A new twist is appearing in the patent wars - the countersuit. The Wall Street Journal's "Law Blog" recently ran this posting - Patent-Holding Company (A Troll?) Stung By Own Litigation:
In 2003, Verve, a Texas-based patent-holding company, acquired control of a number of patents owned by Omron, a Japanese electronics outfit. It then filed patent-infringement lawsuits against 10 U.S. companies that make point-of-sale terminals — machines that process credit cards, alleging patent infringement. Most of the companies settled, with Verve collecting more than $900,000.
But one of the targeted companies, Phoenix-based Hypercom, successfully defended three suits brought against it by Verve and filed countersuits in federal court in Arizona. Hypercom alleged that Verve’s claims were filed with malice and that Omron was a conspirator in the scheme.
Hypercom won and collected $700,000. They then went after Omron. Omron settled for $1.5 million (see Hypercom wins key fight with patent lawsuit - The Business Journal of Phoenix).
That is beginning to look like real money - enough to start attracting the lawyers. This could be the start of a new wave of litigation. I wonder if someone will now be looking for legislation to reign in the countersuit?
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