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Ask HN: How to Respond to Patent Threat?

5 points by kybernetikos ↗ HN
A company I work with has recently been sent threats by Interface IP Holdings, who claim that their website (which is available in the US) infringes on a patent https://patents.google.com/patent/US7500201B2/en

The patent is broadly worded, but seems to cover restricting the values in a drop down based on the other filled in values. Or perhaps searching multiple fields from the same search box. I find the text ambiguous and difficult to understand, but I can't get anything out of it that doesn't seem obvious and standard.

It seems like they've brought a lot of complaints relating to this patent to the court in Delaware.

Is it really the case that you can't use standard UI components on the web without paying license fees to US companies?

8 comments

[ 4.5 ms ] story [ 37.3 ms ] thread
jermaustin1
You do not respond, an IP lawyer responds.

That said, I don't see any litigation won on that patent. And I haven't seen them take any new cases to court in the last 2 years, so chances are it is a troll trying get a license payment.

kybernetikos
My impression of the IP lawyer is that they don't really understand the technical details, and are just worried about risk. There's a strong chance they just try to pay them off, while I worry that that attitude just makes you a target for more.

In terms of no record of litigation won, they claim they have been paid for use of this patent by some big names, so presumably some of those cases have been settled out of court, leaving no record of the result. Unless they've just made that up....

jermaustin1
It is possible they have successfully settled out of court because the fee is much less than the cost to litigate, and an IP lawyer might suggest that. A case could go on for multiple years, but it could also just get thrown out if you are able to easily prove prior art from before 2002 when the patent was initially filed. It's always worth talking to an IP lawyer though. It isn't expensive to talk for a couple of hours.
BridgetOnPTAB
@jermaustin1 is right. Nuisance lawsuits rarely go to trial because the cost to litigate is far higher than the settlement demand. Patent assertion entities are usually looking for a quick payout and these cases typically do not last long. Many patent litigators will give you a free one-hour consultation. It does not hurt to ask. (Source: I am a patent litigator, and my firm does free one-hour consultations. I've even done longer ones for free. When you talk to the lawyer, just say that other firms are waiving the cost to discuss your initial options. That is not unusual at all.)
jermaustin1
I retained an IP lawyer for a copyright troll a few years back over an image that we used on a blog that was credited properly when we used it, but the copyright troll bought the image, and was demanding about $12000 for the license. IP lawyer was only around $500 for retainer, and he made the troll disappear (not sure how, but also do not care).

Sometimes just the threat that you will actually go to court over something will make a troll back off.

sergiotapia
That is the most ridiculous looking patent I've ever seen. What developer hasn't created what the patent is describing.
kybernetikos
That's basically my view too, but still, finding a published example from before 2002 isn't easy on Google. At least not with my google skills.

There's not many sites left still working from those days. :-(

return0
What happens if you ignore a patent troll?