Hedge fund guy Bass challenges Shire drug patents

The AIA allows people who don't produce anything to challenge the patents of patent owners who do produce something, an interesting inversion of the troll story wherein patent owners who produce nothing sue entities who do make things.

There is a difference however. The troll action is infringement based but the AIA IPR action is validity based.

Recently, Bass of Hayman brought a second set of IPR actions against a drug company, this time Shire. Stating a public interest theme ( getting rid of bad drug patents that improperly elevate drug prices) Bass does not comment on whether he is shorting the stock of his targets. Even an ultimately flawed IPR is likely to cause an initial drop in target stock price.

Thus, the AIA, in allowing third parties to bring IPR actions, has allowed those parties to manipulate the stock prices of target patentees.