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A patent troll brought a lawsuit against my company, CoalitionTechnologies.com, in the Eastern District Court of Texas. My attorney and I were able to get them

A patent troll brought a lawsuit against my company, CoalitionTechnologies.com, in the Eastern District Court of Texas. My attorney and I were able to get them to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit shortly afterwards. I won’t be naming the patent troll here as they voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit. Coalition has a policy of never settling frivolous lawsuits and fighting all the way to the bloody end. We recently won a judgement with attorneys fees in another lawsuit. When I first received the notice that I was being sued, I freaked out a little bit. I didn’t sleep well for the next couple of nights, but began working on this right away. I contacted a couple of dozen Texas patent attorneys, most of whom quoted outrageous prices ranging from $200 to $600 per hour and some asking for a $25k retainer upfront! I soon realized that all of these Texas patent attorneys are in the same game with the patent trolls… these attorneys make money the longer the legal process gets drawn out. I was contacted by Amit Agarwal (310-351-6596 – based in LA but he can operate anywhere) and at first I was turned off by his aggressive approach. However, I spoke with my other attorney and he said it won’t hurt to give him a shot. I signed up with Amit and it was the best decision I could have made. Amit brought a very aggressive approach and quickly got the patent troll to back down and dismiss the lawsuit. The lawsuit was mostly dismissed after Amit really went after the troll and their attorneys with some great research and motions he spent Christmas writing.

