The presence of trademark trolls in the world of business has been steadily increasing over the past few years. According to a recent survey, the number of trademark troll cases in the U.S. increased from 1,401 cases in 2005 to 5,842 cases in 2011. In addition, the aggregate costs incurred to the U.S. economy by trademark trolls had been estimated to be over $29 billion in 2011.
In the following infographic, Secure Your Trademark outlines three types of trademark trolls that exist, provide additional statistics about the costs associated with trademark trolls, and shed light on a few recent trademark troll case studies.