Patent Law

Supplied

By Gary Odom and Jordan Kuhn

i2 Technologies wrestled $83.3 million in a settlement from SAP for supply-chain software patents. The case was in forced mediation in the Eastern District of Texas.

In the late 1990s, i2 had been a successful pioneer in the area as a software vendor, but had its lunch eaten by larger enterprise resource-planning and workflow software companies like SAP after the dot.com crash at the turn of the millennium. Inexorable economics of scale crush small companies.

Still working it, i2 reported 2005 revenue of $337 million. i2 has around 1,250 employees. By comparison, SAP hauled in $11 billion in 2005, with 37,700 wage slaves.

The patents in suit were: 5,764,543; 5,930,156; 5,983,194; 6,055,519; 6,167,380; 6,188,989; 7,085,729.

i2 was represented by McKool Smith.

Self promotion has not been beyond i2's grasp. In 2004, i2 forked out a $10 million fine to the SEC for misstating $1 billion in software license revenues.

Big weasels, little weasels, it's all just good corporate fun.

Example. Drunken ship captain dozily ramming his wide-bodied oil tanker into Alaska wilderness used to be a $2.5 billion dollar offense. But the Supreme Court sez, "lighten up Jill, that's just a half-bill spill."

With Congress busy dishing pork and stuffing their wallets, somebody has got to make laws. The Supreme Court is happy to oblige. Hey, did you hear the one about SCOTUS looking out for city hall with its eminent domain land grab, where cities can just snatch your property because they could wring more taxes out of strip mall? Pesky homeowners.

The court is just following dictate from the Vatican. In a necessary turnaround, the Pope, observing that in over 2000 years, the meek, due to inherit the earth, have simply not come up to snuff. By papal decree: "screw the meek."

Full post as published by The Patent Prospector on June 27, 2008 (boomark / email).