Ever since digital economy has become our way of life, a number of lawsuits against patent infringement has increased. Particularly it has become very difficult for any startup companies to manage their business without getting one legal notice from any patentee. In this article, we will discuss various ways of how to tackle this issue.
Do not Panic
As per the famous legal advisor Aaron Minc, one should not panic if you ever get such legal notice. Of course, it is really very upsetting to get such legal notice, however most of the people of legal fraternity has started taking it very lightly. Most of these legal notices never go to court and neither any legal suit is ever filed. So, keep your cool and remain in control over the situation instead of getting tensed unnecessarily.
Keep a Low Profile
If your business is of very small size then most likely that nobody will bother you with any legal notice. Most of the lawyers will advise you to keep quite even if you get one. If you are reasonably sure that you have not really made any infringement then the matter will soon die its natural death.
Find Some Lawyer with Broad View about Business Environment
You must choose a lawyer who understands your business well and also quite aware about business environment. You should be able to trust him and make him a long-term advisor so that he can advice you time to time.
Find out details about the Company and the Patent
If you think the patentee is really very serious about the matter then try to find out whether he was ever involved in any such case before? What is his purpose of sending you legal notice? Does he want to extract some money from you, thinking that you are an easy target? Or is he trying to give message to others by harassing you?
Though very few company really proceed further after serving legal notice but you must try to find maximum details about the company that you can gather from various sources. Find out about their business or whether he had ever dealt with you before or sent you any legal notice with any other name.
Defend yourself by Showing your Poverty
Most of these cases are for money and therefore you can call the patentee that you are not in that kind of financial position to hire a lawyer and fight the case. You may also send your financial details through your lawyer in a confidential manner. If the patentee is convinced that he will not gain anything by pursuing the case further then he will forget it and try to look for some other target.
Create a Team of Defender
If you are sued then try to find many other companies, who are also sued by them. Try to make a team of defender and fight the case jointly. This way, you can also divide the legal expenses among the team of defending companies.