Lawyers and patents
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Lawyers....@#$#@!! I work for a small company and we came up with a unique idea where our product could be applied in a new direction. We did some preliminary investigation and could not find where someone already did this. We started investing time and $$$ into this and also hired a patent attorney to start the due diligence for a patent. He came back some time later and said that something similar was already patented. Ok, I don't have a problem with that part and we are looking for ways to differentiate our idea. However.... He said the holder of this patent is a group of lawyers. This group has no intention of going forward to implement the idea; they just look around for patents that might be infringed upon and then go after them to squeeze money out of them. Sometimes, they stumble across a patent holder who doesn't realize that their patent is infringed and buy the patent (for little $) from the unsuspecting company. Then they go after the infringers for big $$$. They are not doing anything illegal but in my mind, this is very unethical - or slimy to say the least. :mad: Has anyone else run across these bottom-feeders? What have you done about it?
I had to deal with lawyers for the first time a few years ago when adopting my son; I hope I never have to deal with lawyers again. They know you have no choice but to hire them, so they charge extraordinary fees by the hour, round up their few minutes of work to the nearest hour, and generally empty your life savings for all its worth. :mad: The lawyers I dealt with were generally good people (all but one, in fact), but their exorbitant fees are ridiculous; I think we ended up spending somewhere close to $20,000 on lawyer fees when all was said and done. That's my generalized view of lawyers after only one experience. As for people patenting ideas which they have no intention of implementing, I think that's stifling innovation and commerce. It seems to me there should be a law preventing this. Better yet, the patent system needs to be overhauled, as its being widely abused as it is.
Tech, life, family, faith: Give me a visit. I'm currently blogging about: Little House on the Flickr Judah Himango
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Lawyers....@#$#@!! I work for a small company and we came up with a unique idea where our product could be applied in a new direction. We did some preliminary investigation and could not find where someone already did this. We started investing time and $$$ into this and also hired a patent attorney to start the due diligence for a patent. He came back some time later and said that something similar was already patented. Ok, I don't have a problem with that part and we are looking for ways to differentiate our idea. However.... He said the holder of this patent is a group of lawyers. This group has no intention of going forward to implement the idea; they just look around for patents that might be infringed upon and then go after them to squeeze money out of them. Sometimes, they stumble across a patent holder who doesn't realize that their patent is infringed and buy the patent (for little $) from the unsuspecting company. Then they go after the infringers for big $$$. They are not doing anything illegal but in my mind, this is very unethical - or slimy to say the least. :mad: Has anyone else run across these bottom-feeders? What have you done about it?
The software patent thing is going crazy an mostly the patents aren't used to bring technology further, most of them are simply used to block or destroy ideas/companies. Look at http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/[^] in order to get very angry BTW: My most favourite joke when it becomes to lawyers: Q: What are 1000 lawyers chained together on the floor of the ocean? A: A good start...
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The software patent thing is going crazy an mostly the patents aren't used to bring technology further, most of them are simply used to block or destroy ideas/companies. Look at http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/[^] in order to get very angry BTW: My most favourite joke when it becomes to lawyers: Q: What are 1000 lawyers chained together on the floor of the ocean? A: A good start...
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Lawyers....@#$#@!! I work for a small company and we came up with a unique idea where our product could be applied in a new direction. We did some preliminary investigation and could not find where someone already did this. We started investing time and $$$ into this and also hired a patent attorney to start the due diligence for a patent. He came back some time later and said that something similar was already patented. Ok, I don't have a problem with that part and we are looking for ways to differentiate our idea. However.... He said the holder of this patent is a group of lawyers. This group has no intention of going forward to implement the idea; they just look around for patents that might be infringed upon and then go after them to squeeze money out of them. Sometimes, they stumble across a patent holder who doesn't realize that their patent is infringed and buy the patent (for little $) from the unsuspecting company. Then they go after the infringers for big $$$. They are not doing anything illegal but in my mind, this is very unethical - or slimy to say the least. :mad: Has anyone else run across these bottom-feeders? What have you done about it?
prcarp wrote:
Has anyone else run across these bottom-feeders? What have you done about it?
When I was young and revolutionary, I called them "Advokatenschweine", and "you are the first against the wall, revolution or not". Now I'm grown up, and many of my friends became lawyers, so it's "Advokatenschweine - sorry, I don't mean you personally"; and now that they have kids, even "Schweine" is forbidden. :sigh:
Some of us walk the memory lane, others plummet into a rabbit hole
boost your code || Fold With Us! || sighist -
I had to deal with lawyers for the first time a few years ago when adopting my son; I hope I never have to deal with lawyers again. They know you have no choice but to hire them, so they charge extraordinary fees by the hour, round up their few minutes of work to the nearest hour, and generally empty your life savings for all its worth. :mad: The lawyers I dealt with were generally good people (all but one, in fact), but their exorbitant fees are ridiculous; I think we ended up spending somewhere close to $20,000 on lawyer fees when all was said and done. That's my generalized view of lawyers after only one experience. As for people patenting ideas which they have no intention of implementing, I think that's stifling innovation and commerce. It seems to me there should be a law preventing this. Better yet, the patent system needs to be overhauled, as its being widely abused as it is.
