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Patent licensing in the United States and East Texas

December 28th, 2010

patent licensingHow many times have we seen it? Whether it is dealing with national policies, professional sports, or your local civil service, so many times we try to make decisions to take care of the symptoms rather than the core issue itself.

There are numerous examples we see on our daily news where a rash decision was made by any of the three aforementioned examples listed above that was more about put out a fire than about resolving a problem.

So, when it comes to curing the illness of patent infringement abuse and its spawn, “patent trolls” let’s not risk putting out the fire and deal with grass root issues. And what can be more grass roots of patent infringement than the handing out of patents itself.

Patent licensing in the United States is as old as invention itself in our great nation and we have quite the history for invention and innovation. Think about names like Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison. But, that doesn’t mean its ok to use the same system.

Seriously, although it’s not that old, our patent licensing system is way too out dated for the fast moving world of technology innovation that is taking place now. Don’t get the wrong idea; we have hard working men and women who deal the issuing of invention patents.

It’s not their fault that the current system hasn’t been looked at in 50 years, or that they haven’t be trained sufficiently to identify rightful licensing, or even that not all the right resources are available to them. No, it’s not their fault, the fault for that once again goes to the government.

Either way, in order to see real change come, a bulldozer has to be taken to the building and a new foundation needs to be laid.

East Texas revolving door of patent litigation

December 27th, 2010

Patent Attorneys and East TXIf things continue the way they are, we will see if Marshall has Texas sized hospitality. If you didn’t know it, the eastern court district of Texas has become a revolving door of patent litigation cases. In the world of patent infringement lawsuits, Marshall, Texarkana, and Tyler have become a “fans” favorite for patent trolls and others embarking to defend their intellectual property.

And with that bit of fame, the citizens of East Texas have been cashing in on the business that comes as a result. But the sweet taste of fame can have a bad after taste. There have been some talks of reform coming to patent litigation and one of those elements of reform is the stricter standard of where a patent infringement case can be filed.

If this reform comes to past, there are two scenarios that could happen. Number one: that everybody packs up and heads out to their separate parts of the world thus leaving these towns of East Texas ghost towns.

Number two: these companies, especially those that fall under the “patent troll” label, can make permanent “fronts” in the eastern part of Texas in order to establish legitimate reason to file suit there. The first possibility would bring drastic change to the local economy of these towns based on loss of the regular business of lawyers and legal representatives.

The second possibility could actually bring more business, yet would make this beloved East Texas homesteads a place of falsehood and deception. And for those who know what the people of East Texas well, that doesn’t hold over so well.

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.

Consumer Prices and Patent Trolls in East Texas

December 25th, 2010
East Texas patent lawyersWe all know about the possibility of finding coal in our stockings due to being on the “bad list” and we have all heard of the Grinch and his devious plan to rob Christmas and even a few of us have had an Ebenezer Scrooge as a boss but this year’s Christmas culprit could come in the form of a “troll”.

Even though there was a slight increase in people spending during this past Black Friday holiday (doesn’t it seem like its receiving more and more attention every year?) the increase was minute and does not make up for the lack of spending that has taken place the past few years.

This lack of spending is due to our struggling economy, but piggy-backing on the economies broken back are unnecessary hikes in product prices forced upon businesses by “patent trolls”.

Patent trolls are, simply, companies who look to buy patents off from bankrupt or struggling businesses or firms for the sole purpose of targeting bigger and more successful businesses that have a product or service that has infringed upon their patent in order to bring a lawsuit against them.

Many times the businesses with the infringement will settle for hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to avoid a lengthy and costly court process. Now, what does this have to do with our Christmas shopping?

Well, once these businesses have paid off their patent litigation, they will have to increase the cost of their product and service so that us the consumers can make up for the loss. This is similar to what is taking place in the medical field, hospitals and doctors are required to charge much higher based upon any litigation or future litigation that is brought against them.

So when it comes this Christmas season make sure to give a big “Merry Christmas” to your local patent troll!

Patent Infringement Abuse Versus Innovation

December 25th, 2010

patent infringement east texas

East Texas Patent Attorneys

It’s as old as time. Good versus Evil, God versus all selfishness in man, North versus South, Batman versus Joker, and East Texas versus … innovation? It shouldn’t be limited to East Texas only; rather, it should be patent infringement abuse versus innovation.

But for the today, we should look at what East Texas’ possible part is in slowing do innovation. Although patent infringement cases themselves has only grown nationally a slight margin, the number of cases happening in the towns of Marshall, Texarkana, and Tyler has multiplied beyond belief.

And it is believed by some that there is an abuse of the legal system as companies are looking to profit off of patent infringement lawsuits, and this can stunt innovation and invention. This is especially true for what is being done by these so called “patent trolls”.

A “patent troll” is a company that looks to make its profit through gains earned through lawsuits versus other companies that has a product or technology that has infringed on their patent. The big catch, and what has attributed to slowing down innovation, is that many times these “patent trolls” look to buy patents off of others without any plan to manufacture the invention.

That in of itself is anti- productive, but what has further hindered the productivity is how these “trolls” as well as others have won an incredible amount of patent litigation cases. What does that have to do with innovation?

Well, either these companies have less money to invest in new technology or are hesitant to invest for fear of being targeted or even further, they don’t have the patent of an idea because one of these “patent trolls” holds it. And, unfortunately, East Texas has played it’s part based on a high rate of awarding cases to “patent trolls” and others.