[Asterisk-Dev] Patent lawyers?

[Nathan C. Smith]

Much of what Preston says is true.  Just like SCO threatened the end-users
of Linux instead of Linux companies, it is a shotgun attempt to try to wring
some money from their patent.  Poke somebody and see if they pay-up and then
go badger somebody else.

It is possible to have your attorney be in a different state from the state
they sue you in, your attorney can simply use local counsel for filings etc.
There may be additional expense involved in that route but it is worth it if
you have a good attorney.

They may discover they are trying to squeeze blood from a turnip and go
away, or they may have done their homework.

>From the few cases I have seen, the only people who really win in a lawsuit
that results in trial are the lawyers.  Rarely does either side get the
jackpot and a lawsuit can have a distracting affect on the business.  I'm
not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV, but personally I would do whatever
it takes to find an alternative to trial.

You may also want to look into arbitration, you can ask your lawyer about
that option.

Don't panic too much, it is possible for these things to drag out for years,
you may be able to change the technology underneath you before it has an
impact.

-Nate

Obviously: this in no way constitutes legal or professional advice or forms
any kind of client-attorney relationship.

-----Original Message-----
From: Preston Garrison [mailto:preston at mailblocks.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 9:45 PM
To: asterisk-dev at lists.digium.com
Subject: Re: [Asterisk-Dev] Patent lawyers?



I have dealt with many many issues in the past. Usually its just a way 
that they can get you to settle, and they can make some quick money. 
For starters I would relax, and see what it ends up turning into. 
Lawsuits take many many years to follow through, and if you have good 
attorneys you could turn years into decades. Let them file the lawsuits 
if you don't plan to stop doing such things. At this point most likely 
they only way to make them go away is money. Once the lawsuit is filed, 
that's probably when you should hire an attorney. The attorney needs to 
be based in the state they sue you in. Keep in mind through the whole 
process their plan is to get you to settle.

  I recently got done with a lawsuit similar to this. Luckily I had in 
house counsel so it didn't cost me anything to fight it. We went on for 
over a year, finally got in front of a judge advocate, who told them 
they basically had no case. They settled for hardly anything. it didn't 
even pay their attorney's fees. Alot less then I even would have agreed 
to pay in the first place, just to make it go away.