Tyler TX Facebook

Follow Donny on Twitter

Username:
Password:
  Remember Me   Forgot password?  Register
0-9  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  

Find or Refer a Contractor in Tyler

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.

Buzz Word: Rocket Docket, What does this mean?

February 8th, 2011

roket docket east tx patent trollsWhen it comes to our modern day society, almost, everything is about speed. We have created a way to do all things in our life faster. We are what you can call an “instant” culture, we want everything instantly.

From communication, to appliances, to services, to health, to economy, it is all about happening the fastest way possible. Well, now we can include patent litigation. A buzz word you might have heard being used in the legal world is the word “rocket docket”.

When you’ve put an over-night mail label on a court case than you have what they call a “rocket docket”. And when it comes to patent infringement lawsuit that is what the plaintiff is looking for.

This is especially true for the so named “patent trolls” whose whole lively hood is based on patent infringement lawsuits coming from their unmanufactured patents. It seems there is a competition to see who can create the best “rocket docket” in the nation.

At court houses in places like western Wisconsin, Virginia, and east Texas, judges have taken on different practices in order to speed up the litigation process. In one location the judges start as early as 6:30am and can wait as long as 2:30pm before they let court out for lunch.

In another, the judge issues a time limit for council to share, going as far as having a chess clock available to abruptly stop the council when time is up.

Whatever method it might be these court districts have successfully found a way to speed up the process as patent infringement cases have been shortened in some places to as little as 6 ½ months compared to the nationally average of 3-5 years. Well, it looks like the “instant” culture has made its stamp once again.

Patent troll reform will effect East Texas

February 1st, 2011

Patent Litigation ReformChange is in the wind and it’s coming via Capitol Hill. The current issue of patent infringement abuse taking place in the court houses of Marshall, Texarkana, and Tyler Texas has Big Brother on its back now.

Facing this issue that is taking place in East Texas might not be on the top of the list of legislation, but it is definitely something that must be taken care of. The main issue is due mostly to the abuse that is taking place.

Although the term “patent troll” has been around for much longer, it has become more of a common phrase in the past 5-6 years. Patent trolls are the culprits responsible for the rise of patent infringement cases due to their excessive use of the court system in order to gain wealth.

Patent trolls are companies who look to push patent infringement to the limit by using any patents that they hold to target any other business that has a product or technology that has any similarity to their patent in order to sue them for damages.

More times than not they actually look to buy patents off of others. The government has taken notice of the abuse and has already submitted one bill to bring reform to patent infringement cases.

The major keys that they have identified is, first, to give the judges more responsibility by reviewing how much damage was done in by the product or technology and the other responsibility is to access how much really due to the company holding the patent.

The second major idea is to limit “forum shopping” that is, to limit cases being held in locations favorable to plaintiffs. So far no bills have been passed yet.

Whatever your perspective is about big government or little government, the abuse of the legal system has gotten them involved and that is just the beginning.

Don’t let your east Texas town partner in crime let Juarez be a warning

January 30th, 2011

Small town acceptance of wrong doingWhile considering the current issue of the number of “patent troll” cases taking place in the East Texas area I remembered a story I heard of a town in the Juarez Valley outside of the Mexican border city of Juarez.

During the past number of years the people of a small town in the Juarez Valley became aware of the drug trafficking taking place in there town due to its proximity to the United States.

But instead of doing something to rid themselves of this illegal practice they created a kind of symbiotic relationship as the drug traffickers brought business to the small town.

As time passed, the highly documented battle for trafficking territory began to take place and reached the small town resulting in atrocious acts of violence and killing.

The small town’s passive acceptance of the traffickers and their business began to have its repercussions as the violence spilled over into their lives and climaxed when, one day, notes were posted throughout the town announcing a date in which every person had to leave town or be killed.

Of course, not at all to this extreme, the concern for East Texas is that there will not be passive acceptance of these “patent trolls” just to capitalize on their business.

The desperateness of these “patent trolls” to have their cases brought to the favorable court circuit in East Texas reached an all-time high when it was reported that one group set up an employee-less front in a local Tyler office in order to file in a court there.

If the people of East Texas continue to allow this ridiculous practice to take place, there could be repercussions later greater than expected. Because when you sell your soul to the devil, you will get burned!