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Ask Slashdot: What To Do About Patent Trolls Seeking Wi-fi License Fees?
An anonymous reader writes "My company has been contacted by certified letter by Delaware law firm. They are seeking license fees for a Wi-fi patent. I believe this is a patent troll (not that this matters in relation to dealing with this issue). This is a newly formed law firm less than 4 months old. This patent is U.S. Patent No. 5,506,866. This patent covers equipment and method related to the transmission of information involving the multiplexing information into a stream of signal points (and demultiplexing the same), and related technology. They have 'offered' to license this patent with no amounts specified. Unfortunately we are a small free software company. The company is setup as a sole proprietorship. I'm not asking for legal advise from the Slashdot community. The question is where might one look for 'legal counsel' with the expertise to answer these types of legal questions as it relates to this inquiry. I would prefer to avoid legal fees, court cases, or license fees running the company into the ground. The company is registered in New Jersey."
Would Canada work for those purposes? I guess so.
See title. Also don't reply until you absolutely HAVE to. Paten runs out this year!
"You should always answer a lawyer who sends you a letter."
Nope. I am a patent lawyer. I would recommend ignoring the first letter unless they have actually filed suit against you (it doesn't sound like they did). However, if this is simply a demand letter, then your opening a dialog with them helps them.
Chances are, you will not hear from these guys again. If you do, you should start contacting your wifi gear manufacture and the EFF to find others that are being threatened so that you can set a joint defense fund and fight the guys by spreading costs among many. If you do respond, you should state that you do not believe that or understand how you infringe and ask for more detailed information.