It's Kitty,
Solomon is not in any position to hold a gun to Toyota's head. SOLM will not hold out for hundreds of millions; they can't, even if Toyota is blatently infringing. Do you REALLY think SOLM could afford to turn away a check worth 8 figures ? A verdict of Infringment is one issue, Damages suffered as a result of the Infringment are a secondary issue.
My guess would be that as this gets Calendered by the Court, and documents get passed between the parties, both (Toyota more so than Solomon) will come to the reality that the obvious fix to the solution is to simply License SOLM's technology. A license can take many forms and Schedules, and does not necessarily indicate that a huge amount of money is involved or even that the Licensed technology has been or will be used. Toyota can License without any admission of Infringment, and SOLM can loudly and proudly showcase the Toyota License as evidence of the interest, viability, practicality, and commercialization aspects of their patents and company.
There is a lot to write about regarding the mindset of a targeted Infringer who decide to license, but basically, it's an assessment of the position of the Opposing party, their legal arguments, and a cost/benefit analysis; and that does not just mean dollars and cents analysis.
FORGET the idea that some here have written, saying the Infringment is worth $2-3,000 per car, or that hundreds of Millions will come to SOLM if Infringment is found. That is NOT how these things work in the real world. There is much more pragmatism involved.
Keeping the faith in a settlement resolution as things progress. We want a settlement, because as I have written in the past, Toyota has many ways outside of this Court case to try to strangle the validity of these Patents; even if they ARE using the technology.
Kitty,
sipping tea and sampling a cookie.
