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Being sued, in East Texas, for using the Google Play Store [video]

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Re: Being sued, in East Texas, for using the Google Play Store [video]

#191

Post by Zelmor »

tomglynch wrote: post #8

A comment from a reddit thread states: The gist behind this case is that the Judge's son owns patent law firm in East Texas where they often represent both sides. This guy doesn't live in East Texas. However, the dad lets these stupid cases into the town to bring business to his son. Really shady. I agree with clavelle's comment. It's not so much the laws, but the system that allows this to occur. Link here: https://…

It's in the US and I find it hard to believe that noone has so far shot these kind of scammers. Aim right, citizen! For the greater good!

Re: Being sued, in East Texas, for using the Google Play Store [video]

#192

Post by Mithaldu »

pdabbadabba wrote: post #187
Mithaldu wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do the "quite a bit" costs come from then, if they don't come from the arcana?

Not really. They usually come from the fact that legal services are just exceptionally expensive. This, in turn, is largely driven by the fact that, for companies with a lot of money and a lot at stake, legal services are also exceptionally valuable. This drives up rates across the entire industry. There are other dynamics as well, but I think this one dominates.

I wasn't disagreeing, i was asking earnestly.

Also, you didn't answer the question as asked. If the goal is "file motion telling judge 'patent is not valid' without doing literally anything else", what exactly is the money spent on?

Re: Being sued, in East Texas, for using the Google Play Store [video]

#193

Post by jules »

tzs wrote: post #133
jules wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comes up every single time, but it remains false. Loser pays does not mean that the loser has to pay a gigantic amount for the opponent's extremely expensive lawyers. Loser pays means that the judge determines what is a reasonable amount for the legal fees. Often the amount you have to pay for your opponent's lawyers is limited to what you paid for your own. So unless you hire extremely expensive lawyers yoursel…

> Almost every country except the United States uses this system. Almost every country except the US uses agencies of their executive branch of government to enforce most labor, housing, discrimination, harassment, and civil rights laws. In the United States the enforcement of such laws is often split, with only very serious violations being handled by an executive agency and the more common violations simply creatin…

The problem of being out-lawyered by a richer opponent exists in both cases, so I don't see how that's an argument for or against either system.

The point about potentially discouraging lawsuits has a grain of truth in it, but not more than a grain. In the US you'd have to pay $X regardless of whether you win, and with the loser pays system you pay $0 if you win and $2X if you lose. It is at most a factor of two. The reality is that most people who can't afford $2X also can't afford $X. Consider what you get in return: (1) if you're quite sure you can win, you can sue at no cost (2) big companies can't just bully people into a settlement (like they attempted in this story). The net effect is that poor people who are clearly in the right gain the ability to sue, and rich entities who are clearly in the wrong lose the ability to extort settlements from poor people, but poor people who can afford $X but can't afford $2X lose the ability to sue if they aren't sure they can win. A very good trade-off if you ask me.

Re: Being sued, in East Texas, for using the Google Play Store [video]

#194

Post by addled »

knorker wrote: post #98
joshuaheard wrote: post #81

A couple of misconceptions in this video. Patent infringement is not a crime. A son lawyer appearing in front of his judge father would not be allowed for conflict of interest in most circumstances. That being said, patent trolling is obviously a problem, and legislation to fix the problem is making its way through Congress.

1) Did he say crime? I don't think he ever did. 2) He never said the son appeared in front of his judge father. I'm almost 100% on that too. So misconceptions in what you misheard, I guess.

Right. The son doesn't have to appear in front of his father to benefit from his father furthering east Texas's reputation of being patent-troll friendly.

Re: Being sued, in East Texas, for using the Google Play Store [video]

#196

Post by angry-hacker »

fouric wrote: post #184

While I applaud what Austin Meyer is doing by raising awareness about patent trolls, does anyone here but me wish that the content had been made available in some sort of text medium instead? I can't think of any important parts of the video that couldn't have been reasonably conveyed through the use of text.

I agree, but maybe because he said he wants to raise the awareness of 'simple' people, such as jurors, etc. Video is probably better medium to go viral than some text about software parents regarding non techies.

Re: Being sued, in East Texas, for using the Google Play Store [video]

#197

Post by awqrre »

fouric wrote: post #184

While I applaud what Austin Meyer is doing by raising awareness about patent trolls, does anyone here but me wish that the content had been made available in some sort of text medium instead? I can't think of any important parts of the video that couldn't have been reasonably conveyed through the use of text.

Not as condensed as true text, but you can download the CC: http://downsub.com/index.php?title=I+am+being+sued%2C+in+Eas...

Re: Being sued, in East Texas, for using the Google Play Store [video]

#198

Post by pdabbadabba »

Mithaldu wrote: post #192
pdabbadabba wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. They usually come from the fact that legal services are just exceptionally expensive. This, in turn, is largely driven by the fact that, for companies with a lot of money and a lot at stake, legal services are also exceptionally valuable. This drives up rates across the entire industry. There are other dynamics as well, but I think this one dominates.

I wasn't disagreeing, i was asking earnestly. Also, you didn't answer the question as asked. If the goal is "file motion telling judge 'patent is not valid' without doing literally anything else", what exactly is the money spent on?

And I meant to give an earnest answer! If you are the defendant in a relatively simple patent case, where the patent is clearly invalid, the right procedural move is probably a motion to dismiss, which could come right at the beginning of the litigation. But merely drafting that motion will be costly, simply due to the cost of legal services.

EDIT: Of course, it often is not actually clear whether a patent is valid and enforceable or not. This could require evidence from experts about obviousness, prior art, etc. Assembling all of this in a way that is fair to both sides, and presenting it to the court in a way that is clear and compelling, is difficult, as one might expect. So this idealized situation may not be too common.

EDIT 2: In case it's not obvious, this shouldn't be taken as legal advice. Every situation is different, so you should hire yourself a lawyer, and not act based on general ruminations you read on the Internet by people like me. I am not your lawyer.

Re: Being sued, in East Texas, for using the Google Play Store [video]

#199

Post by devrs0 »

kukx wrote: post #126

What about making an "anti patent troll" website that will allow users to share their legal approaches and documents and the rest of the defense materials. Some of them may be reusable. I guess it should significantly limit the legal costs for everyone and improve their position against trolls, right?

I'm not sure how this works when it comes to a successful defense but it's my understanding that, in the case of a settlement, the defendant must sign an NDA - preventing just this and allowing the racket to continue.

Re: Being sued, in East Texas, for using the Google Play Store [video]

#200

Post by [deleted] »

brandonm64 wrote: post #182
developer2 wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that the "patent" (fucking loose term of the word for something that should never have been allowed to be filed) is about the use of the code in question. It's not the App Store that is supposedly infringing, it's the use of the App Store. What a joke.

Doesn't Google use the Play Store to distribute their own apps like Sheets, Docs, Drive etc.

[deleted]
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