PanIP, the firm that demands five-digit sums in licensing fees from small companies using e-commerce upon threat of vastly more expensive patent infringement litigation (see Feb. 4-5, 2003), gets coverage in USA Today as part of a larger story on the costs of questionable patents. (Paul Davidson, Jan. 13). A defense fund claims to have successfully moved the Patent Office for reexamination of the Lockwood e-commerce patents last summer; PanIP’s infringement lawsuit has been stayed in the interim.
Others, however, continue with the same strategy. At least three game designers have reported receiving a demand letter from a lawyer representing Sheldon Goldberg, who purports to have patent claims on, among other things, computer solitaire, on-line game rankings, and pop-up advertising. (A Shareware Life blog, Jan. 31; SCWatch.net, Jan. 24; LawGeek blog, Jan. 26; copy of demand letter).
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