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It occurs to me that what is needed is a possibly grass roots level approach to the patent problem. If ever there was a good use of the Rico Act this would be t

by hsmyers 14y ago

It occurs to me that what is needed is a possibly grass roots level approach to the patent problem. If ever there was a good use of the Rico Act this would be the one. And know I'm not a lawyer but how is PT (patent trolling) any different from the mob activities that Rico was designed to help eliminate. This would among other things allow asset forfeiture before the fact---something that would be particularly satisfying in this instance :) Just sayin/daydreamin ...

misnome 14y ago
> And know I'm not a lawyer but how is PT (patent trolling) any different from the mob activities that Rico was designed to help eliminate Patent trolling doesn't generally kill people or traffic drugs.
- freehunter 14y ago
  That's true. Rico has been extended to handle things far outside it's original scope though, so taking the extended definition I could see it work.
- jfoutz 14y ago
  Diverting resources to fend off million dollar lawsuits certainly could kill people. It's not only interfering with defendants, but the court system must also redirect resources away from other activities to handle these cases. If nothing else, hundreds of thousands of hours of effort go into cases like these. Patent reform wouldn't necessarily save a single life, but it would clearly save hundreds of hours of life for thousands of people. Of course, none of that above relates to RICO
rayiner 14y ago
The RICO act pertains to threats of illegal force. Filing a lawsuit to vindicate legal rights is not illegal force, by definition. Filing a totally frivolous lawsuit can get an attorney and his client sanctioned, but while something like this may seem frivolous to you it's not legally frivolous (they have a validly-issued patent that has arguably been infringed).
DannyBee 14y ago
Already tried ... http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/patent/manufacturers-attempt-to-invoke-rico-act-fails-against-non-practicing-entity http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/patent/manufacturers-atte...

by hsmyers 14y ago

misnome 14y ago

> And know I'm not a lawyer but how is PT (patent trolling) any different from the mob activities that Rico was designed to help eliminate Patent trolling doesn't generally kill people or traffic drugs.

freehunter 14y ago
That's true. Rico has been extended to handle things far outside it's original scope though, so taking the extended definition I could see it work.
jfoutz 14y ago
Diverting resources to fend off million dollar lawsuits certainly could kill people. It's not only interfering with defendants, but the court system must also redirect resources away from other activities to handle these cases. If nothing else, hundreds of thousands of hours of effort go into cases like these. Patent reform wouldn't necessarily save a single life, but it would clearly save hundreds of hours of life for thousands of people. Of course, none of that above relates to RICO

rayiner 14y ago

The RICO act pertains to threats of illegal force. Filing a lawsuit to vindicate legal rights is not illegal force, by definition. Filing a totally frivolous lawsuit can get an attorney and his client sanctioned, but while something like this may seem frivolous to you it's not legally frivolous (they have a validly-issued patent that has arguably been infringed).

DannyBee 14y ago

Already tried ... http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/patent/manufacturers-attempt-to-invoke-rico-act-fails-against-non-practicing-entity http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/patent/manufacturers-atte...