December 27th, 2010
If 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.
Tags: Business Lawyers, Drastic Change, East Texas, Falsehood, Fame, Hospitality, Legal Representatives, Legitimate Reason, Litigation Cases, Marshall Texas, Patent Infringement Case, Patent Infringement Lawsuits, Patent Litigation, Scenarios, Sweet Taste, Texarkana, Texas Ghost Towns, Texas Homesteads, Trolls, World Patent
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December 25th, 2010
We 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!
Tags: Black Friday, Boss, Christmas Season, Christmas Shopping, Coal, Culprit, Devious Plan, East Texas, east Texas patent trolls raising consumer prices, Field Hospitals, Grinch, Hundreds Of Thousands, Infringement, Medical Field, Merry Christmas, Patent Litigation, patent trolls raising consumer prices, Patents, Sole Purpose, Stockings, Thousands Of Dollars, Troll, Trolls
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December 25th, 2010
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.
Tags: Batman, Batman Joker, Belief, East Texas, Evil God, Innovation or patent infringement abuse, Invention, Litigation Cases, New Technology, North Versus South, Patent Attorneys, patent attorneys east tx, Patent Idea, Patent Infringement Cases, Patent Infringement Lawsuits, Patent Litigation, Patents, Selfishness In Man, Texarkana, Texas Attorneys, Troll, Trolls
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December 24th, 2010
“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.
Tags: Barak Obama, Cheek, Court Decisions, Dance Partners, Dont Ask Dont Tell Patent Abuse Litigation, East Texas, East Texas Patent Law Abuse, Military Man, Patent Infringement Cases, Patent Infringements, Patent Lawyer, Patent Litigation, Patents, Plaintiffs, Scandal, Sexual Preference, Shoulders, Sole Purpose, Texarkana, Trolls, Turning A Blind Eye, Unethical Practice
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December 22nd, 2010
You 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.
Tags: Blood In The Water, Can Of Worms, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, East Texas, Favoritism, Hype, Judge David, Lebron James, Leonard Davis, Miami Heat, Patent Infringement Cases, Patent Infringement Litigation, Patent Infringements, Patent Troll Christmas Payday, Pay Day, Plaintiffs, Sharks, Substantial Growth, Three Men, Trolls
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