Originally Posted by
Jim Koepke
One of the problems with our system of laws is the cost of a patent and then bringing it to court are prohibitive for many businesses. Then if a vendor is stopped, what is to stop the next from selling the same item under a different name?
Yes, there are laws where legal resources could be brought to bear against those who wish to benefit from the work of others. Often these cases end up being won by the side with the most money.
jtk
Patents are not that expensive when compared to other costs that a company experiences. When I was involved with utility patents, our company had a deal with a law firm and they would do our patents for a flat rate of $3,000 each (but we did a lot of patents). Design patents are cheaper and quicker.
And dealing with a patent dispute can be expensive to the company which did the infringing. If they lose, they will have to pay the judgment and may have an injunction against them. Depending on the situation, they may have to pay the company who owns the patent's legal fees. It's not so simple that they can just do it again under a different name. The idea of patent litigation is to take the profit from the company which infringed.
But in any case, if you're going to ask people to refrain from buying certain products, you need to define what conditions should invoke that non-purchase. Otherwise, it's just "I know it when I see it" and you want others to accept your interpretation of what's right and what's wrong.
Mike
[There are other ways to enforce a patent. For example, small companies sell all or a portion of their patent to a patent troll company, such as Intellectual Ventures. The patent troll company has deep pockets and will bring suit against the infringer. That's how they make money. In many cases, a letter will cause the infringing company to shut down a product or to pay a license fee to continue to manufacture it.
It's possible in our legal system for small companies to legally protect their intellectual property. If they do nothing, they do not have any protection. You and others seek to provide to those companies an advantage they did not even seek.]
Last edited by Mike Henderson; 01-27-2017 at 1:44 PM.
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