(Telecompaper) Google has started an experimental marketplace for patents and is inviting interested parties to come and sell their patents. The company said the new Patent Purchase Promotion was developed to be simple, easy to use, and fast. Allen Lo, the deputy general counsel for patents, said the experiment is aimed at removing friction from the patent market. As widely reported, the patent market has been negatively affected by so-called 'patent trolls' that buy patents with the sole aim of suing third parties for damages and driving them to settle spurious claims to avoid exorbitant legal costs. Google's new portal will be open from 8 May to 22 May, with patent holders invited to tell Google about their patents and how much they're willing to sell them for. As soon as the portal closes, Google will review all the submissions, and let the submitters know whether it is interested in buying their patents by 26 June. If the answer is yes, additional diligence will take place and Google will look to close a transaction in short order, payment made by late August.