Conversation in the Digital Age: Panel of Experts Will Discuss How We’re Changing

The topic of the evening is an exploration of conversation in the digital age, as two Hartford institutions come together to bring some perspective to how we communicate in the age of technology, and how we don’t. On Wednesday, May 4, The Connecticut Forum in partnership with the Mark Twain House & Museum will present DISCONNECT: Conversation in the Digital Age. The event is described as an (old-fashioned) conversation with three nationally-recognized digital experts to discuss “how social media and our ubiquitous devices have impacted the art of authentic conversation.”  They pose the question: if conversation is how we truly connect to others, what happens when face-to-face communication decreases?

The panel will feature Dr. David Greenfield from the Center for Internet & Technology Addiction, Slow Tech Movement founder Janell Burley Hofmann, and tech ethicist David Ryan Polgar. Jamie Daniel, director of programming at The Connecticut Forum, will moderate the conversation.

Polgar says that opportunities for fluid conversations have diminished, to our detriment. “We have adapted technology faster than we can adjust our norms or our etiquette.  Do we ever have a prolonged conversation anymore?  There’s a difference between communication and conversation,” he suggests.

“We’re constantly packaging ourselves – exercising brand management in our conversations,” he observes.  “We’re so plugged in, we don’t do eye-to-eye communicating much anymore – there’s a need to increase facetime in our communication.”

Polgar is a frequent speaker and respected tech commentator/writer, and has been featured in The Boston Globe, Financial Times, BBC, SiriusXM, Sydney Morning Herald, VentureBeat, US News & World Report, TEDx, and Forbes, among other publications. He is also co-founder of the Digital Citizenship Summit, a global network of summits focused on safe, savvy, and ethical use of social media and technology. With a background as an attorney and educator, he examines tech use from an ethical, legal, and emotional perspective, providing a unique look into emerging trends and business insight.

“We’re thrilled to collaborate with the Twain House on this timely event,” said Connecticut Forum Executive Director Doris Sugarman. “We welcome opportunities like this to facilitate and encourage dialogue about compelling topics that impact our communities and our lives.”

Individuals planning on attending can send in a question in advance of May 4, via a link  that provides a form for questions to be directed at a specific panelist, or the entire panel.

Janell Burley Hofman is the author of the book, iRules: What Every Tech-Healthy Family Needs to Know About Selfies, Sexting, Gaming and Growing Up. She is also a speaker and consultant on topics like technology, media, health, relationships and personal growth. She will be signing copies of her book after the program.

Dr. David Greenfield is the founder of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He is recognized as one of the world’s leading voices on Internet, computer, and digital media behavior, and a pioneer concerning compulsive and addictive use. He is the author of the Virtual Addiction, which rang an early warning bell with tech overuse when it came out in 1999.  He lectures to public and medical/psychiatric groups throughout the world, and has appeared numerous times on national media and publications.

“I am looking forward to hearing from this panel of experts on questions that we consider every day,” said Jamie Daniel, Director of Programming at The Connecticut Forum, who will be moderating the discussion.  “How is technology changing the way we make friends, fall in love, and parent our kids? How is our online discourse impacting the way we engage in politics? Connect with one another? Shape our communities? And how is social media changing our relationships - and our brains? This amazing panel will help us consider all of this, and more.”

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The Connecticut Forum is a (c)(3) nonprofit organization serving Connecticut and beyond with live, unscripted conversations among renowned experts and celebrities, and community outreach programs including the Connecticut YOUTH Forum.  The Mark Twain House & Museum has restored the author's home, where the author and his family lived from 1874 to 1891. In addition to providing tours of the National Historic Landmark, the institution offers activities and educational programs that illuminate Twain's literary legacy and provide information about his life and times.

Tickets for DISCONNECT are $10. ($5 for Mark Twain House & Museum members and Connecticut Forum subscribers) The program on Wednesday, May 4 begins at 7 PM.  Photo: (l to r) David Greenfield, Jannell Hofmann, David Ryan Polgar.

