If foot = 3 months, looking for a yard, for a possible conclusion this year.
foot #1 = Apr-Jun foot #2 = Jul-Sep foot #3 = Oct-Dec
Announcement of 2 Indian patents also said a couple of companies are interested. The talk must have started. If so, an announcement could come any time. A guess only.
Apr-Jun: Pre-trial conference, VZ and TMUS together. Parties including the Judge should know how much damages are claimed. A willful infringement ruling by a jury entails triple damages including legal expenses and all fees.
Reexamination of RBR patent took about 6 months. MG patent reexamination issue is much simpler. The patent examiner is David England, the same examiner that examined the RBR patent. He did not reject or modify any claim but allowed 8 new claims. VPLM "destroyed" all those Alice claims from prior art, heavily used by the Silicon Valley company defendants, a clueless judge, and the local rules of ND Cal courts.
Bill Parish stepped out from VPLM employment. He is a State recognized (TX-Austin) MODERATOR, NEUTRAL moderator, not a negotiator. A negotiator negotiates for terms on behalf one of the disputing parties. A moderator works out a compromise between two disputing parties, with consent from both parties.
Jul-Sep: VZ. VPLM win in this trial could be a big deal. The judge could cancel the jury trial is the party decide to settle, to avoid triple damages.
News release about three advisors and a share count increase could be efforts to restructure the management and the company that could pursue the remaining cases, while Emil could step down to a less active role. The life of a patent is about 20 years. All guesses, what really will happen is unknown!
RBR case vs. AMZN comes later. Even with top-notch legal team, they can not rewrite the US patent law, invalidate a single claim, argue or throw fluff at the Judge who knows patents. Even the appeals court Re. AMZN Venue transfer ruling (three denials) sided with Judge Albright.
