诺基亚和苹果专利战揭示制度弊病

　　Google and Apple are the most valuable companies in the world, and undoubted winners from the smartphone boom.

　　谷歌(Google)和苹果(Apple)是全球市值数一数二的两家公司，无疑也是智能手机大发展的赢家。

　　In their wake lies Nokia’s handset business, which was sold to Microsoft and later wound down.

　　在他们身后躺着诺基亚(Nokia)的手机业务，后者被出售给微软(Microsoft)，后来关闭了。

　　But, when it comes to defending themselves against the arsenal¹ of patents Nokia built up in its years at the top, the US tech heavyweights want the world to view them as victims of unfair and anti-competitive behaviour.

　　但是，在谈到对抗诺基亚在其巅峰时期累积的专利库的时候，这两家美国科技巨擘希望世界将它们视为不公平和反竞争行为的受害者。

　　That rather delicious irony² emerged this week, as Apple filed a private antitrust suit against two companies that have acted as enforcers of Nokia’s patent portfolio³.

　　这种极具讽刺意味的事情发生在上周，苹果对代理诺基亚专利组合的两家公司提起了反垄断私人诉讼。

　　Apple claimed that Nokia was taking advantage of a legal system that is ripe for abuse by carving⁴ up its patent holdings and passing them on to specialist firms.

　　苹果宣称，诺基亚将所持专利切割成几块、将其转移至专业公司，是在利用一个易于被滥用的法律制度。

　　In the heated rhetoric⁵ of the intellectual property industry, Nokia had become that most detested⁶ of animals: a patent troll.

　　在知识产权领域激烈的口水仗当中，诺基亚已成为最令人憎恶的专利流氓。

　　Google took aim at the same arrangement in a complaint to European regulators four years ago.

　　谷歌4年前在向欧洲监管机构提起的申诉中将矛头对准了同样的行为。

　　It accused the Finnish company and Microsoft of colluding to raise smartphone prices and sidestep patent concessions⁷ that are essential to the smooth running of tech markets.

　　它指责诺基亚和微软合谋提高智能手机价格，回避科技市场平稳运转的关键——专利特许。

　　Today, it is tempting⁸ to view all of this as a battle involving deep-pocketed companies that are more than capable of taking care of themselves.

　　如今，人们会忍不住将这一切视为那些财大气粗、完全有能力照顾自己的公司之间的一场战斗。

　　But it has thrown a spotlight⁹ on an important question for the tech industry at large.

　　但它也突显出整个科技行业的一个重要问题。

　　At issue are patent assertion entities¹⁰ — specialised companies set up to buy and enforce IP rights.

　　争议焦点是专利主张实体，即那些专门为了收购并行使知识产权而设立的公司。

　　According to critics, these mercenaries feel no qualms¹¹ about abusing a shaky legal system to demand excessive royalties¹², upsetting a delicate balance in the tech world between inventors and the companies that gain from their inventions.

　　批评者们表示，这些雇佣兵放肆地滥用一个漏洞百出的法律体系来要求过高的专利费，打乱了科技行业发明者和发明受益公司之间的微妙平衡。

　　Some aspects of the patent enforcers are more obnoxious¹³ than others.

　　专利行使公司的其中一些做法尤其令人反感。

　　In a recent study, the US Federal Trade Commission generally approved of what it termed portfolio PAEs — companies that buy large bundles of patents — as they provide a useful economic function, and more than half of them share profits with the inventors.

　　在最近的一项研究中，美国联邦贸易委员会(FTC)基本上支持其所称的组合式专利主张实体，即大量购买专利的公司，因为它们提供了有用的经济功能，而且其中逾半数公司与发明者分享了利润。

　　True, they may be more willing to resort to legal action than tech companies with industry relationships to protect, and they are set up with the expertise¹⁴ and risk capital to go to war.

　　的确，与需要考虑维护行业关系的科技公司相比，它们可能更愿意诉诸法律行动，而且它们有充足的专长和风险资本来发起诉讼战。

　　But this by itself does not make them evil.

　　但这本身并不让它们成为魔鬼。

　　A second, more serious question is whether PAEs engage in asymmetric¹⁵ warfare¹⁶.

　　第二个更为严肃的问题是，专利主张实体是否发起了不对称战争。

　　As off-the-shelf legal vehicles with no operating businesses of their own, they can sue without fear of a countersuit.

　　作为自己没有任何运营业务的现成法律实体，他们可以放心提起诉讼而不用担心反诉。

　　They might also act as shell companies for the original patent owners, making it harder for defendants¹⁷ to press for legal discovery from the companies that first won the patent rights.

　　它们也可能作为专利初始所有人的壳公司，让被告方更难要求对最初赢得专利权的公司进行法律取证。

　　These less welcome side-effects seem acceptable if they are outweighed¹⁸ by the benefits of outsourcing legal rights.

