TASA ID: 10524

Introduction

There’s nothing simple about architectural copyright litigation. Activity generated from The Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act of 1990 continues to increase. The law continues to develop, but factual realities, though seemingly obvious, are often complex and difficult to compare What is an architectural work? It is a building design embodied in any tangible medium of expression, including a building itself, architectural plans, or drawings. Overall form is copyrightable. Exterior and interior spatial arrangements and elements of these arrangements are copyrightable. Individual standard features are not copyrightable. These presuppositions raise further questions. 

TASA ID: 7210

This is a follow-up to my July 2016 white paper entitled, “A Case Study of Patent Abuse: Printing Industry Faces New Nemesis Impacting Growth and Employment—Patent Trolls.”

That white paper received enormous industry press coverage, and to my understanding was used as part of court proceedings resulting in the dismissal of two long and visible printing industry cases brought on by patent trolls, CTP Innovations (CTP) and High Quality Printing Innovations (HQPI). However, since then, two new cases emerged by patent trolls attempting to threaten and extort funds from printing industry companies and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) using standard technology common for doing day-to-day business in the printing and related industries.

TASA ID: 2016

Have you noticed that most rebuttal reports start with the phrase, “This research is fatally flawed?” Whether that is true or not, experts tend to use that phrase quite liberally without paying too much attention to the supporting evidence.

TASA ID: 7210

Patent trolls, the epitome of greed, thoughtlessness, and unethical behavior, are impacting the survival, growth, and development of printing and related companies.

 

The printing industry in the United States has been in a state of decline over the past 20 years (from approximately 55,000 companies to under 30,000 today). Traditionally a low-profit industry, printing companies and their suppliers are trying to find ways of increasing products and services focusing on digital technologies and related applications in order to increase profits and to save jobs. Patent trolls are inhibiting such growth and are causing companies to consider closing, downsizing, and laying off employees because they cannot afford to absorb the huge fees being demanded by the trolls, while also maintaining or growing business. The trolls are equivalent to extortionists with no sense of business morals and ethics, or of the nation’s push to grow companies, produce jobs, and keep or bring back as much business as possible to the United States.

TASA ID: 3587

I have worked as an expert witness for many years, providing software, user interface, mobile, and human factors expertise, primarily for patent cases. Recently, I was involved in a patent case that actually went to trial (most are settled out of court), where I testified in court.  This series of articles is about that experience. In Part 1, I introduced the case and discussed our legal team and the routine during the trial. This article will discuss some experiences and impressions from the trial itself.