Here is where the case stands as of December 20th, 2004.
The focus of the defense was on the following points:
1) Estoppel - I interpret this to mean that once Fish allowed Higgins (the patent lawyer who prosecuted ShBoom) to file the applications, which were subsequently accepted by the uspto, Fish stated co-inventorship of all the related patents. This means that once he filed and the patents were accepted as being
co-invented, Fish is not permitted to reverse himself.
I believe PTSC can easily argue this by showing the documents from Fish and Higgins, and a reported phone call between Fish and Moore when Moore allegedly admited to not having contributed to 336. And patents are allowed to be corrected regardless of estoppel.
2) Laches - This relates directly to the passage of time prior to stated complaints. The defense believes that too much time has passed for PTSC to have contested the inventorship of 336.
I believe PTSC can easily argue this by stating that 336 was not granted until 1998 and that they realized the value recently, etc. I doubt the defense will be able to use Laches.
3) Claims - The defense states, correctly, that all they must do is proove that Moore contributed significantly to one claim in 336.
There are only 10 claims (10 claims is very small for a patent) and according to Fish and Higgins, Fish solely conceived and documented 336 a day or two before all the patents were submitted as one, the ShBoom patent. I doubt that Moore contributed to 336 b/c he has been documented as saying that "Fish conceived 336."
4) Attorney/Client Priveledge - The defense claimed that Higgins should not be allowed to testify b.c of the A/C priveledge between Moore and Higgins during the filing of the ShBoom patent.
This motion has already been denied by Judge Jeremy Vogel. When there are two opposing parties that shared the same council, A/C priveledge is automatically waived.
I welcome any criticism of my interpretation of the court documents I have read. I believe the more viewpoints one has, the easier it is to predict future events.
If you want to read the court documents, goto my past entry entitled, To View Court Documents Goto:.
AI
