Redhat and Novell targeted by last resort law suit
By Ken Hess
IP Innovation, LLC. and Technology Licensing Corporation filed a lawsuit naming RedHat and Novell as infringing on their patents described as “U.S. Patent No. 5,072,412 for a User Interface with Multiple Workspaces for Sharing Display System Objects issued Dec. 10, 1991 along with two other similar patents.” Are these kind of lawsuits launched from a perspective of financial desperation on the part of the Plaintiffs? I believe they are.
As we saw with the multi-year battle between IBM and SCO, frivolous lawsuits can be a way of trying to bilk money out of someone who can afford to pay it. Notice how SCO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy right after the Judge in that case found in favor of IBM?
Some companies purchase patents just to end up suing “infringers” as a money racket. I can’t say for sure that this is what is happening here but time will tell. It is puzzling that IBM wasn’t sued for said infringements but perhaps no one was willing to try that twice. Going after smaller but successful companies seems an easier target. The folks at Novell are clever and can probably produce enough evidence to the contrary on all counts and RedHat customers can feel safe since it has indemnified all its customers against such lawsuits.
Certainly no one believes that the egregious violation of copyright, trademark, or patent is acceptable but one can argue that some patents are filed solely for litigious purposes. It is also worth noting that the patents were filed in 1991 and only now, in 2007, someone has decided that Novell and RedHat are infringing.
Be strong Novell and RedHat. The only ones who win in these types of lawsuits are the lawyers. Oh what desperate times these are.
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