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Patent Troll Basics

November 2nd, 2010

If you’ve heard the term patent troll but are not sure what it means, then you’re in the right place. A patent troll, sometimes called a patent pirate, is a company or other entity, sometimes an individual that uses patent law to enforce patents against potential offenders in exchange for a payout. This practice is questionable, but current patent law allows it.

Click here to contact a patent law attorney

Patent trolls have no interest in using the patents they obtain for anything except as bartering power with large companies. Sometimes patent trolls purchase patents from companies that are willing to sell due to the fact that they never made what they had patented. In other cases, patents are bought in bulk quantities from companies going out of business or bankrupt.

The reason patent trolling is so lucrative, especially in hotspots like Tyler, Texas, is because it is very common for the patent troll that holds the patent to win in a lawsuit, which can sometimes mean payouts of millions of dollars with very little work being done by the patent troll.

Obviously, patent trolling is of questionable ethics but that only matters so much. The real problem is that current patent law allows patent holders to go after other entities even if they haven’t acted on their patent. Being the owner of the patent, even if you never used it, puts you in a position to barter with large companies with the threat of taking them to court for patent infringement. No company wants to deal with a patent infringement case and many cannot afford it period. Thus, patent trolls usually are able to “bully” the companies into paying an outside of court settlement.

Click here to contact a patent law attorney

East Texas and Patent Trolling

September 27th, 2010

 

East Texas Patent Troll

East Texas Patent Troll

Over the last few years, East Texas has become one of the most popular spots in the country for patent trolls and others seeking an almost sure win for a patent or copyright infringement case. The district court in East Texas is pretty well known for siding with plaintiffs in patent cases. Traditionally, patent trolls hire specialized patent lawyers to fight their battles for them and to seek out companies or other entities that hold patents they could buy and capitalize on.

So, what do patent trolls do? These companies that are called patent trolls buy up patents from other companies and then hire lawyers to prove infringement. In some cases, lawyers have simply become patent trolls individually thanks to the almost guaranteed or not-so-guaranteed depending on how you look at it payout, especially if you wind up in an East Texas court room. These companies could care less about the patents themselves or the products that could be made from them. Instead, they are simply after the money that they stand to earn by settling a lawsuit out of court.

With such a lenient court system or maybe not when looking further into it, iis it a surprise that Tyler and East Texas houses plenty of patent trolls and has for the last decade or so. Sadly, the companies that have to defend themselves from patent trolls stand to lose the most during a court case. For this reason, these companies instead settle outside of court with the patent troll. In many cases, this was all the patent troll wanted.

If you need to shop for a good patent troll attorney in Tyler Texas this is a good place to start: Tyler Texas Patent Law Attorneys

The Tyler Suddenlink Saga Ends

May 14th, 2010

For those readers who’ve been following my Tyler Texas Suddenlink saga I would like to offer this afterward. (Sorry Donny, I just want to be sure to offer our readers some proper closure). I eventually contacted the Suddenlink rep who offered to assist me in negotiating a better deal on my cable and internet service. After pulling teeth to get to talk with someone with decision making authority, I appreciated that a representative of the company was taking an interest in my case. Fortunately, most of the conversations took place via e-mail as well, so as not to take up any more of my time. The central problem I had was that each person I spoke to seemed to tell me something different. (I must have talked to five or six different people). This seems to be symptomatic of dealing with a large company like Suddenlink, with so many separate departments and entities, that they tend to function like separate businesses. The trick is to find someone who can cut through all little bureaucracies and make a definitive decision. Admittedly this is much easier said than done.

After a couple of emails I was told that a local supervisor would contact me to discuss my service. I spoke to the local super briefly over the phone and we came to an agreement. First off she compensated me for my time. Secondly, she offered to look at my account and see whether or not I could be given the advanced tier like I was originally offered by the disembodied voice I spoke of in my last article. As it turned out she was unable to offer that package at my current rate, but she did offer me thirty days free trial. I thanked her but declined. I’d rather not get used to having the additional channels and then have to either let them go or start paying eleven dollars a month more for them. With my tendency toward procrastination, I’d probably just end up keeping them. So in the end I didn’t get everything I wanted but at least I received satisfaction.

What does the future hold for Suddenlink and me? Long term it’s difficult to say. Having found some people there who are willing to assist me has made it easier to consider sticking it out and acquiring additional services over the long haul. If my service continues as it is now, I may be a Suddenlink customer for a while. To review my story, look for the following titles in this order, on this site: Direct TV or Suddenlink, Which One, Hard to Decide Hmmm? and Suddenlink Internet Service in Tyler Texas. Also, visit Suddenlink’s website at www.suddenlink.com.