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Patent Troll Values Its Entire Portfolio At $2, Goes Bankrupt (arstechnica.com)
mspohr shares a report from Ars Technica: In September 2018, Shipping & Transit LLC (formerly known as ArrivalStar) filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy -- voluntary liquidation -- but no one seems to have noticed until the Electronic Frontier Foundation pointed it out on October 31. The company claimed that it held the patent on vehicle tracking and related alerts. But about 15 months ago, judges began to rule against Shipping & Transit for the first time. That seems to have put a damper on its entire business model.
Now, according to Shipping & Transit LLC's federal bankruptcy filings, its global patent holdings (34 in the United States and 29 elsewhere) are worth a whopping $2. Meanwhile, it owes more than $423,000 to numerous creditors, including banks, law firms, and something called the "West African Investment Trust," based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Now, according to Shipping & Transit LLC's federal bankruptcy filings, its global patent holdings (34 in the United States and 29 elsewhere) are worth a whopping $2. Meanwhile, it owes more than $423,000 to numerous creditors, including banks, law firms, and something called the "West African Investment Trust," based in Geneva, Switzerland.
I believe and "Womp Womp" is in order?
They should just compile a giant, overpriced set of cookbooks. Then everyone is sure to forget they’re actually scumbags!
#DeleteChrome
One patent troll gone. Good riddance. How many more to go?
The problem with patent trolls is that you cannot win against them. If you lose, you pay a fortune. If you win, they have no assets, go poof and tomorrow you have the next patent troll come into existence, with the same shysters, the same office and a new "creative" name.
And as long as this is legal, it will continue.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Sometimes patents should just be made available for everyone. This is one of those times.
Meanwhile, it owes more than $423,000 to numerous creditors, including banks, law firms, and something called the "West African Investment Trust," based in Geneva, Switzerland.
I don't feel the least bit sorry for any of them.
How could 63 patents be worth only $2? I'd give them $100 right now to buy 63 patents, even knowing full well they are junk patents and really worth anything legally.
Great. I'm a buyer at that price, and I'll happily put them into one of the patent trusts.
Where do I have to talk to?
Judge: "Ok, the patents are worth $2. I have just purchased them; here's a $5 bill, please provide change.".
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
What he said
A company is worth more than a sum of its assets, there is also Good Will... oh wait...
> How many more to go?
Four.
Three or four companies file half of *all* patent suits. The total number of patent suits includes all of the legitimate business disputes, so probably 90% of the trolling is those few companies.
To pretty much solve trolling, one only needs to study the business model of those few companies and figure out how to disrupt it, how to make it not profitable.
You hear about lots of different companies being victims of trolling, and different patents being trolled, so it seems like a large issue. It's the same plaintiffs over and over though.
Even creimer's back catalog is worth more than that, just for the laughs alone!
"how to make it not profitable" - we could yell at them in restaurants, I hear that is terrifying and is as bad as being sent a bomb.
Three or four companies file half of *all* patent suits.
Names, please? Remember this is all public information, so it's easy enough to cite (and/or verify).
Or we could send them fake bombs I hear that's as bad as sending real bombs
Someone should check previous claims they made to investors and the courts prior regarding the value of their portfolio and charge them with fraud if they don't line up.
Because it takes a patent troll to scam a Nigerian prince.
On a similar note, 39% of of cases by high volume plaintiffs were heard by Judge Gilstrap in the Eastern District of Texas. He had 24% of all patent cases in the country. In other words, Judge Gilstrap was 39% of the problem.
Last year, the Supreme Court held in TC Heartland that patent plaintiffs can't venue shop like they used to. Now,
Gilstrap is down to only 9% of all patent filings and 15% of HVP filings.
That's a big improvement. Getting of Gilstrap would be a major win. He's one guy.
Ps, while Gilsap previously had 39% of HVP filings, Judge Robert William Schroeder III, had 24%. That's 63% for just those two judges.
After TC Heartland, only 3% of filings go to Schroeder.
Some people think that to fix this we have to completely throw out the patent system. These two judges, two people, were 63% of the problem. Handle those two guys and you're most of the way there.
I'm patenting and playing a sub-millimeter violin.
Table-ized A.I.
Well, it's not like coming under sniper fire in Bosnia, or spending Christmas in Cambodia during a war, but a fake bomb is right up there!
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
Perfect karma would have been a negative balance in their asset holdings.
, or spending Christmas in Cambodia
I did that once...the Christmas music in the stores (in a country that's 99% Buddhist) saddened me.
The fact is that you could carpet bomb Cambodia from one end to the other and you wouldn't hit a Christian unless you were really lucky.
Now there are fucking Mormons there trying to spread their brand of noxious crap too. I throw shit at them if I go by them on a moto or in a tuk-tuk.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
Why did the editor specifically point out and quote the West African Investment Trust? Would they have done the same had it for instance been called the East African Investment Trust?
How did this company acquire many patents ((34 in the United States and 29 elsewhere) and Limited Liability status, with only $2 of intellectual property? Writing-down all its IP is evidence of poor management: The directors should be personally liable for such incompetence. The US SEC should be investigating this.
West African Investment Trust based in Geneva, Switzerland. Seems legit.
'West Africa Investment Trust' are going to be WAITing a long time for their money.
There is a hell of a difference between dealing with a fake bomb and a dud.
Fake bombs is something you bring in on a Halloween party or let a toddler play with.
A dud is something you handle more carefully than a real bomb.
In fact, the solution we used was to very carefully detonate some better functioning explosives next to it.
Shouldn't it be "wah wah wah wah"? I've never heard a trombone do the "p" sound at the end of a note.
It seems the original poster doesn't seem to understand why the portifolio is only valued at $2. The reason of course is so that the "Shipping & Transit LLC" company can sell the assets to a "new" company and continue with the patent litigations in a "new" company without any depts. Rinse and repeat.
I want to offer them something in the area of 300$ for their patent portfolio (a 150x valuation of their portfolio's value) and then join a consortium that shares patents with the entire industry.
if I'm not mistaken, a consortium founded by a group of exiled African princes who need help liberating confiscated funds.
When plaintiffs could choose the judge, the picked Gilsap. Especially high volume plaintiffs (mostly trolls) picked Gilsap and Schroeder.
Why do *you* think trolls *chose* to file in Gilsap's court?
They already have maintenance fees. Those fees make it harder for patent trolls.
Regarding bankruptcy:
Suppose I invented a new tool to fix car engines without taking everything apart, so it makes repairs much quicker and cheaper. It's a great invention. You loan me $20,000 to try to build a business around making and selling thr invention.
I'm not the best business person in the world, I can't figure out how to best market the invention. I fail. My new tool company is bankrupt.
Snap-On offers $100,000 for the invention. You're excited - you can finally get back the $20,000 that you loaned me.
Then you realize you're never getting your money back because *you* decided that if the original inventor doesn't also happen to be a great business person and fails, the patent is invalidated. An inventor can't sell the patent to someone who can actually manufacture and market it if they fail to build a business around it.
Still seem like a great idea?
Your first sentence was:
--
I think any patents held by a company in bankruptcy should be thrown into the public domain.
--
Did you forget what you said?
Are you Christian? You sure leave a nice impression. Asshole.
Does someone have a list of these allegedly "worthless" patents? Some illumination and public scrutiny would validate this.
Found the Westboro Baptist.
You are violating my intellectual property related to "Liquidation and Bankruptcy Express for patent trolls" in my portfolio.
To pretty much solve trolling, one only needs to study the business model of those few companies and figure out how to disrupt it, how to make it not profitable.
Hopefully that's true, and they can't come up with another patent trolling model.