In Show 112- Fast Fix Monday – What to look out for if you write your own will originally broadcast on Facebook Live on Monday 23 July 2018.
Show Notes
If you are a regular reader of the business pages you’re probably well familiar with the scourge of patent trolls. Their technique is deviously simple and incredibly profitable. The troll buys the patents of companies that have recently been liquidated and snaps them up at rock bottom prices. The troll then goes after anyone using those patents usually by filing lawsuits or demanding exorbitantly high licensing fees.
This problem is especially pronounced in the United States. Luckily our patent regime is a lot better. That said, there are still some laws that need to be changed in Australia. The most important would be changing the law to ensure that people that own a patent are actually using the patent. If they aren’t using it then they shouldn’t be able to charge others to use it. That simple change would prevent people from buying the patents en masse to extort money from other businesses.
In the United States, it’s very easy to get a patent. In Australia, that process is much more difficult. Recently a UK company bought the IP of an Asian technology company and then tried to enforce that patent with Telecom companies like Telstra. Luckily, because of our more stringent laws, they haven’t been successful in enforcing that patent.
If you are approached by a patent troll requesting money your first move should be to get some legal advice. Usually, your first contact with the troll will be in the form of a letter. The letter will say something like “we are the owners of this patent and you are using our IP without our consent.” You definitely should not pay them any money straight away. It’s like any other form of extortion. Once you pay them some money they will soon be back for more. Make sure you get the right advice from somebody that knows what they’re talking about. We are going to go much deeper into your protecting intellectual property rights on Wednesday’s show. Join us then!
More about this Show
We started Business Legal Lifecycle to create a simple way for you to understand complex legal terms. Most importantly we want to help you to develop a plan to take your business successfully into the future. There’s a startling statistic the underscores the importance of developing a solid plan. The majority of business owners are just seven months away from losing everything. A single aspect of your business that is not set-up correctly can shut down your whole operation very quickly. Legal advice is not cheap and even when you can afford it there is often a divide between lawyers and their clients. We want to close that gap once and for all. We want to put legal knowledge and tools into your hand to prevent the worst from happening to you.
Twice a week we are going to deliver those tools right to your home or office with Business Legal Lifecycle TV. We’ll start the week with Fast Fix Monday, a short 5-10 minute video that will tackle a single issue that businesses have to deal with. Then on Wednesday’s our main show will feature with more fulsome discussions and interviews all delivered in a straightforward and easy to understand format.
