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Trend in East Texas regarding money hungry patent trolls

April 2nd, 2011

Have you ever had one of those moments when you are watching a movie and there is a particular part that catches your attention and sticks with you until the right moment comes to apply it to your life? Well, mine is from National Treasure and this is the moment.

Remember towards the end of the movie and the good guys are being held hostage and forced to help the bad guys find the treasure? And as they are walking along held at gun point, the wise older father turns to his son, and says “You have to change the status quo.”

Well, imagine me as the wise older father and the court houses of Marshall, Texarkana, and Tyler Texas as the son, “You have to change the status quo.” because your being held hostage.

This trend of money-hungry patent trolls coming to these towns must stop. There has been a status quo established in the eastern district of Texas that has helped to intensify the illegitament business of making money off of bought out patents.

This status quo includes sped up court process specifically for patent infringement and a high percentage of victory for plaintiffs of these cases. Now there is not much you can do about the jury’s findings because jury tampering is illegal.

But one thing to consider is the manner in which the judges are handling the court process of these particular cases. A set of “no nonsense” rules have been established in which lawyers are given a limit of time to present all paper work and are timed by a chess timer when presenting their case in which they are abruptly stopped if the timer goes off.

These types of things are a major part of why their courts are found so appealing for this abuse. In order for these judges to continue their commitment to the betterment of our nation they must change the status quo held in their court houses.

The right to intellectual property and the quagmire of patent trolling in East Texas

March 2nd, 2011

george washington carverThe history of patents in the USA is synominis with names like Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, Albert Einstein, and Bill Gates. Because with each invention and innovation that was thought up of, there was the need for a patent.

Among the many things that factored into becoming the great nation we are is innovation. We have throughout our history found a way to keep speeding ahead with new technology that bettered the lives of Americans and others across the globe.

And in this modern age we continue to look for that “next step” that would continue to elevate us to the next level. Yet, there is one, minor, practice that has both the potential to hinder innovation and leave a scar in our history.

The term, “patent troll” refers to a company that buys and uses patents for the sole purpose of bringing other businesses to court for patent infringement. Besides the unethical method of “business” they are using to gain wealth, is that this type of practice hinders innovation.

The institution of patents and licensing in our nation follows some of our basic principles and beliefs that each man has a right to his property. We can think of patents as the holding of one’s “intellectual” property.

And with a patent an individual has the freedom to pursue their invention with the peace of knowing that it is protected from theft. But, what’s more, is that this encourages the creation of technology. What we find with these patent trolls is an abuse of the system.

As they utilize they protection of held patents to earn royalties and compensation, they sit back with their profit without any purpose or plan to follow through to create or build their invention. That’s right, not only do they not make the patent into a realization, but they punish other businesses that have.

When we observe the things that have come out of the excellence of work of some men in history, it is so sad to see what some individuals are doing to hinder that from going on.

East Texas Gives Large Compensation to Patent Holders

January 27th, 2011

East Texas CourtsDoesn’t it seem like every time a commercial comes on advertising some new technology or service, you have to do a Google search just to understand what their talking about?

Droid phones, 3G, 4G, IPads, Blackberry, and the list goes on and on. We are facing a modern age in which the inventing and producing of new technology is moving at lightning speed and whoever is at the front will make the most money.

Unfortunately, other aspects of the technology business are not keeping up. This is especially true when it comes to patents and what constitutes patent infringement.

Now, we are not just talking about keeping up with the incredible growth of wireless media that has taken place this last decade, we are talking 50 years since they set the standard that is currently being used to assign and distinguish patents.

And what that means is that the standard in which the courts of East Texas use to hand out high money compensation for patent infringement is outdated.

It is this exact standard in question that the citizens and judges of the courts in Marshall, Texarkana, and Tyler have used to award hundreds of millions of dollars for patent infringement.

The two major factors in question in the current standard is to what extent a patent reaches in certain technology and how much financial damage is really taking place with infringements.

Both factors, if changed, would lower the amount of compensation dramatically. Considering that the majority of new technology deals with multiple patents, the potential of monster lawsuits bringing some companies to their knees is in the future if the current standard is not updated.

Patent troll fame in east texas

January 21st, 2011

Patent LandEast Texas has had its fair share of fame. Stretched across the different counties of East Texas we can think of names like former football player Earl Campbell, country and western singer George Jones, as well as the oil industry that have brought fame to the lovely rolling hills of eastern Texas.

But there is some fame that is unwanted. When it comes to the likes of Drew Brees (who was just voted Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year), Justin Bieber, or IPod and IPad creators Apple Inc. there is nothing but positive images and good publicity.

Now what comes to mind when you think of Charlie Sheen? Not good. Or, what about Tigger Woods? Keep a low profile. Do I even need to mention Linsay Lohen? The type of fame that has been following these guys is definitely not the type of fame that you want. Unfortunately for East Texas that type of unwanted fame has come to town and it’s reared its monster head here for a while.

Since 2003 East Texas has become home to a growing number of “patent trolls” and patent infringement litigations. Simply put, these “patent trolls” look to buy patents from struggling businesses in order to target larger, successful businesses using inventions connected to the patent in order to sue for patent infringement.

Due to appealing rules, conditions, and favorable decisions for plaintiffs in the courts of Marshall, Texarkana, and Tyler, East Texas has become famous for hosting these patent trolls and their unethical way of gaining wealth.

East Texas has a long history of mostly positive publicity and reputation, but if care is not taken to deal with this growing weed of unwanted fame, that image can change.

2011 Award for most dishonest form of business goes to

January 9th, 2011

Dishonest patent litigation awardIn light of hearing the recent news that the website, WikiLeaks, has gathered confidential communications between the State Department and its many liaisons and plans on publishing it worldwide I have thought of a new yearly award we can hand out.

Well, between WikiLeaks and the unholy business of “patent trolls” buying off patents in order to use them solely as grounds for suing prospering business for patent infringement, I have gotten an idea! Let’s create an award identifying this years “Most dishonest form of business”.

Now I am sure we can sit here and think about many other candidates, but let’s get focused on pitching these two. First is WikiLeaks. Here is a business in which it’s sole purpose is to steal, bribe, cheat, and perhaps threaten life, to gather confidential, top secret type of information from national governments with the dastardly motivation to publish the info on the internet for all to see.

Doing this, of course, with the possibility of endangering military lives, or creating astronomical damage between nations, just for a profit. Then there are these “patent trolls” who represent the exact opposite of productive American business.

They, first, seek out struggling businesses, firms, or individuals who have no other choice but to sell their patent for whatever invention or product idea they have. Then, without any intention of ever manufacturing the patent idea, these “trolls” seek out successful businesses who have utilized some concept of their patented idea in order to sue them for patent infringements.

They are quite literally making money out of nothing. Looks like we have a couple of quality candidates for the award, right? Well then, drum roll please! And the winner is…