So this week I read two blog posts that were closely related. One was about IPCom's ongoing litigation with Apple and the other was Microsoft versus Google. Yes they are both patent litigations but the connection I want to focus on is that of the lawyers between the two trials. Specifically: Quinn Emanuel's Dr. Marcus Grosch. According to the author of Foss Patents "he's the undisputed number one among Mannheim-based patent litigators." So what we have here is an all-star patent attorney. And teams are recruiting him hard to play on their teams.
In the case of Apple versus IPCom, Dr. Marcus Grosch is being paid big bucks by the latter to milk as much money from Apple as possible. Unfortunately this time, he was on the losing side and the German courts defended Apple's usage of the debated technology. Turns out Dr. Marcus Grosch also took part in the Microsoft versus Google stand-off. For this trial he was working with Microsoft to pursue litigation against Google for infringing on map-based technologies employed in smartphones and applications.
What I find most interesting about this is that naturally I would assume that an entity like IPCom is mortal enemies with a giant like Microsoft. But we see here that there is one attorney for these two companies that stand is stark opposition to one another. For me, this is an example of how convaluted this patent "thing" has become.
I remember hearing in class that a lot of the time, small patent-holding corporations give a cut of potential settlement or judgement. I don't think either Microsoft or IPCom is giving this lawyer any percentage of the total awarded amount because these trials are on too large a scale. But I definitely believe that these lawyers go wherever the money is. Wherever the money is, that's the side to fight for.
You can reference both blog posts below:
http://www.fosspatents.com/2014/02/federal-patent-court-of-germany.html
http://www.fosspatents.com/2014/02/ipcoms-22-billion-lawsuit-against-apple.html
In the case of Apple versus IPCom, Dr. Marcus Grosch is being paid big bucks by the latter to milk as much money from Apple as possible. Unfortunately this time, he was on the losing side and the German courts defended Apple's usage of the debated technology. Turns out Dr. Marcus Grosch also took part in the Microsoft versus Google stand-off. For this trial he was working with Microsoft to pursue litigation against Google for infringing on map-based technologies employed in smartphones and applications.
What I find most interesting about this is that naturally I would assume that an entity like IPCom is mortal enemies with a giant like Microsoft. But we see here that there is one attorney for these two companies that stand is stark opposition to one another. For me, this is an example of how convaluted this patent "thing" has become.
I remember hearing in class that a lot of the time, small patent-holding corporations give a cut of potential settlement or judgement. I don't think either Microsoft or IPCom is giving this lawyer any percentage of the total awarded amount because these trials are on too large a scale. But I definitely believe that these lawyers go wherever the money is. Wherever the money is, that's the side to fight for.
You can reference both blog posts below:
http://www.fosspatents.com/2014/02/federal-patent-court-of-germany.html
http://www.fosspatents.com/2014/02/ipcoms-22-billion-lawsuit-against-apple.html
Really interesting read! I didn't know that attorneys are kind of like free-agents, simply going where the money is going. My previous impression was that a lawyer worked specifically for one company and generally litigated on behalf of that company, as opposed to fighting for different companies. I definitely agree though that being a patent lawyer, especially a good one, can bring the potential of millions of dollars. i think this man is an opportunist and good at what he does, saving clients millions or even billions of dollars or earning them that much money.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it was interesting that any company would want him. i would think he would be put on a retainer and just paid by one company, especially if he knew one company really well. However, it seems like he more of a good lawyers as opposed to being knowledgable about every company in the industry. Really interesting topic! Do you happen to know of any other big technology companies that he has represented?
It appears that lawyers work for the money right than justice. It's really interesting to see that the same lawyer actually took two different sides on the same firm though. What do you think the implication is? And what does this say about the whole patent war? Is any firm that is involved in lawsuits truly "innocent" if the firm prevails in a case? Or it is just because they find a better representative?
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