Toyota's patent problems.
#1
09-03-2009, 05:27 PM
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 281
Toyota's patent problems.
Here's a Bloomberg story about Toyota's loss to an outfit called Paice before the ITC that is feared to result in a stop sale order. Seems interesting that Toyota would be the target of the suit rather than Ford and Nissan, since all 3 use conceptually similar system.
#3
09-04-2009, 07:44 AM
Ridiculously Active Enthusiast
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Beautiful Pacific NW
Posts: 1,678
Re: Toyota's patent problems.
Here's a Bloomberg story about Toyota's loss to an outfit called Paice before the ITC that is feared to result in a stop sale order. Seems interesting that Toyota would be the target of the suit rather than Ford and Nissan, since all 3 use conceptually similar system.
#4
09-04-2009, 07:47 AM
Re: Toyota's patent problems.
The whole patent law in US is so messed up, it is not funny and needs to be changed, I'm not saying this is a case here since I don't have any detailed info, but I wouldn't be surprised . They are suing Toyota first because that's where the money is, Toyota is undisputed leader when it comes to hybrids, also Nissan and Ford used Toyota's hybrid drive train (not sure about now). One thing is for sure, at the end all this patent BS is part of doing business and is nicely priced into final price tag of the product, so we, consumers end up paying for it either way. It does take much more to test and develop working product, than just come up with general idea, which patents are all about, so where are the working products from Paice? I looked at Toyota drive train design and I have difficult time to see anything new there, from planetary gears to electric motors, all this stuff is around for hundred years or more.
I thought they were making hybrids in US for couple years already?
I thought they were making hybrids in US for couple years already?
#5
09-04-2009, 09:20 AM
Re: Toyota's patent problems.
I was interested in patent law when I started law school but it was incredibly boring and I didn't want to be a part of such a screwed up system. I prefer to win on the merits rather than by duping an ignorant jury or forum shopping.
And I'm not surprised the cases are being tried in Marshall, TX.
http://overlawyered.com/2005/01/mars...atent-central/
And I'm not surprised the cases are being tried in Marshall, TX.
http://overlawyered.com/2005/01/mars...atent-central/
“In the last several years, patent lawyers have flocked to Marshall, a small northeastern Texas town of 25,000, because of its speedy court process, patent-enthusiastic judges and juries considered ideal for hearing intellectual property cases. This year alone, the court has seen 59 patent cases, more than triple the total in 2003, which saw just 14 patent suits.” Intel made a $150 million payout after adverse rulings by a Marshall judge, and Cisco is currently being sued in what plaintiff’s lawyers hope will be a big-payout case.
For a very different view of the reasons for Marshall’s popularity, check out M. Craig Tyler (Wilson Sonsini), “Patent Pirates Search for Texas Treasure”, Texas Lawyer, Sept. 20 (PDF): “Juries in East Texas, unlike those in Houston, Dallas or Austin, are much less likely to have a member with any technical training or education, which exacerbates the problem from the defense perspective, but makes East Texas federal courts an attractive venue for would-be plaintiffs, who know that the jury will, instead, gravitate toward softer or superficial issues that are difficult to predict.” The result is to facilitate the activities of what Tyler calls “patent pirates”: enterprises that exist to file patent suits rather than to manufacture products, and which benefit from asymmetrical costs of litigation (discovery in a patent case can cost the manufacturer-defendant a million dollars or more, while the plaintiff license-holder may have few or no documents worth discovering).
#6
09-04-2009, 11:55 AM
Re: Toyota's patent problems.
-- Alan (not a patent agent/lawyer)
#7
09-04-2009, 04:31 PM
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 281
Re: Toyota's patent problems.
And here's the patent itself, if someone's a bit of an insomniac.
#8
09-04-2009, 07:48 PM
Re: Toyota's patent problems.
From what I was able to see in the supplied link, it looks like a patent troll.
All the plaintiff needs is a jury of the technologically challenged and a lawyer that can spout enough buzzwords and pseudo - technical jargon, and they've just hit the lottery.
If someone with any technical knowledge was to be on the jury, they'd probably physically assault the aforementioned lawyer for wasting their time.
But then, I've had a bad week, so I'm in a rotten mood.
All the plaintiff needs is a jury of the technologically challenged and a lawyer that can spout enough buzzwords and pseudo - technical jargon, and they've just hit the lottery.
If someone with any technical knowledge was to be on the jury, they'd probably physically assault the aforementioned lawyer for wasting their time.
But then, I've had a bad week, so I'm in a rotten mood.
Thread
Topic Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