CT Ranks Behind 33 States as Technology Innovation Adopter, Report Finds

Twelve states and the District of Columbia are now championing innovation-friendly policies at the highest level according to the 2016 Innovation Scorecard, an annual innovation policy performance index developed by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wisconsin are first-time Innovation Champions – the top designation - joining repeat champion winners Delaware, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, Utah, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Connecticut ranked in the third of four tiers, as an Innovation Adopter. The CTA Innovation Scorecard grades every state and the District of Columbia on 10 criteria, ranging from quantitative to qualitative, and ranks them across four categories — Innovation Champions (13 states), Innovation Leaders (20 states), Innovation Adopters (12 states including Connecticut) and Modest Innovators (6 states).

"We hope the Innovation Scorecard will be a guide for states who want to embrace those policies that best drive innovation, create good jobs and fuel economic growth," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association. "We've identified and measured some key practices that enable innovators to thrive including drawing entrepreneurs from across the country, welcoming disruptive business models and educating the workers of tomorrow. But unless more state policymakers adopt a light regulatory framework, they risk sending valuable talent and economic growth to a neighboring state - or, far worse, overseas."

The 2016 Innovation Champion states earned high grades for maintaining strong right-to-work legislation, fast Internet access, a robust entrepreneurial climate and an open posture to new business models and technologies. Other Scorecard criteria are tax policy, tech workforce, investment attraction; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degrees; unmanned innovations and sustainability policies. Since the last edition of the Scorecard, six states regressed to a lower tier.

Connecticut’s top grade, a B+, come in the Attracts Investment category.  The state earned a B in four categories:  Fast Internet, Tech Workforce, Welcomes New Business Models and Grants STEM degrees, and a B- in Entrepreneurial Activity.  The state’s lesser grades were in the categories Tax Friendly (C-), Innovation-Friendly Sustainable Policies (D) and Right to Work (F).  The report indicates that “Connecticut’s state-run electronics recycling system overcharges residents and manufacturers of consumer tech products, who pay for recycling at twice the market rate.”

The report also highlights an area of decline in Connecticut:  “Over $100 million of venture capital left Connecticut in 2015, causing the state to lose ground after earning an ‘A-’ in the category in the inaugural 2015 Scorecard. Connecticut should improve its tax code, which is among the least growth-friendly in the country, and reform regulations that stifle innovation.”

Among the findings: Delaware, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Utah and the District of Columbia have the fastest Internet speeds in the country; Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming are among the leading states - along with the District of Columbia - at creating new jobs and new small businesses; and Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi and Oregon were the only states earning a top grade for creating a policy environment favorable toward drones.

Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™, formerly the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, is the trade association representing the $287 billion U.S. consumer technology industry.

CT Women of Innovation To Be Honored This Week

The 12^th annual Women of Innovation® awards gala this week will recognize 52 women who are accomplished in science, technology, engineering, math and who are involved in their community, five college students and seven high school students who have already begun to demonstrate similar accomplishment. The annual awards event is “a time for like-minded, successful women to network and celebrate their accomplishments,” continuing a tradition led by the Connecticut Technology Council aimed at recognizing women in a range of innovative businesses, education and communities, and highlighting role models for young women looking ahead to career pursuits.

The categories include:

• Youth Innovation and Leadership
• Collegian Innovation and Leadership
• Community Innovation and Leadership
• Research Innovation and Leadership
• Academic Innovation and Leadership
• Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership
• Small Business Innovation and Leadership
• Large Business Innovation and Leadership

One woman in each of the eight categories will be selected as a top Woman of Innovation in her category, at the April 6 awards ceremony.

