[kkielhofner]

Usual disclaimer: I am not an attorney.

Have they actually served you with any notice, potential licensing terms, legal documents of any kind? For clarification, are they a NPE (non-practicing entity)?

Anyway, I've worked on pretty much every side of the patent system in the United States (assuming you're there). While I (fortunately) haven't been presented with your exact scenario I suggest:

- You need to hire a patent attorney immediately (it doesn't sound like you have one).

- Get them up to speed on the situation.

- They can advise you on what to do.

The advice I've been given in the past essentially boils down to:

1) Have your attorney immediately respond with a letter containing any/all of the following: likely prior art, issues with their patent, why it doesn't apply to you, any circumvention measures you've taken, etc, etc.

2) Meet their terms. It sounds like this probably isn't a viable option for you.

#1 serves several purposes:

1) Letting the other party know you have a patent attorney.

2) You (and they) understand the landscape and have a prepared response.

3) You aren't just some naive rube that will be (that) easily intimidated.

4) If they're looking for a quick rollover, settlement, licensing terms, etc that won't happen here.

For you it sounds like most of this will be a bluff.

Ideally they'll move on to a different target. However based on what you've described they sound very aggressive and well funded so that's probably not what will happen here if it comes to that.

As you probably know these kinds of things often come down to who has the last dollar and it sounds like that will be you.

The worst case scenario is you end up with a judgement against you and the cops show up and seize company assets. Don't mess around with this and let it get to that.

Good luck.

[jblake]

Thank you. I have not personally been served, I found out about it via emails from two different patent attorney firms offering their services, with the lawsuit attached as a courtesy. The lawsuit looks legit to me. I live in Tahoe so don't get mail but will check today and also check with my registered agent in Reno.

Can you recommend me a patent attorney? Any idea on how much this could cost?

[kkielhofner]

Wow, that's a (really sleazy) angle I haven't heard of before. I wouldn't respond (at all) to any unsolicited e-mails from random groups offering their "services" in this matter. This sounds almost like a patent version of the car warranty scam - "Warning - this is our last notice. You may be responsible for all repairs!" Yeah, ok...

Unfortunately the patent attorneys I've worked with are in very large international firms with a price tag that goes along with that. I can provide some recommendations but I suspect (and please don't take this the wrong way) they won't be of much use to you.

[pnw]

It's not uncommon, it's happened to me twice.

Basically an NPE files a lot of lawsuits at once, legal companies are monitoring the lawsuits and will proactively reach out to potential customers.

In my case the firms that reached out were mostly tier one national law firms and they were very familiar with the NPE. And like the OP I was unaware of the lawsuit because they served our corporate agent in Delaware. So it was quite useful.

[rhino369]

I wouldn’t respond to people cold emailing either.

However, the difference between this and the warranty scam is that the complaint they are attaching is 100% real.

It’s more like a mechanic emailing you saying, hey I notice your car was broken down on the side of the road.

[scruffyherder]

You need to see if you have been served, as it’ll require a signature, not just something in the mail.

It’s patent so you can’t file an anti slapp, but until you have been properly served you need to find hearing dates and BE THERE, and demand a dismissal based on improper service. The court will almost always dismiss it, have you served right then and there but it does drag the clock.

Also get a lawyer don’t listen to strange people like me on the internet. Most likely it’ll involve some posturing and mediation or a settlement.

Also what will happen is your lawyer will send them a request to serve them on your behalf. It’s only the beginning. Things drag slow for months then speed and slow down.

[ajb]

That sounds strange. If you have really been sued you may be able to find out on PACER (https://pacer.uscourts.gov/)

[jblake]

Yes, my case is on Pacer.

[esens]

It is also public if you google for it now.

Interesting fact. These lawyers won a case against the guys who are suing you: https://sabety.net/2020/01/patent-troll/

Maybe worth engaging with them?