Suing uninformed customers

[João Miguel Neves <joao@silvaneves.org>]

I read this in RISKS 23.12:

Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 13:10:23 -0600
From: Joyce Scrivner <kscriv@earthlink.net>
Subject: Suing the customers

Rockwell, is suing a law firm that is currently suing Rockwell's customers.
The law firm says that Rockwell has infringed on a patent.  (I'm uncertain
what relationship the law firm has to the patent holder.)  The law firm
appears to assume that suing Rockwell's customers will get more money than
suing Rockwell.  Rockwell sees this as blackmail/threat because the law firm
has not -- and cannot (without suing Rockwell) -- prove that the patent is
or is not infringed.  So Rockwell is now suing the law firm.  Rather nasty.

  In Rockwell Automation Inc. v. Schneider Automation Inc., 02-01195,
  Rockwell says its technology is not covered by the Solaia patent, and
  rather than battling that issue out in court, Niro Scavone and its clients
  have sought to "'shakedown' manufacturers through threats of potential
  business interruption or catastrophic damages."
    http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1039054478800

-- 
                                                João Miguel Neves

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