Among the nominees, in the Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership category, are Marcia Fournier, Founder & CEO of BioArray Therapeutics, Inc.; Gloria Kolb, CEO/Owner of Elidah, Inc.; Wendy Davis, CEO of GestVision, Inc.; Amy McCooe, Co-CEO of Level Up Village; Nicole Bucala, CEO of MIFCOR; Kelly Simpson-Angelini, CEO and Chief Strategic Officer of Simpson Heathcare Executives; Janine Darling, Founder & CEO of STASH America, LLC; and Anuja Ketan, Chief Technology Officer at Zillion Group Inc.

The women nominated in the Small Business Innovation and Leadership category include Melissa Casini – etouches, Norwalk, (Director of Account Management); Dina Dubey – Z-Medica, Wallingford,  (Executive VP, Corporate Development); Merrie London – Connecticut Innovations, Rocky Hill (Manager, SBIR and Federal Leveraging Programs); Jackie Mulhall – SMC Partners, Hartford (Director); Pam Perdue – Continuity Control, New Haven (Founder, EVP Regulatory Operations); and Kathleen Roberge – etouches, Norwalk (VP of Global Sales).

The full list of nominees includes individuals at some of Connecticut’s leading companies, including Sikorsky Aircraft, Frontier Communications, Hartford Hospital, Pfizer, and Pratt & Whitney. Academic institutions with Women of Innovation include the University of Connecticut, Wesleyan University, University of Bridgeport, and Yale University.

The keynote speaker for the April 6 awards program will be Congresswoman Elizabeth H. Esty, U.S. Representative for the 5th Congressional District of Connecticut. During the past 11 years, more than 500 women have been honored by Women of Innovation.

“Our state’s innovation sector recognizes the essential contributions its female engineers, scientists, programmers, physicians, mathematicians and teachers make in developing new products and services, advancing health technologies and serving as educators and role models for generations of women that follow,”said Connecticut Technology Council President and CEO Bruce Carlson. “Women of Innovation® allows us to put the spotlight on these exceptional innovators and leaders and connect them with a professional network of other women who strive for excellence.”

https://youtu.be/Uz1gQ96Yk1c

Survey Says: Parents Don't Trust On-line Doctor Ratings, But Use Them

As the annual observance of National Doctors’ Day approaches this week, a new national survey indicates that nearly one-third (30%) of parents report looking at online doctor ratings for themselves or a family member in the past year, with mothers (36%) more likely than fathers (22%) to visit such sites. Among these parents, two-thirds say they selected or avoided a doctor based on the ratings they viewed. Among parents who choose doctors based on the ratings, most (87%) say the online ratings accurately reflect their experience with the doctor. The survey was conducted for C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan.

The survey also found, however, that a majority of parents have concerns about doctor rating websites in general. About two-thirds of parents believe some ratings may be fake; slightly fewer feel there are not enough ratings on the websites to make a good decision. More than half of parents feel doctors may influence who leaves ratings. Among parents in this survey who had ever left an online rating about a doctor (11% overall), nearly one-third (30%) reported that the doctor or office staff had asked them to do so.

National Doctors’ Day was established to recognize physicians, their work, and their contributions to society and the community. National Doctors’ Day is observed on March 30 each year.  The holiday was officially signed into U.S. law in the early 1990s by President George H. W. Bush, although since the early 1930s patients and healthcare organizations across the country have been celebrating their physicians on this day.

In the on-line ratings survey, older parents generally had more concerns than younger parents. Of parents age 30 and older, 71 percent were concerned about the possibility of fake reviews compared to 59 percent of parents under age 30. Older parents (65%) also were more concerned about the low number of ratings compared to younger parents (55%).

The survey analysis pointed out that “while the use of online physician rating sites is expected to keep rising, their growth may be limited by concerns from parents about accuracy and authenticity.”

In recognition of National Doctors’ Day, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford has urged patients to post a message to their doctor, and many of the messages have been displayed on the hospital’s web site.  Other organizations around the state also take note of the contributions of physicians to the well-being of the population.

