Proposals before Congress to crack down on so-called patent trolls have pit major tech companies against each other. But they can be just as divisive in the public sector, too.
To see why, just take a look at the central Illinois cities of Champaign and Urbana, which are home to the state’s flagship public university.
The local bus agency was forced to settle with a so-called patent troll who claimed the intellectual property rights to technology that helped passengers track the arrival times of buses. Now the agency is weighing its options after receiving a threatening letter from a patent holder who claims exclusive rights to sell equipment for recording video on buses.
Image: A bus stop on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. FlickrCC/Benjamin Stone
