Definition - "Patent Troll"

"PATENT TROLL" - Any party that intentionally misconstrues the claims of their patent to assert it against another. A patent troll does not have to be a non-practicing entity (NPE) or in any particular industry, all that is required is an intentional misconstruing of the claims in an attempt to extort money from another.

Disclaimer



Disclaimer - All information and postings in this blog are provided for educational purposes only. Nothing in this blog constitutes legal advice and you should not rely on any information herein as such. If you do not have a signed engagement agreement with me, then you are not represented by me and you should retain your own attorney for any legal issues you are having.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Lodsys files suit to bully small app developers

Unfortunately for application developers, Lodsys has decided not to leave them alone.  This is not a surprise considering Lodsys's whole business model is based upon a mound of smelly bullshit.  Their patent infringement assertions are laughable and their patents are questionably valid They are in essence highway robbers that hope the threatened will pay them to let them pass unharmed rather than risk the expense of fighting.

Each application developer that is threatened or sued needs to hire an experienced patent attorney ASAP to consider which options will be most suitable for their business.

One option that should be given consideration is filing a motion for summary judgment of non-infringement.  See my arguments earlier considering non-infringement (these arguments will similarly apply to the '565 Patent that has been asserted).  This may be able to be done and allow the app developers to win the fight without sacrificing their whole company.  Though, each app developer still needs to determine if they wish to fight or pay the highway robbers.  I hope the application developers are also considering a joint defense arrangement to help with the costs.

This is a great learning moment for small business and other app developers not yet sued.  It might also be a good time to look into IP infringement insurance if you are in a tech industry.

ALSO SEE: igoeIP deconstructs the highway robbers bullshit offer of $1,000.  I planned to do another post on this exact thought, but igoeIP explained it all.

Best of luck to the application developers.

- USPA

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