Potential Impact of Elwha LLC

In considering this patent forecast, one expects to see large athletic apparel companies, startups, and individual inventors. Seeing a name like Elwha LLC, a subsidiary of Intellectual Ventures, is a surprise. Intellectual Ventures is a Washington based Non-Practicing Entity (NPE), though they have made an effort to be known as an ideas development company. Their website currently lists almost 20,000 patents available to license, and they continue to apply for more as well. Elwha itself has over 1,000 patents at the moment,many of which are focused on data processing and surgery technologies. 

In this sector, Elwha is the largest individual patent holder with 17 documents. They are found in the Finger – Electronic segment, where their patents have to do with monitoring for injury and the treating of pain. It is unlikely they would look into the athletic performance market, but is important to be aware of nonetheless. As a subsidiary they are not involved in any patent litigation, but litigation is commonplace for Intellectual Ventures.