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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…

Step 1 Find Patent Step 2 Find Large Company, Step 3 Sue Large Company and Bank Big Time

December 26th, 2010
buy patent sue companyEast Texas has become a revolving door of fast money. Well, at least parts of it. In the past 5 years Marshall, Texarkana, and Tyler have become mighty popular spots for patent lawyers and the big money companies they represent. This is due mostly to favorable circumstances for plaintiffs of patent infringements in the court houses of these three East Texas towns.

Once word got out of a higher win rate for those making claim of patent infringement, companies began arriving to process their cases in these court districts. This is especially true for companies who carry the “patent troll” label. These are companies whose sole means of business is to bring suit versus companies whose product or service infringes on patents that the “trolls” have bought. Since 2006 over 200+ cases per year come to East Texas.

And with each case come a handful of lawyers and representatives who need shelter, food, and a place to work in. Anyone who knows about these 3 towns knows that these are no booming metropolis’ who are accustomed to this sudden influx of business. These are towns where the slightest increase of visitors can completely change the local economy.

The nature of the type of business these teams of lawyers bring deals more with the short term picture rather than long term. Providing lodging, establishments to eat, and office space has become the main focus. Already established motels and local restaurants have already benefitted and others are looking to cash in. Unfortunately, relying on these circumstances for your economic future is like building on sand, at any moment it can all crumble. East Texas, you have a target on your back.

This past March a bill for patent infringement reform was submitted by Senators. In this bill there was one element that theoretically said “East Texas, We’re coming for you!” That element was a little thing called “forum shopping”. The rapid growth of patent litigation cases taking place in places like Marshall, Texarkana, and Tyler the past few years has drawn some attention to the, usually, relaxed atmosphere of East Texas.

As some politicians have gotten themselves involved with slowing down the abuse that is taking place in patent infringement lawsuits by what they call “patent trolls” they have adopted a strategy that, inadvertently, has targeted the eastern part of Texas.

“Forum shopping” is when plaintiffs, or the one’s doing the suing, pick out a court district that is found to be favorable to their type of case. And it’s no secret that these 3 east Texas towns, especially Marshall, have a high percentage of deciding for plaintiffs of patent infringement cases as well as handing out large compensation.

As the law stands now, patent litigation can take place anywhere in the United States that the product or technology in question has been sold. So, when it comes to the big companies that are usually targeted for patent infringement suits, like Nintendo for example, the case can be held in any part of the States.

And, of course, these plaintiffs have chosen favorable court districts. It is no fault of the people of these towns that they have become known to decide for plaintiffs, they just do their duty and go home. But one thing is taking place for sure. East Texas, your being called out.

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, are we in the closet about patent litigation abuse in East Texas?

December 24th, 2010

Patent Litigation East Texas“Don’t ask, don’t tell” has come back into our attention once again as a number of court decisions have President Barak Obama and his administration reconsidering the policy of any homosexual military man or woman keeping their sexual preference to themselves.

This policy is the ultimate case of “turning a blind eye” or looking the other way. Saving the debate of the policy to “Don’t ask, don’t tell” in the military for other blogs, we do want to visit East Texas’ own practice of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell”.

With tongue firmly stuck in cheek and shoulders shrugged in wonder, we can “say” that we don’t know why the number of patent infringement cases had grown from 14 in 2003 to 256 in 2006, but who are we really kidding? Can East Texas continue the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” approach towards the growing number of “patent trolls” paying a visit to its humble little court circuit?

This unethical practice of buying off patents for the sole purpose of suing other business over patent infringements has been quietly picking up steam the past 7 years and Marshall, Texarkana, and Tyler are their favorite dance partners.

What once started out as these “trolls” taking advantage of the rules and policies of the eastern Texas court circuits is now coming dangerously close to becoming a source of scandal. Isn’t it a little suspicious that one patent lawyer’s father is a judge who decides favorably for plaintiffs in infringement cases?

As is taking place nationally with our military perhaps it’s time for the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy to be reconsidered in East Texas before it’s too late.

Coalition of Patent Fairness hopes to end corrupt nature of some patent litigation

December 23rd, 2010
patent fairness coalition fighting patent attorneysA lot has been said about so called “patent trolls” creating a ruckus with their abuse of the legal system in order to gain wealth. This practice of obtaining and using held patent rights to gain financial rewards by targeting larger, successful businesses for patent infringements has been greatly looked down upon.

This victimization of large companies has woken a sleeping giant and resulted in the formation of the Coalition of Patent Fairness in order to address the abuse of patent infringement. But, as we use to say back in the day, while big companies have their one finger pointing in accusation, there are 3 more pointing back at them. It looks like the big guys are going after each other as well. In what has become a highly competitive race for the best “smartphone” the big boys are getting a little dirty.
Although patent infringement is a legitimate concern, it seems to me that Apple and Motorola are getting a little petty as each has filed lawsuit against one another for technology “copycatting”. Motorola was the first to strike after filing suit versus Apple for tech infringements concerning the iPhone, iTouch, iPad. But Apple has hit back more recently after filing for tech infringement of their touchscreen and display application versus Motorola and their Droid phone.

And based on Apples choice of Wisconsin for the filing, it looks like they mean to take care of business fast. East Texas has long been seen as the location of choice, but due to the back up of so many patent litigation cases, Wisconsin is quickly gaining recognition as the fastest docket in the nation. Despite location choice, these two companies actions versus one another looks to have taken the edge off of what can be deemed as “unethical” business done by “patent trolls”.

Patent Trolls come home to East Texas for Christmas pay day

December 22nd, 2010

Christmas Patent TrollYou have probably heard of the Big 3 of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh and of the impact they made in the NBA this past off season when the three made the decision to join forces on the Miami Heat. Of course most of that impact has been made in the hype more than the product on the court. That is, so far.

But there is another Big 3 who are making an impact on the court as well, just not the basketball type. Much a-do has been said about the trend of patent infringement litigation taking place in East Texas and the appropriately named “patent trolls” who are responsible for the substantial growth of these cases. But the beginning of this trend was due, in part, to three men: Judge T. John Ward of Marshall, Judge Leonard Davis of Tyler, and Judge David Folsom of Texarkana.

These three men have made an impact due to the consistency in which plaintiffs of patent infringements win their cases in their courts. Now, there is no way we can say if these findings are not legitimate, but what we can say is that the perceived favoritism towards these plaintiffs has opened up a can of worms. Like sharks smelling blood in the water, these patent trolls came running for the opportunity to cash in on their strategy of using bought off patents to try and snag other businesses in patent infringements.

And it looks like they have found a home, especially when you consider that in a stretch of 3 years the number of patent infringement cases multiplied almost 20 times! Just like the Miami Heat are finding out about their “Big 3” East Texas is learning that too much of a good thing isn’t always so good.