4 ms·
Also missing from the article is an explanation of why they spent $12k defending against an expired patent?
by creeble 5y ago
Also missing from the article is an explanation of why they spent $12k defending against an expired patent?
- awillen 5y agoBecause you don't just automatically win because the patent is expired. You have to hire a lawyer to research the patent and find out it's expired, then, at minimum, your lawyer has to go to court and prove that the patent is expired.
- creeble 5y agoBut patent terms are 20 years. It had clearly been more than 20 years. Why didn’t the lawyer simply state this in their counterclaim? I don’t actually see it anywhere in the counterclaim.
- josaka 5y agoYou can, in some cases, sue for damages accrued up to six years in the past. You don't have to sue for those before the patent expires. You just stop accruing new damages when the patent expires. Past damages is what was allegedly at issue here. (Which is why the attorneys were talking about "marking," as it's a factor in whether you can get pre-suit damages for some types of claims in some cases.)
- creeble 5y agoThank you for this!
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- charcircuit 5y ago>You have to hire a lawyer to research the patent and find out it's expired You can do this yourself though
- alangibson 5y agoGetting qualified people to dig up prior art and write responses ain't cheap.
- oh_sigh 5y agoBecause the allegations are for a period when the patent was not expired.
- freejazz 5y agoThe patent is expired now, but they can still sue for infringement that occurred during the life of the patent. In fact, this is how it goes for many patents given the lifecycle.