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ad404b8a372f2b9 5y ago
I don't know if your work in SEO has affected your speech but this sounds a 100% like an ad that people write about themselves online to promote their services. It follows all the patterns of false testimonials you'd usually hear in infomercials. Sorry if it's genuine, I also sometimes like to recommend people and companies I've had good experiences with.
- ghostbrainalpha 5y ago
  This is hilarious if it's satire. Pretty sad if its a genuine recommendation. But you are right, its too hard to tell.
- philote 5y ago
  I agree it sounds like an ad. A quick search found this however: https://joelx.com/how-to-beat-a-patent-troll-in-east-texas/12013/ https://joelx.com/how-to-beat-a-patent-troll-in-east-texas/1... which makes me think it's legit. Weird it's almost verbatim from the blog post, but hey why bother spending time on a new write-up I guess.
  - smusamashah 5y ago
    Another comment of author is also their another blog post.
  - silexia 5y ago
    My apologies for my writing style, I guess my years in SEO have had a strong effect! I'm extremely grateful for the work Amit did for me, he did not compensate me or even request that I post this for him. As the original blog post said, patent trolls are predators that rely on the fact that it costs companies over a million dollars to defend a case even if they win so that they can extort tens of thousands of dollars without much work. We need to abolish the patent system altogether, as everyone on here knows ideas are worthless and execution is everything. The best way to protect real innovators is to prevent artificial monopolies rising up preventing them from competing in the market.
- abhinav22 5y ago
  Well unless people are selling their hacker news accounts, it’s seems genuine and I just think the poster was very appreciative and hence posting. Sometimes we can all be too cynical
- dylan604 5y ago
  It's not like they were hocking their company. They specifically gave out information on someone they hired outside of the company. Yes, there a little self-promotion listing URL and what not, but it was much more about the attorney they hired. meh
  - ziddoap 5y ago
    It's not necessarily just the content, but the style and delivery of that content. Which in this case, certainly reads like a boilerplate advertisement you read on a Top 10 How To Advertise listicle. Good faith advice or not.
    - dylan604 5y ago
      I guess you'd rather see something like: Yo dawg!!! You'll never guess what happened to me when those bizsnitch little lawyers tried to sue me for some whack azz shiznit yo! Yo! You gotta call my bro the bizsnitch laywer asskickin mofo! Just smash them digits 555-212-0420 and he'll go to work for you yo! Or maybe somewhere in between?
      - ad404b8a372f2b9 5y ago
        Of course you don't know that the company is real, that the person is who they claim they are, nor do you know whether they have an advertising contract with the person they recommend. Also there is no need for the caricature, there are certainly more sincere sounding ways to recommend someone than following the standard testimonial script: "I am [person] with [relevant characteristics or employment]. I had this exact [problem] and thankfully [advertiser] was able to help me. When I first got this [problem] I was [emotionally affected in a personal and relatable way]. Other companies told me they had better [price/solutions]. Thankfully I found [advertiser] and they were able to help me like no others. [Short snippet demonstrating advertiser holds values important to the target demographic (price/effectiveness/privacy/dedication/...)]. I would definitely trust them again if [problem] happened again. [Prompt for you to trust them and give them your business.]" Here are testimonials for cash for gold for comparison: https://vimeo.com/35628298 https://vimeo.com/35628298
jimmyed 5y ago
> with some great research and motions he spent Christmas writing. It helps that Amit doesn't celebrate Christmas and needs holidays.
- rvnx 5y ago
  Don't ever mention Christmas in a professional setting. One day I got invited for interview at a famous SV company who has offices in Europe, in a snowy and catholic country. It was the end of the year, so on the way out, with a good mood I said "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" to the people I just met. Later on, the recruiter explained to me that the team felt offended that I used the word "Christmas" (but still got an offer).
  - azinman2 5y ago
    Seems a bit extreme to be literally offended, and I’m not even Christian.
  - blinding-streak 5y ago
    Is it surprising to you that not everyone celebrates Christmas?
    - dylan604 5y ago
      Why is it that those that don't get so offended when someone wishes them good tidings from their practices?
    - alangibson 5y ago
      What's surprising is that you can't expect people to be charitable in their interpretations and take things in the spirit it is meant. I make Marx look like a Bible beater, but I wont take offense at someone wishing me Merry Christmas. Or Eid, Diwali, Purim, or anything else for that matter.
beervirus 5y ago
> outrageous prices ranging from $200 to $600 per hour and some asking for a $25k retainer upfront! I hate to tell you this, but that’s not at all outrageous. And you get what you pay for.
- abhinav22 5y ago
  For a small business, heck for most of us, that’s too much
- schleck8 5y ago
  I'm not in law so I don't know how the price is calculated, but how can this be fair when the highest neurosurgeon wage is 192 usd per hour on ziprecruiter?
  - silexia 5y ago
    Most surgeons are self employed. Employees usually make less than business owners. I know personally several surgeons earning around $5 million per year.
  - beervirus 5y ago
    Maybe the decent neurosurgeons aren’t on ziprecruiter, I dunno. But $200/hour is absolutely nothing for a lawyer. Even a smallish/midsize firm is going to be billing out first-year associates higher than that. $600/hour is pretty ordinary. And just to be clear, this is what the law firm charges for a lawyer’s time. It’s not the take home pay for the lawyer.
    - schleck8 5y ago
      > And just to be clear, this is what the law firm charges for a lawyer’s time. It’s not the take home pay for the lawyer Ah, that makes more sense. I know someone who worked in finance. Her employer charged clients 500 euros per hour for her work and she saw around a fifth of that

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[deleted]

ad404b8a372f2b9 5y ago

I don't know if your work in SEO has affected your speech but this sounds a 100% like an ad that people write about themselves online to promote their services. It follows all the patterns of false testimonials you'd usually hear in infomercials. Sorry if it's genuine, I also sometimes like to recommend people and companies I've had good experiences with.

