The name "IP Edge" may be unfamiliar to most but they are one of the world's top 'patent trolls; having sued a who's who of surveillance industry manufacturers, and over 1,300 software, networking, and communications manufacturers.
In this note, we examine IP Edge, its claims, and the lawsuits against Avigilon, Axis, HID, Hikvision, Panasonic, Tyco, and many others.
********* ****** *********, **** **“HIKVision **-******/*” (*** “******* *******”), that practices a method for recovering wireless data conveyed in data symbols by a plurality of different sub-channel signals transmitted over a wireless channel which infringe the ‘199 Patent literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.
I look forward to seeing the outcome of these cases. It simply doesn't make sense that a company - shell or otherwise with no contact information can sue anyone.
By normal law practice you need all contact and address details of the parties involved. Otherwise how do you send correspondence, etc.
This type of activity should simply be struck out and have the lawyers involved disbarred from practice.
I would go on to say that they should spend more time on real law works than simply trying to extort for a living - "Shame on You"
Legal correspondence in the US is typically sent via US certified mail, and certified mail can be sent to a PO Box. Any LLC has to have a registered agent. A demand letter and/or Notice To Sue can be filed with this information (which is publicly available once you determine which US state the LLC was formed in). If further information is needed (i.e. a list of all LLC members, etc) then such info can be obtained through the courts by petitioning the court in which the lawsuit has been filed. When petitioners want something they ask. When the judge agrees it's no longer a request. It's a legal order, and if someone refuses it a judge will lock someone's butt up faster than you can say "contempt of court."
I don't like this IP patent troll concept anymore than you do (and on a personal level it's my opinion that I think these "lawyers" sound like bottom-feeder parasites that attach their life-taking suction to profitable businesses to suck the life force out of them without regard to consequences, and that they contribute nothing to society), but until they've broken laws what they are doing is 100% legal (for now). If they were breaking the law then one of the many large companies (who have floors of lawyers on their own payrolls) that these vultures prey on would have reported them long ago to the relevant law enforcement agency for prosecution.
Perhaps the laws need to change. "Tort reform" is something to research.
Can't people in this world actually build or do something original to make a buck anymore? I would equate a company like this to organized crime. Shake down everyone until they give up and pay.
The answer to your question is, yes, people are doing something original. That's why patent trolls work.
Patent trolls are a way of monetizing and outsourcing patents. Suppose you're really into research and development, with lots of patents. By all rights, you should get money for developing something original, right?
Trouble is, you probably don't want to get into the legal business. Large companies like Google can have a super legal department to defend and enforce patents. But it's expensive for smaller companies. Plus you may not want to wait for years for the patent royalties to start coming in.
Enter the patent troll. This is a non-practicing entity that you can outsource your legal stuff to. They buy the patent (giving you quick money) and from then on they're the one who will be defending and enforcing (which they're good at), and you can go back to research and development (which you're good at).
Next question is who wants to submit a patent idea on their unsecure website?
Granted the odds of someone intercepting this traffic while you are submitting your patent information are probably slim but do they not have enough money to tell their provider to turn on security?
Yup, pretty inexcusable. Technically, they do have HTTPS (try this: Patent Submission - IP Edge), but they don't do anything to redirect people from HTTP to HTTPS. It doesn't even take more than a few minutes to set it up correctly...
I have often wondered why all of the cool devices you see on TV are from Bell & Howell, who hasn't created a movie camera or projector in decades. Are they just buying up as many patents as they can?
...just renting the name from the trademark owner: all us kids who watched creaky clattery movies n biology class in the 1960's and 1970s remember the name, even if no one younger than us does.
I spend a fair amount of time helping lawyers defend against IP infringement suits: remembering the time I had a CD-ROM in my desk drawer which proved to the court that we had been doing that very allegedly infringing thing for years before the troll's filing date... then learning that a familiar tech giant had paid over $10M in a settlement on the same infringement claim earlier in that year. The plaintiff's demand letter pretty much disappeared in a puff of smoke once they learned we could invalidate their patent.
It's not every day you find $10M in your pencil drawer.
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Comments (11)
Mitchell Setschnjak
I look forward to seeing the outcome of these cases. It simply doesn't make sense that a company - shell or otherwise with no contact information can sue anyone.
By normal law practice you need all contact and address details of the parties involved. Otherwise how do you send correspondence, etc.
This type of activity should simply be struck out and have the lawyers involved disbarred from practice.
I would go on to say that they should spend more time on real law works than simply trying to extort for a living - "Shame on You"
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Shannon Davis
Can't people in this world actually build or do something original to make a buck anymore? I would equate a company like this to organized crime. Shake down everyone until they give up and pay.
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Undisclosed Manufacturer #3
I have often wondered why all of the cool devices you see on TV are from Bell & Howell, who hasn't created a movie camera or projector in decades. Are they just buying up as many patents as they can?
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Undisclosed Integrator #4
(As I have stated on a previous discussion) -
I was gonna be a lawyer. But I had my mothers dignity to consider.
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Undisclosed Manufacturer #5
I spend a fair amount of time helping lawyers defend against IP infringement suits: remembering the time I had a CD-ROM in my desk drawer which proved to the court that we had been doing that very allegedly infringing thing for years before the troll's filing date... then learning that a familiar tech giant had paid over $10M in a settlement on the same infringement claim earlier in that year. The plaintiff's demand letter pretty much disappeared in a puff of smoke once they learned we could invalidate their patent.
It's not every day you find $10M in your pencil drawer.
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