[ideaphore]

On trolling effects, uploaded demand letters are displayed publicly. Small business owners (targets) are worried that the trolls will retaliate if they find out the target is looking to fight back. We will not post your demand letters, but will instead confidentially match you with others who have received similar letters. Also, we will provide a private collaboration environment where all participants sign an NDA and fundraising tools.

[oh_sigh]

In what manner could trolls retaliate if they find out the target wants to fight the case? Couldn't the trolls just pretend like they got a lawsuit on this site, and then be matched with the confidential other parties?

[ideaphore]

When trolls send demand letters, they make it sound like it's in your best interests to settle for a license fee quickly before they start suing people. Don't ask too many questions, just fork over some cash. And it might well be in your best interests, you won't know until you know what others who received the letter are doing. But if you tell a troll that you are thinking of fighting their patent, they tend to become irate, raise the settlement figure, threaten to sue, or file suit. We think that this is why there have not been many submissions on trollingeffects. We will do our best to screen members to make sure that they are from bona fide companies that received a letter. I gave a bit more detail on this in a question above.

[triplesec]

Well, they're not technically irate, they're simulating anger as a rhetorical tactic. These are tactics of manipulation.

[oh_sigh]

If you're going to fight, why does it matter what their settlement figure is?

[ideaphore]

It's good to leave that option open, where possible. We would not want anyone to abandon it. For instance, if an IPR fails to invalidate a patent, the fight becomes much harder. And not all demand letters are unfair assertions of patent rights, some are legitimate. It's important to find out what other similarly situated businesses plan to do, but that doesn't mean you won't end up settling.

[hodgesrm]

This is a brilliant idea. How is the site funded?

[Animats]

They have a kickstarter-like system and take a cut of the legal fees, it looks like.

[ideaphore]

This is true. During the early days, we will also have to charge a small monthly fee for members during the pendency of their fight. We hope to remove the fee later, if possible.

[anc84]

Does your service do the matching and hosting of files on an internet-connected machine? How do you ensure confidentiality?