Most Expensive State for Car Insurance? Michigan Ranks First, CT is 17th

The most expensive car insurance rates in the nation are in Michigan.  Connecticut ranks 17^th.   It is the third consecutive year that Michigan has topped the list. Connecticut’s average of $1,367 is 3 percent above the national average of $1,325.  The average rate in Connecticut jumped by 24 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to the survey.  The Connecticut data was compiled in February.  Among the New England states, Rhode Island was ranked tenth, averaging $1,608, Massachusetts ranked 21^st at $1,325. Maine had the lowest rates, at $808 annually.

Insure.com’s 2016 state-by-state comparison of auto insurance premiums found that Montana captured the No. 2 spot for the second year in a row. New Jersey broke into the top five for the first time ever, Louisiana was No. 4, and Oklahoma rounded out the top five.

On the flipside of the cost coin, Maine led the way for the cheapest car insurance in the country. Maine has been in the top three for the least expensive car insurance for all six years of the study, according to insure.com. This year, Ohio came in No. 2, Wisconsin was three, Idaho took fourth, and New Hampshire earned No. 5.

The annual study compiles rates from six large insurance carriers in 10 ZIP codes in every state. Rates were for the same full-coverage policy for the same driver -- a 40-year-old man with a clean driving record and good credit. The rates are an average for the 20 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. in order to present more accurate rates for the average driver – without high-end sports or luxury cars skewing the data. Each model was rated on its cheapest-to-insure trim level.

The national average for a full-coverage policy as featured in the Insure.com report came in at $1,325 this year – a slight increase from last year’s average of $1,311. Rates varied from a low of $808 a year in Maine to a budget-busting $2,738 in Michigan. Insurance rates in Michigan are more than double (107 percent) the national average.

Insurance rates are influenced by a number of different factors. Everything from traffic, crime rates, state and local laws, the percentage of uninsured drivers, as well as the number of insurance companies competing in a market can all result in higher or lower insurance premiums in your state.

Insure.com commissioned Quadrant Information Services to calculate auto insurance rates from six large carriers (Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, Nationwide, Progressive and State Farm) in 10 ZIP codes per state. Insure.com averaged rates in each state for the cheapest-to-insure 2016 model-year versions of America’s 20 best-selling vehicles and ranked each state by that average. Rates are for comparative purposes only within the same model year.

CT is Nation’s 5th Most Innovative State, Ranks 4th in Productivity

Massachusetts is the nation’s most innovative state, with California scoring a close second and Washington, New Jersey and Connecticut rounding out the top five states, according to The Bloomberg U.S. Innovation Index, in findings that highlighted the connections between education, research and innovation. "There are some things that state governments can do to make their states more attractive to research and development," including R&D tax credits, Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts told Governing magazine. "State governments — if they carefully target areas where they think they have a bit of a competitive advantage — they could develop a cluster around their universities, as well."

Bloomberg scored each of the 50 states on a 0-100 scale across six equally weighted metrics: R&D intensity; productivity; high-tech density; concentration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) employment; science and engineering degree holders; and patent activity.

Mississippi, West Virginia and South Dakota are the three least innovative states.

Reviewing Connecticut rankings by category, the state ranked 4^th in productivity, 8th in R&D intensity, 10^th in science & engineering degree holders, 11^th in patent activity, 13^th in STEM concentration and 22^nd in high-tech intensity. 

Rounding out the top 10 most innovative states were Oregon, Maryland, Colorado, Delaware and Minnesota.  Among the other New England states, New Hampshire ranked 12^th, Rhode Island was 14^th, Vermont ranked 25^th, Maine finished near the bottom at number 43.

