[ic] Maybe we can help?

Ed LaFrance interchange-users@icdevgroup.org
Tue Oct 22 15:38:00 2002


At 07:46 AM 10/22/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>I know that this is a bit off-topic for this board, but the issue with
>companies enforcing their patents on standard e-commerce functionality
>has potential to affect us all.
>
>If you are not familiar with this issue, one string from this board
>starts here:
>http://www.icdevgroup.org/pipermail/interchange-users/2002-September/026
>153.html
>
>As my company develops e-commerce sites (almost exclusively with
>Interchange) for a decent amount of companies, I have contacted a few
>attorney friends familiar with patent law and all say the same thing.
>The strategy utilized by these companies is very normal. They threaten
>legal action against small companies in the attempt to generate legal
>precedence so they have ammunition to go after bigger fish.

That's what I said the last time this topic was posted on the board - legal 
precedents carry much strength in the courtroom and will often be used as 
the deciding factor by a judge when push comes to shove. As you might of 
guessed, I have a couple lawyers in my family.

Their approach also indicates that they do not have the highest confidence 
in the strength of their case, should it go to court. Years ago I was VP of 
a printing equipment mfg co; one of our competitors claimed to hold a 
patent on a "feature" that everyone in the industry was incorporating in 
some way into their offerings. It was much more of an evolutionary thing 
vs. a unique design approach, and they were not even the originators of the 
concept, and it had long since become common knowledge, but they were 
blasting out "cease and desist" letters. We read the patent - it was easy 
to circumvent just by moving a few screw positions on the feature in 
question. Nothing ever came of the whole mess - it was a waste of time on 
their part.

I've only read parts of the Divine patent, but it seems to me that it is a 
similar situation. They've got some money and intimidation on their side, 
but I'm sure their case is full of holes.



>In our attorney's opinion, we are at a major crossroads with this issue
>and we must act together as a group to defeat them.
>
>Based upon our legal advice, I propose that the next one of us who is
>contacted by this group not fold. Unfortunate as it is, it appears that
>money (and a lot of it) is what it will take to end this string of
>ridiculous lawsuits. The companies that they are currently targeting
>likely do not have the resources on their own to mount much of an
>opposition. If we can get a large enough group behind eliminating this
>issue, maybe we can gather enough ammunition (money, adequate legal
>representation, etc.) to end this fight. The lawyers we have spoken with
>have said that taking this issue to court and gaining a favorable
>judgment would set precedence for this issue and hopefully be enough to
>make them go away.
>
>Anyway, although our company and clients have not been directly affected
>(yet), I know that some of us on this board have been. It seems to be an
>issue which, if left largely ignored, has the potential to spread and
>negatively impact us all.
>
>I apologize for going off on a bit of a rant, and also apologize if this
>is not the best forum for doing so, but I thought that this community
>would be a good place to rally support for mounting an opposition
>capable of standing up against this threat. There are obviously a lot of
>people who frequent this board who have the potential to be next.
>Pooling our resources and the resources of those we represent may be in
>the greater good.
>
>You can find out some more information on this issue here:
>
>http://www.youmaybenext.com
>http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20021020S0002
>
>If you agree with what I said, maybe we can start a string of discussion
>that can help formulate some sort of battle plan. I don't know much
>about the www.youmaybenext.com site, but maybe we can offer some sort of
>support to that group???
>
>Michael

It would be good to find out a little more about who is behind 
youmaybenext.com - the domain name is registered to the co. that hosts the 
site, not much more info is available. Anybody who has learned more about 
their backers, please post it here.

Another group that might be worth looking at is the Association of 
Interactive Marketers, which is part of the Direct Marketing Association. 
Their site is at http://www.interactivehq.org and they do have some 
advocacy resources. I can't take time out to look at it right now, but I 
maybe someone else can.

- Ed L.

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