| 28 August 2010
Following last night’s news about Paul Allen - who is primed to go to battle against practically the entire internet - a couple interesting questions were raised: Is his claim legitimate or is he just trying to cheat the legal system, and does his lawsuit realistically hold any weight?
Forbes journalist, Lee Gomes, believes Allen is pushing his weight around, finding unethical loopholes in the system: “This is yet another example of the cynical use of the American legal system to extort money out of successful companies — in the name of protecting innovation and innovators. Shame on Paul Allen for being part of it.”
Facebook is calling the claim “child like,” declaring that the lawsuit is “without merit and will be fought vigorously.“
There are four patents that Allen has cited in the lawsuit – primarily electronic-commerce applications for displaying and categorizing product information. These are basic, everyday features all Internet users rely upon.
There is nothing definitive, as of yet, as to whether Allen’s claims will hold up in court. My opinion is that this is just the start of what will be a long, drawn out legal battle that, in the end, will probably result in a settlement.
But would that be the ethical end-result to this controversy?
Google doesn’t think so. "This lawsuit against some of America's most innovative companies reflects an unfortunate trend of people trying to compete in the courtroom instead of the marketplace.”
Here is the official Complaint For Patent Infringement document and here is a breakdown of the four patents cited in the case.
How does all this news affect the Blazers - or even the Seattle Seahawks, for that matter?
It shouldn’t, with the exception that if Allen wins this lawsuit or even settles, his teams will have more money to spend. And for Portland right now, some extra funds isn't such a bad thing knowing what's occurred the past few months for the Blazers.
Maybe then Allen will feel better about the costs of revamping Portland’s front office, prying a costly Wesley Matthews ($34 million for 5 years) away from the Utah Jazz and stomaching how Rudy Fernandez wants no part of the Blazers this summer.
photo: oregonlive.com
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