The data analyzed by Bloomberg came from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Science Foundation, StatsAmerica.org and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

University of Hartford Students Develop First-of-Its Kind Prosthetic Hand, Patient Testing To Begin

Five graduate students and their professor in the Prosthetics and Orthotics program at the University of Hartford have reached a significant milestone in the development of a first-of-its-kind prosthetic hand. The prototype of the potentially revolutionary device, after more than two years in development, is now ready to be tested on patients. Currently, amputees have a limited selection of sizes and designs for a prosthetic hand. The groundbreaking project, which has come to be known as the “Hartford Hand,” has a unique design that allows each patient to receive a custom-made hand that fits his or her exact needs. Because of the students’ technological ingenuity, the hand can be adjusted as the patient grows.

“It is the only hand at this time known to be completely customizable in terms of size and proportion,” said faculty advisor Michael Wininger, Assistant Professor of Prosthetics and Orthotics. (see video, below)

The five graduate students, due to graduate from the program in May, have spent thousands of hours on this project since 2013, with the goal of making the world’s first prosthetic hand that can be fully customized to patients’ needs. The students have joined the project through many pathways, either as part of their formal requirements for research in their master’s curriculum, though undergraduate honors theses, elective Independent study enterprise, or as extra-curricular collaborators in a not-for-credit research immersion.

“This has been one the best opportunities I have had in my life to design,” said Christopher Welch, one of the students currently working on the Hartford Hand initiative. Each week, Welch and colleagues Yonathan Moshayev, Jake Green, Amber Sayer, and Stephen Sousa, spend several hours improving the current design to make the unique Hartford Hand a reality for patients.

The University of Hartford’s College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions collaborates with Hanger Clinic to offer the Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics (MSPO). It is one of only 13 accredited programs in the United States. The curriculum provides students with strong foundational coursework in biomechanics, neuroscience, and kinesiology.

More than a great learning experience, the project has the potential to change lives as it prepares students for future career success. “They have more training than any other students in the country,” Wininger said, “which makes them competitive for their residencies. This is a good chance for students to train on cutting-edge technology.”

Two of the students presented the Hartford Hand at a national conference in San Antonio, Texas last year. “We were able to get professional feedback and network with people in our field,” said Sousa. Welch adds that everyone they talked with confirmed that there is a huge need for this hand. Both of them are planning to use the skills they have learned with this project to work in clinics after they graduate. “I am very grateful to have had this opportunity,” Sousa said. “I could not imagine a program without this great experience.” Previous students have presented at national conferences in Las Vegas, and have entered the Hartford Hand design into national engineering design competitions.

Wininger indicated that he anticipated tests with human subjects would begin by the end of the University’s spring semester.

The professions of prosthetics and orthotics are specialized allied health professions which combine a unique blend of clinical and technical skills. Professionals in this field design, fabricate, and fit orthopedic braces and artificial limbs for a broad range of clients from pediatric to geriatric.

PHOTO (at right): Yonatan Moshayev, Jake Green, Christopher Welch, Amber Sayer, Steve Sousa, and Assistant Professor Michael Wininger.

https://youtu.be/uxyeoi3G9ks

Head Impacts in Lacrosse Subject of Closely Watched Study at Sacred Heart University

With heightened focus in recent years on the ramifications of concussions on the careers and lives of athletes – especially professional football players – research is gaining interest and attention in a range of contact sports. The recent release of the popular movie Concussion has pushed awareness and interest even further – along with the appetite for scientific research. In Connecticut, Sacred Heart University (SHU) is underway with poised to start the third year of a four-year study of the school’s men’s lacrosse team, which will be among the first comprehensive studies looking at head impact and concussions in the sport at the college level. U.S. Lacrosse, the sport’s governing body, provided the SHU athletic-training education program a $15,000 grant to study the effects of on-the-field head impacts. The 2016 season began on February 13 and runs through April 30.

The SHU study got underway in January 2014 and was initially focused on freshmen players.  It has continued to monitor the same athletes as they progress through their four-year lacrosse career.  The goal is to gain a better understanding of concussions in the sport and ultimately generate insights for safer play.

