Is it possible to sue a patent troll for time and legal fees if you win the original case?
I know they are basically shell corporations, but it would be great to see these patent cases incurring some risk for the trolls.
I know they are basically shell corporations, but it would be great to see these patent cases incurring some risk for the trolls.
The tech sector is a small slice of the business space. Lets phrase it another way - you get a bad shipment of chocolate from a supplier, and your cookies send a handful of kids into allergic shock from the peanuts tainting the chocolate. One of them dies. You're likely going to be sued, and your liability insurance is likely a drop in the bucket (enough to cover your business assets). Do you still deserve to lose your house?
http://www.flhlaw.com/pubs/xprPubDetail.aspx?xpST=PubDetail&...
"Under Section 285 of the Patent statute, courts have discretion to award reasonable attorneys’ fees in patent infringement cases that are deemed “exceptional.” 35 U.S.C. § 285. The Federal Circuit noted that while the threat of enhanced damages for willful infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 284 deters bad faith conduct on the part of the accused infringer, the threat of attorneys’ fees under Section 285 is “the only deterrent to the equally improper bringing of clearly unwarranted suits on invalid or unenforceable patents.” Mathis v. Spears, 857 F.2d 749, 754 (Fed. Cir. 1988). Section 285 provides:
The court in exceptional cases may award reasonable attorneys’
fees to the prevailing party. 35 U.S.C. § 285."http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2012/10/should-we-move-towar...