Patent Litigation
I started a LLC company in the area of face image analysis. We have three patents approved, but there are quite a few patents out there in the topic. If a company sues us, even if I know it is not a valid patent and I can win the case, I definitely do not want to put the resources (time and money) to go to court. Can I do the following: 1) Keep the products that are liable in the LLC company and close the company, that way I do not have to go to court. In this case, if I already spend the money I got from the sale of the product with infringement, then I do not have to pay anything right? 2) Start a new company with other products that are not liable. thanks.
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Answers
High-tech entrepreneur, VC, Mentor, Executive
Any suit run by a competent lawyer will ensure that the parties named in the suit include everyone who might be able to pay. So, while your LLC might own some products, it may not be the only entity sued. You might be sued, along with all kinds of other people and companies. I'm not saying there's nothing you can do, but you certainly cannot escape having to defend a suit. Anyone can sue anyone else, even if the suit will ultimately be unsuccessful.
You ask how can you handle being sued without going to court? The answer is negotiate a settlement that results in the lawsuit being dropped. So, what have you got to trade? What damage could you do if they continue to sue you, and so on.
Answered almost 10 years ago