Theresa Miyashita, director and assistant professor for the athletic training education program, launched the accelerometer concussion study at the University. The research involves the use of accelerometers in the team’s helmets. These sensors detect the amount of impact (in Gs or standard gravity acceleration) a player receives when he gets hit by a ball, a stick, another player or hits the ground.

“We are one of the first in the country to embark on an accelerometer concussion study of this size in men’s lacrosse,” said Miyashita. “We are collaborating with Professor Michael Higgins at Towson University, who is conducting a similar study to compare impacts on different helmets (Cascade vs. Warrior). This research targets the fastest-growing team sport in America.”

The players have been wearing these sensors in their helmets for the entire season – both in practices and games. The information received from the sensors is then uploaded to see the number of impacts sustained, where the impacts were sustained and the amount of Gs each impact had. This data is then compared to a number of different variables such as neurocognitive function, modified IQ scores, depression/anxiety, alcohol/drug dependency screens and concussion injuries. The players were baseline tested and are given a post-test when each season is complete.

The study is being done in partnership with a Canadian company, GForceTracker, which has developed “an advanced athlete monitoring system used to collect, measure, and analyze head impacts & biometric performance data, all in real time.” The company produces a “Hit Count® Certified, advanced linear g-force and rotational impact sensor monitoring system that accumulates a lifetime of head impacts.”

The detection device monitors, measures and provides vital statistics such as number of impacts, severity of impacts, local alarming when the impact exceeds an acceptable threshold and accumulates this data to provide key metrics that determine whether its user has suffered a possible head injury.  The GFT is currently the only Hit Count® Certified head impact sensor on the market, the company’s website indicates, “and can be used by individual players or entire teams in both helmeted and non-helmeted sports.”

“The men’s lacrosse team and their coach, John Basti, have been huge supporters and have been instrumental in getting this project running,” Miyashita said. “This project would not be possible without them and the rest of my research team.”

Miyashita’s team consists of Professor Eleni Diakogeorgiou; Kaitlyn Marrie, staff member for the athletic training program; Mary Jo Mason from the Health and Wellness Center, Professor Kelly Copperthite and a number of her athletic training students.  The Fairfield County Business Journal recently reported that Miyashita’s husband is a former professional player who is now assistant coach of the SHU men’s team.

Sacred Heart University, with a student population of 6,400, is the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, offering more than 50 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs on its main campus in Fairfield.  The SHU Pioneers' men's lacrosse team competes in the Northeast Conference of the NCAA Division 1.

https://youtu.be/TewBxtexNjE

Eight CT Companies Among the Fastest Growing Tech Companies in North America

The Technology Fast 500 is a closely watched annual listing of the fast-growing tech companies, businesses that are releasing new, emerging technologies from the U.S. and Canada worldwide.  The latest ranking includes eight Connecticut companies, including one, operating in Stamford, that reached the top 100. Combining technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and rapid growth, Fast 500 companies—large and small, public and private—are located in cities all across North America and are “disrupting the technology industry,” according to consulting firm Deloitte, which has compiled the annual list for two decades.

Fast 500 award winners on the current list were selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth during the period from 2011 to 2014.  Companies must own proprietary intellectual property or technology that is sold to customers in products that contribute to a majority of the company’s operating revenues in order to be considered for inclusion on the list, according to Deloitte.

The lone Connecticut company to crack the top 100 was Milford medical device manufacturer SurgiQuest, which was number 100.  The company’s growth was pegged at 877 percent.  It was incorporated in 2006, with a focus on laproscopy technology.

Not far behind, at number 119, was Revolution Lighting Technologies, a manufacturer based in Stamford.  The analysis placed the company’s growth at 755 percent.  Revolution Lighting Technologies Inc. engages in the design, manufacture, marketing, and sale of light emitting diode (LED) lighting solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally.  The company’s customers include the U.S. military.

