Bonum Certa Men Certa

When British Companies Get Dragged Into Texan Courts Over Software Patents That Aren't Even Valid in Britain

US patent law matters everywhere as even Brits can be dragged into the rocket docket of patent trolls

Rodney Gilstrap



Summary: Some news from the abusive courts of the Eastern District of Texas, where patent justice is mostly an illusion because of the likes of Rodney Gilstrap (above)

Metaswitch Networks, a British company sued by patent thugs in Texas, has just won a case initiated in a Texan court, which is rare/hard. Metaswitch Networks now says that CAFC has just denied a patent injunction against it. Background was provided in our previous articles about this case.



"Federal District Court Denies Injunction Request in Genband US LLC vs Metaswitch Networks Ltd. Patent Litigation," says the headline of the press release, issued in London 3 days ago. The press/media (local or US) didn't seem to cover it, but someone sent us the press release that reads: "Cloud-native communications software leader Metaswitch today announced that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has denied Genband US LLC's motion for a permanent injunction against Metaswitch stemming from patent litigation between the two companies [Case No. 2:14-cv-33-JRG]. Genband US LLC filed the motion in February 2016. "We are pleased with the court's ruling," said Martin Lund, Metaswitch CEO, "and look forward to continuing our successful partnerships and customer engagements utilizing our broad technology portfolio and long history of technical innovation.""

Do patent courts in Texas have ethics? Remember it's them who enabled this expensive and cumbersome process for a British company (almost half a world away). These courts actively advertise themselves as being plaintiffs/trolls-friendly and this new article from Patently-O speaks of ethics opinions from Texas. To quote the key part: "The Texas ethical rules have some bearing on federal court litigation in the Fifth Circuit, although they do not control. See In re American Airlines, Inc., 972 F.2d 605 (5th Cir. 1992). Nonetheless, the Eastern District will consider the Texas rules as part of determining “national standards” of ethics in federal court. (I practiced in Texas for a long time, and am still licensed there and advise lawyers there, and this “national standards” of ethics thing can be a real trap for unwary lawyers who think they can rely on the Texas rules, alone.)"

"BlackBerry is Canadian, not Texan, so why pursue litigation down in Texas? It's very obvious why and it's a ruinous thing that makes Texas stand out as a major culprit."What we have here helps demonstrate that the VENUE Act [1, 2] is necessary and Texan courts are a big part of the problem. Right now BlackBerry says it will stop producing phones and the company has already begun suing companies using patents, choosing to file the lawsuits in Texas. BlackBerry is Canadian, not Texan, so why pursue litigation down in Texas? It's very obvious why and it's a ruinous thing that makes Texas stand out as a major culprit. This actually damages the public image of the entire state.

Remember where Newegg ended up fighting back against patents trolls? Yes, that too was Texas and it involved software patents in general. Texas does not seem to care if one is a troll, if Alice forbids abstract software patents and so on. The courts there are mostly rigged, as we demonstrated before.

Newegg's Lee Cheng recently spoke to Unpatent, an initiative we last mentioned 2 weeks ago. Here is a summary/overview of their talk:

Today we talk to Lee Cheng, the most prolific patent troll killer. He runs corporate development at Newegg where he also serves as Chief Legal Officer. We are extremely lucky of having him onboard as an Advisor to Unpatent, his experience and insights are truly invaluable.

We have a couple stories on the pipeline, but these stories are hard to find because companies are usually scared of making this public. As Lee explains, the moment you settle for the first time, you become an easy target. If you know any stories, please reach us at sadness@unpatent.co

Without further ado, you can enjoy the interview below. We also made a transcript of it in case you’d rather read it.


Rather than attempt to tackle one patent at a time, which is what Unpatent is hoping to accomplish, one should advocate for PTAB and oppose software patents. The EFF is currently trying to also limit the damage caused by courts in Texas -- the kind of nuisance which now facilitates patent bullies from Canada and impacts even companies as far away as Britain.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Slopwatch: Plagiarism and Ponzi Scheme, Bubble About to Burst Entirely, Admits Goldman Sachs
the hype that Google News and The Register MS actively participate and profit from
The Register MS Says "AI Web Crawlers Are Destroying Websites", So Why Does The Register MS Help 'AI' Companies? (Spoiler: Money)
People need to call out The Register MS on its hypocrisy
Slopfarms Already Peaked, They Will Die When Slop Companies Run Out of Money to Borrow
slopfarms will lack an actual "engine"
Why We Publish Information About the SLAPPs (But Not About the Legal Process), an Abuse of Process by Americans Trying to Silence Critics of Their Employer, Microsoft
It doesn't take thousands of pages to explain something simple
 
