IBM Drops Patent Counterclaims

Mr. Slant writes "According to this article on Groklaw, IBM is dropping their patent counter-claims. Why? It's not because they think they'd lose, but rather because SCO wants to waste more time litigating. There's still some question over whether SCO will be able to pay the rest of their legal bills, given how much cash they're losing each quarter." From the article: "Here's a simple rule of litigation. You never, ever offer to drop anything you think you'll need for victory or to make yourself whole. Litigation is always a cost-benefit analysis. You have to have the prospect of a sizable enough win to pay your lawyer, or you will find it hard to get one, or, like Boies Schiller, the lawyer will want its money up front. IBM did the math, and SCO isn't looking like deep pockets any more, is it, now that Boies Schiller has drained them of pretty much all they had? So, IBM's practical analysis apparently was that it's worth more to get the thing over with on time than to go after counterclaims against a defendant with no money in its pocket to pay damages or royalties, even when IBM won. Plus, there is some strategy here too. Sometimes in chess, you'll let a pawn be sacrificed to set up a checkmate."

Comments

IBM's Cunning

[Shadow Wrought]

IBM has some very smart legal folks working on their behalf and this is a pretty clever move on their side. They're not going to get money on the counterclaims to balance the cost of pursuing them and SCOX's delaying tactics have been based off of having to defend themselves against the counterclaims.

It would be intersting to know if this was IBM's strategy all along. Often time lawyers (especially prosecutors) will add extraneous items to a complaint or motion just so they can then kick it out later and look like the good guy.

SO they are either smart or really smart.

We don't need no stinking nukes

[lildogie]

IBM knows they have what it takes to crush SCO, so they don't have to use the nuclear option (i.e. their patent portfolio).

Plus they want to get their revenge before SCO starves to death. No use kicking a dead horse, eh?