Madison-based Clarity Software Solutions, Inc., with 298 percent growth, placed at number 247 on the top 500 fastest growing technology companies in North America.  Clarity Software Solutions, Inc. helps health insurance clients optimize customer relationships-and save time and money-by enhancing flexibility and control over document management and communications delivery, according to the company’s website.

Also making the list were Evariant of Farmington, a software developer, at number 272, and HP One, a software company in Trumbull at number 307.  Biopharmaceutical company Alexion, in the midst of moving its headquarters from Cheshire to New Haven, was ranked at number 349, and etouches, a Norwalk software company ranked at number 357.  Rounding out the Connecticut companies on the list is Wallingford oil extraction technology company APS Tecnhology, at number 466.

“Amid a fierce business climate, there seems to be no shortage of new and established companies that are unlocking a seemingly unlimited potential for growth and advancement through technology’s continued disruption and proliferation across industries,” said Sandra Shirai, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and US technology, media, and telecommunications leader.

“It is inspiring to witness the innovative ways companies are incorporating emerging technologies for business gains, be it cognitive computing, or the Internet of Things. We congratulate all those ranked on the Fast 500 and look forward to seeing their continued growth into 2016.”

Revolution Lighting Technologies ranked eighth among energy tech companies, and SurgiQuest Inc. ranked sixth among medical device companies.

Overall, 283 of the 500 companies were in the software sector, and 67 percent of the 500 companies have received venture capital funding at some point in their company’s history.  Topping the list was StartApp, with a growth rate of 21,984 percent from 2011 to 2014. Based in New York and founded in 2010, StartApp provides a free monetization and distribution platform that integrates with applications on mobile devices.

Two-thirds of the companies are private, and 33 percent are public.  The average growth rate of the top 500 companies was 850 percent, with individual company growth on the list ranging from 21,984 percent to 109 percent.  Broken down by region, 20 percent of the companies are based in the San Francisco Bay Area, 14 percent in the New York Metro Area, 7 percent in New England, and 6 percent in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Patent Trolls Target Nearly 50 Connecticut Businesses, Filing Suits in Friendly Texas Court

“I know firsthand how detrimental patent trolls can be to small businesses, as my Connecticut small business was recently the victim of abusive patent litigation in which bad patents were used as weapons of financial intimidation against my small business. $100,000 in legal fees and ten months of litigation later, we successfully defended against these frivolous lawsuits, explained Michael Skelps, General Manager of Middlefield-based Capstone Photography recently in a published report. The New York Times has described patent trolls as “people who sue companies for infringement, often using patents of dubious value or questionable relevance, and then hold on like a terrier until they get license fees. In recent years, patent trolls — they prefer “patent assertion entities,” or P.A.E.’s — have gone from low-profile corporate migraine to mainstream scourge.”

Skelps said that “a year later, my small company is still recovering from exorbitant legal fees, none of which we were able to recoup from the legal system.  As a result of the lawsuit, my mom-and-pop photography shop had to downsize from five full-time employees to three part-time. We spent the equivalent of a year’s worth of profit to defend ourselves, with no budget allocated before to legal defense.”

While action to combat the rapidly escalating challenge to businesses of every size has been unable to navigate through a divided Congress, the problem is growing.  One jurisdiction in particular is a hospitable home for the legal attacks.  Federal court in the Eastern District of Texas is the epicenter of patent troll litigation, and nearly 50 Connecticut companies are among those hauled into court there under dubious circumstances.

The Dallas Business Journal printed what read very much like a warning to American businesses, when a commentary noted that “the Eastern District of Texas’ misguided judicial system makes the towns of Tyler, Marshall, Beaumont and Texarkana the biggest patent-troll nest in the United States, filling the coffers of these tiny towns with money legally extorted from innovators that could otherwise be used to support business growth and create new jobs.”

