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

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

#1

Post by jblake »

This particular patent troll has filed lawsuits with at least a dozen of my competitors in the past year. Some were voluntarily dismissed, some ongoing, rest unknown (based on my limited research skills). The patent in question involves downloading a remote database to a mobile device used as a lookup table when scanning a QR code. Yeah...

I'm a one person company and have no idea what to do.

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

#4

Post by davismwfl »

I don't know if they would help in this case, but maybe reach out to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org) and see if they have any recommendations.

There are also some law firms in the US which will help against these types of suits without requiring you to fork over a large retainer. You'll have to research these but they are out there.

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

#6

Post by fallingknife »

You have to talk to a lawyer. No one other than a IP attorney experienced in dealing with patent trolls will be able to give you accurate advice on this.

Also you should add "[ask HN]" to the beginning of your post.

edit: A good way to find a lawyer is to talk to good lawyers you have worked with in the past. They will not be able to help you themself if they practice in a different area, but will likely have referrals for someone who does.

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

#8

Post by ryantgtg »

nceqs3 wrote: post #7

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

Yes, that is one of the options. They can also represent themselves, or hire a lawyer. What else could they also do? Run away to another country maybe?

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

#9

Post by relaunched »

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.

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