Don't mess with Newegg • Hacker News Board

Re: Don't mess with Newegg

#31

Post by [deleted] » Fri, May 23, 2014, 1:29 AM UTC

jamra wrote: post #17

mixmax wrote: post #14

It seems to me that the legal system in the US is largely broken, and that just about anyone can be sued if only you find the right grounds. Being sued and defending yourself is enormously expensive which is what patent trolls exploit. Why not use this offensively against patent trolls? Find all sorts of ways to take them to court, the American legal seems to have plenty of opportunities in that regard. There are som…

The law firms that back up patent trolls are very large and very powerful. The largest and most powerful in the nation.

[deleted]

Re: Don't mess with Newegg

#32

Post by glesica » Fri, May 23, 2014, 1:32 AM UTC

mixmax wrote: post #24

bsder wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the troll companies are always shell companies with nothing but the patents. So, even if you win, the shell company will declare bankruptcy. This is what changed the game. Before, two big companies generally had enough patents that they would simply agree to cross license because they both infringed one another's patents. So, for the company being sued, it's a no win situation.

be a bit more creative. It's known who the parent company is, so sue them. Since you're basically just suing for whatever you can get away with you should of course go for the mother ship.

But there isn't always (or even usually) a "mothership" from what we've seen lately. Look at the Prenda Law saga (Ars Technica has some great write-ups). They can't even figure out who officially owns the company, it is almost entirely opaque. I think the problem is that corporate personhood has run completely amok. It is far too easy to invent a new corporate person with little or no visible or even provable connection to any natural person.

Re: Don't mess with Newegg

#33

Post by voidlogic » Fri, May 23, 2014, 1:34 AM UTC

bsder wrote: post #21

mixmax wrote: post #14

It seems to me that the legal system in the US is largely broken, and that just about anyone can be sued if only you find the right grounds. Being sued and defending yourself is enormously expensive which is what patent trolls exploit. Why not use this offensively against patent trolls? Find all sorts of ways to take them to court, the American legal seems to have plenty of opportunities in that regard. There are som…

And the troll companies are always shell companies with nothing but the patents. So, even if you win, the shell company will declare bankruptcy. This is what changed the game. Before, two big companies generally had enough patents that they would simply agree to cross license because they both infringed one another's patents. So, for the company being sued, it's a no win situation.

If they can't pay due to bankruptcy, isn’t there a chance as someone they owe money you will get some of their patents (assets)?

Re: Don't mess with Newegg

#34

Post by finkin1 » Fri, May 23, 2014, 1:35 AM UTC

As the CEO of a small 5-person startup, getting sued by a patent troll scares the shit out of me. Seeing Newegg take it to these asshats puts a grin on my face. I'll be voting with my dollars by shopping at Newegg.

Re: Don't mess with Newegg

#35

Post by hkmurakami » Fri, May 23, 2014, 1:41 AM UTC

Personally, I love the fact that this title evokes the "Don't mess with Texas" line, given that it's the East Texas courts that aid patent trolls so greatly.

Re: Don't mess with Newegg

#36

Post by plorkyeran » Fri, May 23, 2014, 1:42 AM UTC

voidlogic wrote: post #33

bsder wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the troll companies are always shell companies with nothing but the patents. So, even if you win, the shell company will declare bankruptcy. This is what changed the game. Before, two big companies generally had enough patents that they would simply agree to cross license because they both infringed one another's patents. So, for the company being sued, it's a no win situation.

If they can't pay due to bankruptcy, isn’t there a chance as someone they owe money you will get some of their patents (assets)?

If you win then their patents aren't very valuable.

Re: Don't mess with Newegg

#37

Post by [deleted] » Fri, May 23, 2014, 1:51 AM UTC

heyheyhey wrote: post #5

> Most companies choose not to recover their legal fees in patent suits because prevailing defendants are required to demonstrate that a plaintiff acted in bad faith. This is extremely difficult to prove and it’s usually easier to just walk away and count your losses – unless your name is Lee Cheng. Interesting. So if you're a patent troll, there is little to no downside to constantly suing companies aside from the l…

[deleted]

Re: Don't mess with Newegg

#38

Post by dalek2point3 » Fri, May 23, 2014, 1:58 AM UTC

mixmax wrote: post #14

It seems to me that the legal system in the US is largely broken, and that just about anyone can be sued if only you find the right grounds. Being sued and defending yourself is enormously expensive which is what patent trolls exploit. Why not use this offensively against patent trolls? Find all sorts of ways to take them to court, the American legal seems to have plenty of opportunities in that regard. There are som…

kind of like the mayone.us of patent trolls. brilliant idea.

Re: Don't mess with Newegg

#39

Post by shmerl » Fri, May 23, 2014, 1:59 AM UTC

That's one of the reasons I avoid Amazon and prefer to buy on Newegg.

Re: Don't mess with Newegg

#40

Post by rbanffy » Fri, May 23, 2014, 2:19 AM UTC

Is there a "Patent Troll Response Command" to coordinate the response of companies being sued and to facilitate the creation of groups to fight such lawsuits together?