Telecompaper Reports Microsoft to Reduce the Workforce by Another 10% (in France)
Imagine what this will do to staff's morale
Microsoft in Freefall in Finland
Can Finland eradicate Windows from all its infrastructure, including core operations that are sensitive to sabotage by cracking?
Google's Chrome Passes 70% and Web Standards Are Dying
The Web is quickly becoming devoid of any standards
India is Back to Windows 8 (Market Share Down to 8%) as Android Soars to a New Record High
For Microsoft, India is a runaway market
Links 02/09/2025: SCO Summit and Russia Suspected Of Jamming GPS
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/09/2025: Mediterranean Marriage and Staying Connected at 35,000 Feet
Links for the day
Links 02/09/2025: Attacks on Unions, Microsoft TCO, and DDoSing a Growing Problem
Links for the day
Internet Relay Chat Didn't Fall Off a Cliff
IRC will turn 40 in less than 3 years from now
The UEFI 9/11 - Part V - This is Not a Drill (Disable "SecureBoot" Now)
A "9/11" Coming
There's No Obligation to Speak to Anybody
The very fact that "bkuhn" is till spending time in social control media says a lot about his poor judgment
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 01, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 01, 2025
Microsoft Trying to Force People to Resign (Amid Mass Layoffs) a Strategy That Takes Its Toll
Microsoft seems to be circling down the drain and the "final flush" will be the moment the "hey hi" (AI) bubble implodes completely
Google Simply Cannot Be Trusted
Only fools would trust GAFAM
Admission That a Third Party (or Parties) Funds the SLAPPs Against Techrights
This can end up costing them over a million dollars
Modifying and Writing One's Own Computer Programs is Not a Crime (or: Google Proves That Stallman Was Right)
We're generally gratified to see so many positive mentions of him
Why We Stopped Publishing Videos (for Now)
We'll probably get back to videos one day, but it's hard to say when or to what extent
What Animal Rights Activism Teaches Us About Sympathy and Focus
It's possible to believe that the planet is warming, that we must do something about it, and still eat eggs and butter
When You Turn Web Sites About Tech Into Political Sites
A lot of people fall into the trap of catering only for particular groups
Gemini Links 02/09/2025: ROOPHLOCH 2025 and Lagrange 1.19 Released
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/09/2025: News Corp. WSJ and A Month With NixOS
Links for the day
“Sideloading” Never Killed Anybody
There are many online discussions this week about the misnomer "sideloading"
Slopwatch: Google News as FUD Vector Against Linux and Plagiarism Enhancer, Serial Slopper (SS) Uses LLMs to Googlebomb "Linux"
Slop destroys the Web not just by screwing with search engines and helping plagiarists. It's also responsible for de facto DDoS attacks...
Links 01/09/2025: "Attacks on Science" and China's "Soft Power" Grows
Links for the day
Links 01/09/2025: Fresh Backlash Against Slop and "Norway’s Electricity Crisis is About to Hit Britain"
Links for the day
Writing and Coding Isn't Always Enough
Last year we had to assume a role we didn't have before: litigants
Links 01/09/2025: Catching Up (Mostly via Deutsche Welle), "Windows TCO" Effect in UK
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/09/2025: Linguistic Barriers and "Web 1.0 Hosting"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 31, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, August 31, 2025
Autumn Has Come
Autumn should be exciting in all sorts of ways; it'll also mark our anniversary
The UEFI 9/11 - Part IV - External Interference
They all seem to be playing a role in crushing Software Freedom and self-determination for users
Links 31/08/2025: Baggage Claim Scams, an Insurrectionist’s War on Culture, and a Sudden Robotics Hype
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/08/2025: Reviewing Netsurf and Slightly Less Historic Ada Design
Links for the day
IBM Has Taken Control of GNOME
Don't expect a successor to be found any time soon
Links 31/08/2025: Google Gmail Data Breach and LF Puff Pieces for Pay
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 30, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, August 30, 2025
This is What Google News Has Become
Moments ago