My name is Evan Brown and I was sued by DSC for thoughts that only existed in my brain. DSC was in the business of manufacturing telecommunications equipment. My idea related to software reverse engineering and was not along the lines of DSC's business.
In an attempt to avoid litigation, I requested a release before I spent any additional time developing my idea. I thought that my idea had significant value in 1996 because of the Y2K code conversions that were already in process at that time.
The IP agreement I signed stated in effect that DSC had rights to (All inventions made or conceived along DSC's line of business...) My idea was not an invention and was not related to DSC's business.
Judge Henderson of the 219th State District Court of Texas granted DSC a Temporary Injunction against me requiring me to be at DSC's facilities from 9am until 5pm every business day until I made a full and complete disclosure. I disclose my idea twice, once in the form of descriptions of the processes and methods, and the second time in the form of computer programs written in C. It took me 3 months to write the programs to implement my idea which it turned out, did not work as I had originally thought. I was not compensated for my time (3 months labor) or my expenses (mileage, lodging, etc) as I live 160 miles one way from DSC facilities. The US Constitution abolished slavery and servitude with the 13 amendment but the news hasn't reached Judge Henderson's court yet.
Even though I fully and completely disclosed my idea including where and why my idea failed to work properly, DSC claimed that I was withholding information. DSC's technical experts couldn't figure out how to fix the bug either.
Judge Henderson granted DSC's motion for summary judgment on breach of contract and again in the final judgment, ruling that DSC owned my idea. By granting the MSJ and final judgment, Judge Henderson has ruled that my idea (mere thoughts that did not work) was an invention and it was along the lines of DSC's business even though DSC never produced any evidence of business plans, customers, project plans, or any other evidence supporting their claim that my idea was along their line of business. DSC lied to the court when they stated the I was in charge of the group responsible for the development of automated code conversion software tools. I challenged DSC's many erroneous statements but the court ignored all my challenges.
DSC hired outside counsel at up to $350/hr to represent DSC against me as I represented myself in court. The court granted DSC's Motion for Declaratory Judgment against me for attorneys fees in the amount of $332,000 even though I filed for Ch 13 bankruptcy in Jan 2000 and DSC was listed as a creditor.
The Temporary Injunction entered by the court rendered me unemployable. I was unable to find a company that would offer me a job in my field until the DSC lawsuit issues were settled. None of the companies I interviewed with wanted to take the risk of being enjoined in the lawsuit and then having to spend thousands of dollars to fight DSC's litigation.
I feel that I was railroaded by Judge Henderson and denied my rights to equal justice. In Texas, a businesses such as DSC contribute thousands of dollars to the re-election campaigns of judges even though many run for office unopposed. When a judge decides to retire, I understand that they just pocket their campaign funds.
The details of the lawsuit are on the internet at http://www.unixguru.com/ and of particular interest are the briefs and Motion for Rehearing filed with the Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas at Dallas.
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My name is Evan Brown and I was sued by DSC for thoughts that only existed in my brain. DSC was in the business of manufacturing telecommunications equipment. My idea related to software reverse engineering and was not along the lines of DSC's business. In an attempt to avoid litigation, I requested a release before I spent any additional time developing my idea. I thought that my idea had significant value in 1996 because of the Y2K code conversions that were already in process at that time. The IP agreement I signed stated in effect that DSC had rights to (All inventions made or conceived along DSC's line of business...) My idea was not an invention and was not related to DSC's business. Judge Henderson of the 219th State District Court of Texas granted DSC a Temporary Injunction against me requiring me to be at DSC's facilities from 9am until 5pm every business day until I made a full and complete disclosure. I disclose my idea twice, once in the form of descriptions of the processes and methods, and the second time in the form of computer programs written in C. It took me 3 months to write the programs to implement my idea which it turned out, did not work as I had originally thought. I was not compensated for my time (3 months labor) or my expenses (mileage, lodging, etc) as I live 160 miles one way from DSC facilities. The US Constitution abolished slavery and servitude with the 13 amendment but the news hasn't reached Judge Henderson's court yet. Even though I fully and completely disclosed my idea including where and why my idea failed to work properly, DSC claimed that I was withholding information. DSC's technical experts couldn't figure out how to fix the bug either. Judge Henderson granted DSC's motion for summary judgment on breach of contract and again in the final judgment, ruling that DSC owned my idea. By granting the MSJ and final judgment, Judge Henderson has ruled that my idea (mere thoughts that did not work) was an invention and it was along the lines of DSC's business even though DSC never produced any evidence of business plans, customers, project plans, or any other evidence supporting their claim that my idea was along their line of business. DSC lied to the court when they stated the I was in charge of the group responsible for the development of automated code conversion software tools. I challenged DSC's many erroneous statements but the court ignored all my challenges. DSC hired outside counsel at up to $350/hr to represent DSC against me as I represented myself in court. The court granted DSC's Motion for Declaratory Judgment against me for attorneys fees in the amount of $332,000 even though I filed for Ch 13 bankruptcy in Jan 2000 and DSC was listed as a creditor. The Temporary Injunction entered by the court rendered me unemployable. I was unable to find a company that would offer me a job in my field until the DSC lawsuit issues were settled. None of the companies I interviewed with wanted to take the risk of being enjoined in the lawsuit and then having to spend thousands of dollars to fight DSC's litigation. I feel that I was railroaded by Judge Henderson and denied my rights to equal justice. In Texas, a businesses such as DSC contribute thousands of dollars to the re-election campaigns of judges even though many run for office unopposed. When a judge decides to retire, I understand that they just pocket their campaign funds. The details of the lawsuit are on the internet at http://www.unixguru.com/ and of particular interest are the briefs and Motion for Rehearing filed with the Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas at Dallas.