One small step for tort reform. Well, I know it's not tort, exactly, but it's the same principle. A patent troll may find itself on the hook for $200,000 in defense counsel fees. The recent Supreme Court that made this result possible was issued by Justice Sotomayor, joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, and Kagan (with Scalia quibbling only over some footnotes): a decidedly nonpartisan decision.
Good to see that this was a nonpartisan decision. Maybe there is hope for the country.
ReplyDeleteHope and Change is always free.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who thinks this decision is political in nature is gravely misinformed. Patent trolls serve no greater cause than their own wallets. It is fraud writ large, nothing more.
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced that this is a useful move, even were it legitimately motivated. "Loser pays" regimes tend to price the little guy out of court, even if it does cut down on the frivolous beefs. I'm not sold on that trade-off.
ReplyDeleteEric Hines
Eric- like the little guy (and for that matter the medium and even sorta large guy) aren't priced out of court? Huge corporations settle cases that are nuts because it's cheaper. That's a kind of pricing out, isn't it?
ReplyDelete