Tech, life, family, faith: Give me a visit. I'm currently blogging about: Little House on the Flickr Judah Himango
I wish there was a rule that said if you just squat on a patent with no intention of developing it, then there is a time limit or some other mechanism in place where you lose it. However, I can see where this would be hard to implement or enforce and would probably contribute to the bureaucratic nightmare.
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Actually our company are going to apply patent soon, so I have a little knowledge on it but may not accurate ;P 1. you may try changing the keywords of ur patent to some uncommon ones, so they won't find you by patent search 2. if there happen another patent similiar with urs, then ur idea may not so unique and many other company may doing the same thing at the same time but u dont know...so u may try to differentiate(as u have said) or just retreat from this direction.(as u may face fierce competition later) 3. a patent being approved not means that its owner can sue u, may be the patent is too generalized, or it may base on other patents,...., actually the result may only be known after resolution by court. all my above claims may not accurate as i am not lawyer or a professional patent applicator.
Since we already have customer buy-in to our idea, we need to resolve this one way or another. I think this is what we are going to do: 1. Use more specific wording in our patent as I believe the one already in place is very broad. 2. Also, change our direction slightly to further differentiate ourselves from the existing patent. If the patent lawyers still see potential issues, then we are left with (gulp) joining them. Perhaps work out an arrangement where they can collect some of the proceeds. It may be the cheapest alternative.
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The software patent thing is going crazy an mostly the patents aren't used to bring technology further, most of them are simply used to block or destroy ideas/companies. Look at http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/[^] in order to get very angry BTW: My most favourite joke when it becomes to lawyers: Q: What are 1000 lawyers chained together on the floor of the ocean? A: A good start...
What's read and black and looks good on a lawyer? a: a Doberman Having dealt with lawyers as well, I would rather have a root canal with no pain killer. Right up there with the two other most distasteful people I have had to deal with, those being a CEO and a building contractor... Up against the well indeed.... C. Gilley Will program for food... My son's PDA is an M249 SAW.
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The software patent thing is going crazy an mostly the patents aren't used to bring technology further, most of them are simply used to block or destroy ideas/companies. Look at http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/[^] in order to get very angry BTW: My most favourite joke when it becomes to lawyers: Q: What are 1000 lawyers chained together on the floor of the ocean? A: A good start...
Another good one is: Q: Why don't sharks bite lawyers? A: Professional courtesy. I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes
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Lawyers....@#$#@!! I work for a small company and we came up with a unique idea where our product could be applied in a new direction. We did some preliminary investigation and could not find where someone already did this. We started investing time and $$$ into this and also hired a patent attorney to start the due diligence for a patent. He came back some time later and said that something similar was already patented. Ok, I don't have a problem with that part and we are looking for ways to differentiate our idea. However.... He said the holder of this patent is a group of lawyers. This group has no intention of going forward to implement the idea; they just look around for patents that might be infringed upon and then go after them to squeeze money out of them. Sometimes, they stumble across a patent holder who doesn't realize that their patent is infringed and buy the patent (for little $) from the unsuspecting company. Then they go after the infringers for big $$$. They are not doing anything illegal but in my mind, this is very unethical - or slimy to say the least. :mad: Has anyone else run across these bottom-feeders? What have you done about it?
I think a patent should only be awarded if the idea is actually implemented in tangible form. ------- sig starts "I've heard some drivers saying, 'We're going too fast here...'. If you're not here to race, go the hell home - don't come here and grumble about going too fast. Why don't you tie a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001
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Lawyers....@#$#@!! I work for a small company and we came up with a unique idea where our product could be applied in a new direction. We did some preliminary investigation and could not find where someone already did this. We started investing time and $$$ into this and also hired a patent attorney to start the due diligence for a patent. He came back some time later and said that something similar was already patented. Ok, I don't have a problem with that part and we are looking for ways to differentiate our idea. However.... He said the holder of this patent is a group of lawyers. This group has no intention of going forward to implement the idea; they just look around for patents that might be infringed upon and then go after them to squeeze money out of them. Sometimes, they stumble across a patent holder who doesn't realize that their patent is infringed and buy the patent (for little $) from the unsuspecting company. Then they go after the infringers for big $$$. They are not doing anything illegal but in my mind, this is very unethical - or slimy to say the least. :mad: Has anyone else run across these bottom-feeders? What have you done about it?
-What do you have if you have 20 lawyers buried up to their necks in sand ?? -Not enough sand! -What do you call a car with 3 lawyers in it going over a cliff ? -A missed opportunity !! -How do you tell the difference between a dead lawyer in th middle of the road and the rat lying a few feet away from him? -Deep black skidmarks leading up to the rat. -The devil visited a lawyer's office and made him an offer. "I can arrange some things for you, " the devil said. "I'll increase your income five-fold. Your partners will love you; your clients will respect you; you'll have four months of vacation each year and live to be a hundred. All I require in return is that your wife's soul, your children's souls, and their children's souls rot in hell for eternity." -The lawyer thought for a moment... "What's the catch?" he asked. NB: The cost of my divorce and associated proceedings alone makes me despise them. Add the £25000+ (covered by insurance luckily) its cost my Mum tring to get compensation from the driver that killed my father and injured her 16 months ago and that feeling... :mad: Rhys [Lotus Notes] is death by a thousand tiny annoyances—the digital equivalent of being kicked in the groin upon arrival at work every day. Jeff Atwater In the 60s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
