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Ask HN: I was hit with a patent troll lawsuit, how do I deal with it?

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Re: Ask HN: I was hit with a patent troll lawsuit, how do I deal with it?

#31

Post by wyager »

relaunched wrote: post #9

Talk to a lawyer. But, here's some things to know - 1) Willful infringement is worse than infringing. 2) Patent trolls are trying to earn money - some money is better than no money. 3) In most legal scenarios, you want to get out of the conflict as cheaply as possible - vindication is very expensive.

> vindication is very expensive

While true, this is unfortunate, because it means that patent trolls continue to get away with this behavior.

I think society today is insufficiently aggressive and vengeful. The social utility of vengefulness is precisely that it allows for n-tit-for-tat strategies to punish social defectors like patent trolls.

Re: Ask HN: I was hit with a patent troll lawsuit, how do I deal with it?

#32

Post by [deleted] »

duped wrote: post #29
stinos wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good way to find a lawyer is to talk to good lawyers you have worked with in the past. I.e. none for me. Is it that common to have worked with lawyers then? I honestly wouldn't know how to find a good lawyer. I don't even think I know anyone in person who ever needed a lawyer (not sure - it's not something which comes up often in conversations).

Most state bar associations have a website where you can search for whatever specialty you might need. You can also talk to your investors for advice, or ask around your community for recommendations.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: I was hit with a patent troll lawsuit, how do I deal with it?

#33

Post by dmabram »

I've been through similar situations. The "find a lawyer" comments are less than helpful, since you probably don't know where to begin and most lawyers will happily take your money without necessarily having an expedient path to resolution for a small one-person company. So here's what you do:

Write to each of your competitors, explain the situation and ask for a referral to their lawyers. You'd be surprised how many are more than willing to make a referral against a troll Also search around for any other attorneys who have filed against this troll and contact them as well. They should all be willing to do an initial call for free.

You are trying to find an attorney who has a successful blueprint for dealing with this particular troll, ideally this particular claim. If the attorney is able to leverage their prior work or knowledge, your costs are greatly reduced. Also, if the troll has unsuccessful experience with a particular attorney they may just give up. Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: I was hit with a patent troll lawsuit, how do I deal with it?

#35

Post by berdon »

bombcar wrote: post #22

You may want to reach out to some of your competitors and try to find the lawyers they used (especially the dismissed ones). If there are any court records they may show this.

I second this thought. Everyone hates patent trolls and it's very possible some of these companies might relish another opportunity to force this one to "lose".

Re: Ask HN: I was hit with a patent troll lawsuit, how do I deal with it?

#36

Post by jblake »

kkielhofner wrote: post #28

Usual disclaimer: I am not an attorney. Have they actually served you with any notice, potential licensing terms, legal documents of any kind? For clarification, are they a NPE (non-practicing entity)? Anyway, I've worked on pretty much every side of the patent system in the United States (assuming you're there). While I (fortunately) haven't been presented with your exact scenario I suggest: - You need to hire a pat…

Thank you. I have not personally been served, I found out about it via emails from two different patent attorney firms offering their services, with the lawsuit attached as a courtesy. The lawsuit looks legit to me. I live in Tahoe so don't get mail but will check today and also check with my registered agent in Reno.

Can you recommend me a patent attorney? Any idea on how much this could cost?

Re: Ask HN: I was hit with a patent troll lawsuit, how do I deal with it?

#38

Post by admissionsguy »

relaunched wrote: post #9

Talk to a lawyer. But, here's some things to know - 1) Willful infringement is worse than infringing. 2) Patent trolls are trying to earn money - some money is better than no money. 3) In most legal scenarios, you want to get out of the conflict as cheaply as possible - vindication is very expensive.

Curious, why is it expensive?

Is it similar to the process of getting the patent itself where most companies pay $$$ for lawyers, but a determined technical (and legally literate) person can do it themselves with not that much effort (like I did)? Or is there some sort of gatekeeping or statutory fees that must be paid?

Re: Ask HN: I was hit with a patent troll lawsuit, how do I deal with it?

#39

Post by scotty79 »

akersten wrote: post #11
nceqs3 wrote: post #7

You could always settle. How much are they asking for? Could you share the patent # they are trying to use?

By settling, they would be enabling the cycle of abuse. This is as good as "you could always pay the bitcoin ransom." OP needs to contact the EFF and knock this down in court - it's the only way to push back against insane software patents.

Basically telling him to do anything else is to request of him to do the policing of anti-social behavior in a broken system that enables it, at huge personal cost.

Some people do. People like that are necessary. But not everybody is willing to take that responsibility and associated burden.

Re: Ask HN: I was hit with a patent troll lawsuit, how do I deal with it?

#40

Post by ghaff »

jblake wrote: post #23
stinos wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good way to find a lawyer is to talk to good lawyers you have worked with in the past. I.e. none for me. Is it that common to have worked with lawyers then? I honestly wouldn't know how to find a good lawyer. I don't even think I know anyone in person who ever needed a lawyer (not sure - it's not something which comes up often in conversations).

You are not alone!

You specifically need a patent/IP lawyer. Someone else mentioned the EFF. You might also try the Software Freedom Law Center. They're specifically focused on open source but they might be able to point you in an appropriate direction.
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