief technology officers from across our different lines of businesses with input from distinguished engineers and other experienced innovators. We apply a significant amount of scrutiny to determine whether something is truly innovative before we submit it to the PTO. For us, it doesn't make sense to patent everything. Rather, our focus is on patents that represent significant technological innovation. (In this regard, we were happy to see that the Federal Circuit will reconsider the patentability of business methods.)

Aside from our focus on patent quality, there is another reason we are filing fewer patents. It has to do with our business model. Unlike some companies, we don't have a corporate goal for revenue derived from patents (and patent litigation). Instead, we invest in patents to support our customers and the communities in which we participate. This support can be in the form of a defensive response to an attack on a community or in the form of the assurance provided by the patent licensing provisions of the CDDL or GPLv3. In the end, it's about delivering innovation to our customers and communities.

If they succeed, we succeed.

It will not work for everyone - and, of course, Sun's business model is very different to those of most other companies. But there is a general lesson here, surely. It is a big step to refocus your patent filing strategy, but doing so can bring major benefits. For a start, you spend less money, you can give more attention to the applications you do make and you help to free up examiner time at patent offices.

In an ideal world, all companies would be constantly re-evaluating the reasons why they file patents and deciding whether these stand up to scrutiny. Often, however, it is just less complicated to stick with the status quo. This is one of the contributing factors to the growing backlogs in patent offices across the world.

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