　　如果外包法律权利的收益超过这些不太受欢迎的副作用，那么这一点似乎还可以接受，

　　But there are other, more pernicious results that may be harder to swallow.

　　但还有其他更有害的结果更难以让人接受。

　　One is the secrecy¹⁹ around some PAEs.

　　一是一些专利主张实体的神秘性。

　　When the ultimate beneficiary of a legal action is hidden, it is impossible for defendants to hit back with their own legal action.

　　当一起法律诉讼的最终受益人不明确的时候，被告方不可能发起自己的法律诉讼予以反击。

　　PAEs may also resort to dubious²⁰ tactics,

　　专利主张实体也可能使用一些阴招。

　　such as spreading a portfolio of patents through a number of different legal entities then forcing a company such as Apple to buy multiple licences to what amounts to the same technology.

　　比如将一系列专利转移至许多不同的法律实体，然后迫使苹果等公司为本质上相同的技术购买多项专利。

　　This practice is known in the industry as royalty²¹ stacking.

　　这种做法在业内被称为专利费叠加(royalty stacking)。

　　Another valid²² concern is whether some companies have used PAEs to escape their obligations to maintain open industry standards.

　　另一个站得住脚的担忧是，一些公司是否利用专利主张实体来逃避保持开放行业标准的义务。

　　When they own patents to technology that plays a part in industry standards, companies such as Nokia accept limits on how aggressively they can enforce their rights.

　　当拥有对行业标准有影响的技术专利时，对于其能够以多大力度行使权利，诺基亚等公司接受一定的限制。

　　But, once the patents are held by an arm’s length company, the same restraints might not apply.

　　但一旦专利是由一家关联公司持有的，同样的限制可能不适用。

　　Apple’s claims would carry more weight if the company itself had not been accused of balking²³ at the industry’s usual methods for dealing²⁴ with technology standards.

　　如果苹果自身没有被指回避业内处理技术标准的通常做法，它的主张将更有分量。

　　But one of Nokia’s suits charges the iPhone maker²⁵ with refusing to license²⁶ a set of patents used in the H.264 video compression standard, even though many other tech companies have accepted the same terms.

　　但诺基亚在一起诉讼中指控苹果拒绝向H.264视频压缩标准中使用的一系列专利支付专利费，即便其他许多科技公司接受了同样的条款。

　　It is also questionable²⁷ whether European competition regulators would race to the defence of US tech companies that have come under other scrutiny²⁸ in Brussels.

　　同时还令人质疑的是，欧洲反垄断监管机构是否会急于捍卫在其它问题上受到布鲁塞尔审查的美国科技公司。

　　With the amounts at stake rising — and patent enforcers now an entrenched²⁹ part of the legal landscape — a closer look at their tactics appears overdue³⁰.

　　随着牵涉到的利益不断加大——专利行使公司如今是法律版图中根深蒂固的一部分——我们似乎早该密切关注它们的战术。

1 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

2 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

3 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

4 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

5 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

6 detested   

v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They detested each other on sight. 他们互相看着就不顺眼。
• The freethinker hated the formalist; the lover of liberty detested the disciplinarian. 自由思想者总是不喜欢拘泥形式者，爱好自由者总是憎恶清规戒律者。 来自辞典例句

7 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

8 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

9 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

10 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

11 qualms   

n.不安；内疚

参考例句：

• He felt no qualms about borrowing money from friends.他没有对于从朋友那里借钱感到不安。
• He has no qualms about lying.他撒谎毫不内疚。

12 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

13 obnoxious   

adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的

参考例句：

• These fires produce really obnoxious fumes and smoke.这些火炉冒出来的烟气确实很难闻。
• He is the most obnoxious man I know.他是我认识的最可憎的人。

14 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

15 asymmetric   

a.不对称的

参考例句：

• Most people's faces are asymmetric. 大多数人的脸不对称。
• We have made no reference to asymmetric carbon atoms. 我们未曾涉及不对称碳原子。

16 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

17 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

18 outweighed   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的过去式和过去分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• This boxer outweighed by his opponent 20 pounds. 这个拳击选手体重比他的对手重20磅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She outweighed me by ten pounds, and sometimes she knocked me down. 她的体重超过我十磅，有时竟把我撞倒。 来自百科语句

19 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

20 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

21 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

22 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

23 balking   

n.慢行，阻行v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的现在分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He picked up a stone and let fly at the balking dog. 他捡起一块石头朝那狂吠的狗扔去。 来自互联网
• Democrats won't pass the plan without votes from rank-and-file Republicans andof-and-file Republicans were reportedly balking. 没有普通共和党议员的支持，民主党人无法通过这项方案——到周四晚间，据悉那些普通共和党人在阻挡（该计划）。 来自互联网

24 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

25 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

26 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

27 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

28 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

29 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

30 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。