<i>"IV was originally created as a "patent defense fund," getting investment cash from big Silicon Valley companies like Google, Apple, and Cisco. Soon, IV moved its focus to patent enforcement, and the firm is generally disliked in Silicon Valley."</i><p>"Disliked" is certainly an understatement.<p>It's interesting though, in all of the coverage of Intellectual Ventures nefarious court adventures I've never heard it reported that they started out as a patent defense fund. Is that really true?