The Connecticut businesses range from well-known names such as Xerox, UTC, Pitney Bowes, Aetna, Starwood, Priceline, WWE, Frontier Communications and Stanley Black & Decker to dozens of lesser known names lacking the deep pockets to fight what are usually unfounded allegations.  Small and medium-sized businesses – many in the tech fields - are frequently sued in East Texas even if they operate outside the state.  The goal appears to be either to force them to travel to the Lone Star State to defend their business practices, or to extract exorbitant settlements as the only way to avoid the travel and legal costs.

It is those out-of-court settlements that the trolls depend on, and which are bleeding some unsuspecting businesses virtually dry. The median compensatory-damage award by East Texas judges and juries in patent cases was $8.25 million, according to the article, written by the president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, a U.S. trade association representing more than 2,000 consumer electronics companies.

Six months ago, in an effort to put an end to such activities, the Judiciary Committee in Congress approved legislation that would overhaul the nation’s patent laws.  That effort, however, has slowed, and ultimate passage in Congress is in doubt, according to published reports.

In Connecticut, associations and organizations including The Credit Union League of Connecticut, Connecticut Food Association and the Connecticut Retail Merchant Association have called for federal action to end patent trolling.  The National Retail Federation has said that the cost of defending companies against the claims is so high — the average case costs $2 million and can take 18 months — that many victims settle out of court. The cases cost legitimate businesses close to $30 billion a year in direct costs and $80 billion indirectly, amounting to $943 a year for the average household when passed on to consumers.”

Small businesses bear the brunt of the litigation, but larger businesses are not immune.  About a year ago, it was reported that “Apple must pay a shell company $532.9 million because iTunes infringes upon three patents related to online patents, a jury in East Texas ruled.  The company in question … is also based in Texas and doesn’t make or do anything besides file patent lawsuits, as an Apple spokesperson pointed out, noting that the company “makes no products, has no employees, creates no jobs, has no U.S. presence, and is exploiting our patent system to seek royalties for technology Apple invented.”

By mid-2015, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas was headed to a record year. An astonishing 1,387 patent cases were filed there in the first half of the year, according to published reports. This was 44.4 percent of all patent cases nationwide, and almost all of the growth is being “fueled by patent trolls.”  Reports indicate that in 1999, only fourteen patent cases were filed there. By 2003, the number of filings had grown to fifty-five. Ten years later, in 2013, it was 1,495.

Overall, patent disputes hit an all-time high of about 7,500 cases in 2015, largely driven by patent trolls who filed two-thirds of the lawsuits, according to a report from Unified Patents. The number of lawsuits filed by non-practicing entities (NPEs), known as “patent trolls,” increased by 25 percent.  Last year, patent troll filings made up 95 percent of the cases in the Eastern District of Texas.

While Congress is mired in inaction, at least one state is stepping into the fray.  Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat who took office in 2014, announced last week a new initiative to support Virginia businesses by combating patent trolling through a newly formed Attorney General’s Patent Troll Unit.

Herring’s announcement explained that “in recent years high-tech businesses, Main Street businesses, and everything in between have become frequent targets of “patent trolls” who send bad faith demand letters, request unjustified licensing fees, and threaten baseless lawsuits. Unchecked, patent trolls and their bad faith practices stifle innovation in the Commonwealth, have a negative impact on our innovation-driven economy, and tie up the courts.” Businesses are forced to “choose between paying unjustified licensing fees and engaging in costly litigation,” the  announcement stressed.

The federal Government Accountability Office (GAO), according to a Washington Post report, found that a disproportionate share of patent litigation concerns software patents. The non-partisan government agency found that the number of defendants in patent lawsuits more than doubling from 2007 through 2011. Notably, this increase is specifically related to software patents — software patents account for 89% of the increase, according to the GAO's calculations.

Said Skelps: “our current patent system is ripe for exploitation. Like the abusive patent litigation we endured, malicious actors are abusing the system and using it as a weapon against legitimate businesses, harming innovation, driving small companies out of business, and overtaxing our already overburdened litigation system.”