ghostbrainalpha 5y ago
This is hilarious if it's satire. Pretty sad if its a genuine recommendation. But you are right, its too hard to tell.
philote 5y ago
I agree it sounds like an ad. A quick search found this however: https://joelx.com/how-to-beat-a-patent-troll-in-east-texas/12013/ https://joelx.com/how-to-beat-a-patent-troll-in-east-texas/1... which makes me think it's legit. Weird it's almost verbatim from the blog post, but hey why bother spending time on a new write-up I guess.
- smusamashah 5y ago
  Another comment of author is also their another blog post.
- silexia 5y ago
  My apologies for my writing style, I guess my years in SEO have had a strong effect! I'm extremely grateful for the work Amit did for me, he did not compensate me or even request that I post this for him. As the original blog post said, patent trolls are predators that rely on the fact that it costs companies over a million dollars to defend a case even if they win so that they can extort tens of thousands of dollars without much work. We need to abolish the patent system altogether, as everyone on here knows ideas are worthless and execution is everything. The best way to protect real innovators is to prevent artificial monopolies rising up preventing them from competing in the market.
abhinav22 5y ago
Well unless people are selling their hacker news accounts, it’s seems genuine and I just think the poster was very appreciative and hence posting. Sometimes we can all be too cynical
dylan604 5y ago
It's not like they were hocking their company. They specifically gave out information on someone they hired outside of the company. Yes, there a little self-promotion listing URL and what not, but it was much more about the attorney they hired. meh
- ziddoap 5y ago
  It's not necessarily just the content, but the style and delivery of that content. Which in this case, certainly reads like a boilerplate advertisement you read on a Top 10 How To Advertise listicle. Good faith advice or not.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    I guess you'd rather see something like: Yo dawg!!! You'll never guess what happened to me when those bizsnitch little lawyers tried to sue me for some whack azz shiznit yo! Yo! You gotta call my bro the bizsnitch laywer asskickin mofo! Just smash them digits 555-212-0420 and he'll go to work for you yo! Or maybe somewhere in between?
    - ad404b8a372f2b9 5y ago
      Of course you don't know that the company is real, that the person is who they claim they are, nor do you know whether they have an advertising contract with the person they recommend. Also there is no need for the caricature, there are certainly more sincere sounding ways to recommend someone than following the standard testimonial script: "I am [person] with [relevant characteristics or employment]. I had this exact [problem] and thankfully [advertiser] was able to help me. When I first got this [problem] I was [emotionally affected in a personal and relatable way]. Other companies told me they had better [price/solutions]. Thankfully I found [advertiser] and they were able to help me like no others. [Short snippet demonstrating advertiser holds values important to the target demographic (price/effectiveness/privacy/dedication/...)]. I would definitely trust them again if [problem] happened again. [Prompt for you to trust them and give them your business.]" Here are testimonials for cash for gold for comparison: https://vimeo.com/35628298 https://vimeo.com/35628298

jimmyed 5y ago

> with some great research and motions he spent Christmas writing. It helps that Amit doesn't celebrate Christmas and needs holidays.

rvnx 5y ago
Don't ever mention Christmas in a professional setting. One day I got invited for interview at a famous SV company who has offices in Europe, in a snowy and catholic country. It was the end of the year, so on the way out, with a good mood I said "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" to the people I just met. Later on, the recruiter explained to me that the team felt offended that I used the word "Christmas" (but still got an offer).
- azinman2 5y ago
  Seems a bit extreme to be literally offended, and I’m not even Christian.
- blinding-streak 5y ago
  Is it surprising to you that not everyone celebrates Christmas?
  - dylan604 5y ago
    Why is it that those that don't get so offended when someone wishes them good tidings from their practices?
  - alangibson 5y ago
    What's surprising is that you can't expect people to be charitable in their interpretations and take things in the spirit it is meant. I make Marx look like a Bible beater, but I wont take offense at someone wishing me Merry Christmas. Or Eid, Diwali, Purim, or anything else for that matter.

beervirus 5y ago

> outrageous prices ranging from $200 to $600 per hour and some asking for a $25k retainer upfront! I hate to tell you this, but that’s not at all outrageous. And you get what you pay for.

abhinav22 5y ago
For a small business, heck for most of us, that’s too much
schleck8 5y ago
I'm not in law so I don't know how the price is calculated, but how can this be fair when the highest neurosurgeon wage is 192 usd per hour on ziprecruiter?
- silexia 5y ago
  Most surgeons are self employed. Employees usually make less than business owners. I know personally several surgeons earning around $5 million per year.
- beervirus 5y ago
  Maybe the decent neurosurgeons aren’t on ziprecruiter, I dunno. But $200/hour is absolutely nothing for a lawyer. Even a smallish/midsize firm is going to be billing out first-year associates higher than that. $600/hour is pretty ordinary. And just to be clear, this is what the law firm charges for a lawyer’s time. It’s not the take home pay for the lawyer.
  - schleck8 5y ago
    > And just to be clear, this is what the law firm charges for a lawyer’s time. It’s not the take home pay for the lawyer Ah, that makes more sense. I know someone who worked in finance. Her employer charged clients 500 euros per hour for her work and she saw around a fifth of that