Big names settle out of court with CryptoPeak in HTTPS patent spat

In late November, patent-holding biz CryptoPeak Solutions filed dozens of lawsuits against major US resorts, retailers, and financial service providers, among others. The timing for the barrage of lawsuits was curious, but may be explained by a newly enacted law aimed at curbing patent trolls. It turns out the litany of …

[Chairo]

Paying the Danegeld...

And then hoping the Danes will land somewhere else next time.

It might be easier and more economic in the short term, but it just gives them the resources to organise ever bigger raids.

[Doctor Syntax]

Re: Paying the Danegeld...

Did they sue Newegg? I suspect by now most trolls won't, at least not until they've picked the low-hanging fruit. Maybe other victims should watch and learn.

[Anonymous Coward]

Stop settling you cowards!

[Anonymous Coward]

Does anyone have a link to the full list? I'd like to see it... so I can be sure to take my business elsewhere.

[Adam 1]

You can bet the out of court settlement would have been for peanuts. It's more important for them to imply that some companies acknowledged the validity of the claim.

[Daniel B.]

I guess

I'm betting the companies that settled did so because they know this is probably going to be the last patent troll case for some time now.

[Anonymous Coward]

Companies settle for business reasons

A former employer of mine was sued by a troll. They settled because they could not afford to go to trial. Most businesses do not have $2M lying around to throw away -- settlement was a *lot* cheaper. (In that particular case, the new law would not have helped. The troll's infringement charts were an absolute joke. And yes, eastern Texas.)

[Yes Me]

Re: Companies settle for business reasons

And that's a problem. How anybody can see a patent whose topic is key escrow and imagine that it impacts specific crypto algorithms used in non-key-escrow scenarios is beyond me. Unless, of course, they've already given in to the USG and started escrowing keys, which naturally they wouldn't want revealed in open court.

[Whitter]

If a court has a reputaion for bias...

... surely it is time for a revue of due process in such a court?

[Alistair]

East texas - patent troll heaven.

Considering the reason we[1] hear about east texas is *mostly* how the court there is kind to the patent trolls, I wonder, is there *any* other ..... industry there?

Yes the court has a reputation - but is that reputation a result of the individuals there, a particular set of personalities or knowledge? Or is it that old saw of "Well this is the way we've always done these things". Or is it that, quite bluntly, they've got nothing better to put their time into?

Personally, considering the laundry list of issues in the excited snakes, ETPTLF[2] should be rather lower on their priority list.

As for *this* patent, anyone that signed off and settled should have the right to sue the troll back to oblivion if *any* of the others fights it and wins.

<[1] here on ElReg >

<[2] East Texas Patent Troll Law Firms >

[Doctor Syntax]

Re: East texas - patent troll heaven.

"As for *this* patent, anyone that signed off and settled should have the right to sue the troll back to oblivion if *any* of the others fights it and wins."

I'd guess the terms of settlement preclude that.

[Michael Wojcik]

Re: East texas - patent troll heaven.

is there *any* other ..... industry there?

Sure! Vendors of both firearms and pickup trucks do a brisk business.

(Actually, I kind of like East Texas, as Texas goes. At least the geography of it. Not my first choice of a place to live, even in Texas - that would be parts of the Panhandle - but the Piney Woods area isn't bad.

And if you want an actual answer to your question, well, there's always that good ol' interconnected jumble of sometimes-accurate information that's available all over the world.)