

Patent Squatter Sues Nearly Every MMO Developer (and Microsoft) - walesmd
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/09/16/westwoods_turbine_inc_named_in_patent_infringement_lawsuit/

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rbanffy
We should not draw conclusions on the enforceability of the patent by the out-
of-court settlement. Microsoft is perfecly capable of doing so to give money
to the patent holder in order to hurt its competition.

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stcredzero
Patent squatting is _based_ on the idea that settlement out of court is
cheaper for the company being sued. Settlement doesn't mean much, period.

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rbanffy
Settlement solves _your_ problem. Litigating solves your competitor's too.

The decision depends on the expected return of the settlement, which depends
on the expected return of the settlement money considered as an investment
against the competition, compared to the estimated cost of litigation, which,
in turn, depends on direct costs, odds of winning and estimated awarded costs
in case of a loss.

I bet the settlement covered their next litigations.

A settlement may enable you to continue to conduct business, but it also may
fuel nastier litigation against your competitors, furthering your own
abilities while shielding you from future litigation.

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larsberg
Filing patent cases in Texas smells like a business method to me.

Step 1, file patent on it Step 2, prevent patent trolls from filing cases by
"licensing" it for 110% of court winnings

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ErrantX
Just as a note the patent holders have sued Microsoft _already_ \- MS settled
out of court. (it does say so in the article but the title is a bit confused).

