Sick Joke OR I'm Supposedly Getting Sued...

[Dezzamondo]

I'll save the rant but will start on a positive:

My raspberry Pi Power supplies are flying off the shelf on eBay, which is great!

A few weeks ago, an eBay member by the name of

pi-switch

approched me on eBay threatening legal action against my products, after infringing on a presumably bogus patent. They had zero feedback and was clearly made, just to contact me online. Its not the first time someone within my office (I have a full time J.O.B.) has tried winding me up on things I sell.

So I ignored them.

A week or so later, the same person emailed my careline (for my customers) with the following:

Your item : THE ULTIMATE PI - UK Raspberry Pi Power Supply With Built In  ON/OFF Switch!infringes on patent number: 1218804.1 which we own and  not you. We have contacted you via ebay to remove your item but you have  ignored us. We can either take legal action against or come to a  financial arrangement i.e. royalties per item sold.Please respond to  this email otherwise we will initiate legal proceedings; if this is the  route that you wish to take then can you please supply an address for  our solictors to contact you by. 
Regards
PI-switch

This came from a free outlook account under the name

Neil Dave

... not exactly the most imaginative name in the world, but almost plausible. Rather than ignore them again with the offchance he's actually being serious, I took a calculated step and responded:

Dear Neil,

There is no patent with that number in the available IP records online.

If you can provide your specific patent details and define the IP we are
infringing, we will further contact you about price / stock negotiation.

We will continue trading until your patent details have been received.

Kind regards,
Derek

No response.

Now, its been conveniently pointed out to my by a colleague that this chap is now selling cables with an IDENTICAL switch supposedly built into it. Check it out and look at the photo-quality

[URL="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raspberry-PI-Power-Switch-/170957891523?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item27cde267c3"]Raspberry PI Power Switch | eBay[/URL]

. It screams "Poor Photoshopped Product"! But has sales and feedback.

Either is is an overly elaborate joke thats going too far, or some guy genuinely is trying to get a patent for a lamp switch and is trying to punch above his weight in the arena with legal threats.

I really hope it is the former...

 

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[1PercentStreet]

It's competition trying to scare you.

 

[Dezzamondo]

I really hope so 1Percent :/

 

[socaldude]

My gut says its just psycho warfare. Only because its so common. Its inevitable. Business is war. Its prob some mouse on a loud speaker making lion noises.

Anybody who doesn't provide a cease and desist letter is just playing around. Anybody who is serious would provide you with proof. No proof/reasonable indication= F**K OFF.

I would not worry about it. You build a golden castle and the trolls will try to take it over or screw with you out of spite.

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have heard people threaten others with "I'm gonna sue!".

 

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[1PercentStreet]

My gut says its just psycho warfare. Only because its so common. Its inevitable. Business is war. Its prob some mouse on a loud speaker making lion noises.

Anybody who doesn't provide a cease and desist letter is just playing around. Anybody who is serious would provide you with proof. No proof/reasonable indication= F**K OFF.

I would not worry about it. You build a golden castle and the trolls will try to take it over or screw with you out of spite.

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have heard people threaten others with "I'm gonna sue!".

Yup, if you get a cease and desist, then you need to consult a lawyer. They can tell if those are legit. I've received 3 C&D from fake people. It's really despicable.

 

[FastNAwesome]

Its prob some mouse on a loud speaker making lion noises.

+1, especially because the language they use is anything but professional and also too needy.

But I think you responded properly and should preserve the communication, just in case.

 

[Dezzamondo]

Thanks guys, glad to know I'm not the only guy that gets this!... but then again, its a bit crazy that its such a common occurrance.

Nuts to the trolls, I'm making my golden castle!

Speed++ for all the feedback!

 

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[andviv]

Get back to them and tell them you are very sorry about this and to please provide a bank account so you can deposit $1 per unit sold. Given your current level of sales, you will deposit them around $1,000.

If they respond, tell them you bank is demanding $100 for transfer fees so you need him to mail you that amount with a paid money order.

There's gotta be a way to reverse scam this guy...

 

[yahdmon]

Trust me -- it aint real.

Been there. Were it real you would have gotten a notification from someone's legal representative. No person in their right mind would take this route; it is too passive. Do not be afraid. If you do however, later, get a Fedex envelope from their legal team then you will need a more serious response. For now, just laugh it off or do what "andiv" said.

later

 

[MJ DeMarco]

My opinion?

I would ignore and delete it.

Legal issues usually arise in the form of mailed, certified letters on a law firms' official letterhead.

Once you get that, Google the firm to make sure they are legit and specialize in the area of dispute, in this case, patents.

IMO, everything else is just a scare tactic. However, a patent owner could possibly reach out to a potential infringer before deploying legal counsel -- so always be cautious.

Of course, the above is not to be construed as legal advice - but to how I would interpret and handle the situation.

 

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[SeanKelly]

Even in the lawn business my competitors do/say very odd things in an attempt to either hurt my reputation or steal away my current customers. Just a few weeks ago a competitor had mailed a professional-looking letter to several of my customers he sees my company do work for stating that my business was operating illegally and if they decided to keep using me they would also have consequences for hiring me. It seems insane, but when competitors are hurting they'll try to bring everyone down with them.

 

[awesom-o]

I've had these sort of messages before on Ebay you have nothing to worry about. If you were actually infringing patent/copyright ebay Vero program would have removed your listing already.

 

[theDarkness]

I'd guess that he's just trying to troll royalties out of you, but he doesn't really know what he's doing. Or he's just trying to scare you.

Can you sue him? I was reading about patents a long time ago and I thought I read about a company countersuing for spurious claims of infringement. I'm not sure if that's really a thing.

 

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[Mr.Dietsch]

Same thing on craigslist just a bit different. Has your post ever been repeatedly flagged and deleted? Mine has, because someone selling a similar object was flagging everyone else's post so his would sell.

 

[Dilshad]

I'll save the rant but will start on a positive:

My raspberry Pi Power supplies are flying off the shelf on eBay, which is great!

A few weeks ago, an eBay member by the name of

pi-switch

approched me on eBay threatening legal action against my products, after infringing on a presumably bogus patent. They had zero feedback and was clearly made, just to contact me online. Its not the first time someone within my office (I have a full time J.O.B.) has tried winding me up on things I sell.

So I ignored them.

A week or so later, the same person emailed my careline (for my customers) with the following:

Your item : THE ULTIMATE PI - UK Raspberry Pi Power Supply With Built In  ON/OFF Switch!infringes on patent number: 1218804.1 which we own and  not you. We have contacted you via ebay to remove your item but you have  ignored us. We can either take legal action against or come to a  financial arrangement i.e. royalties per item sold.Please respond to  this email otherwise we will initiate legal proceedings; if this is the  route that you wish to take then can you please supply an address for  our solictors to contact you by. 
Regards
PI-switch

This came from a free outlook account under the name

Neil Dave

... not exactly the most imaginative name in the world, but almost plausible. Rather than ignore them again with the offchance he's actually being serious, I took a calculated step and responded:

Dear Neil,

There is no patent with that number in the available IP records online.

If you can provide your specific patent details and define the IP we are
infringing, we will further contact you about price / stock negotiation.

We will continue trading until your patent details have been received.

Kind regards,
Derek

No response.

Now, its been conveniently pointed out to my by a colleague that this chap is now selling cables with an IDENTICAL switch supposedly built into it. Check it out and look at the photo-quality

[URL="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raspberry-PI-Power-Switch-/170957891523?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item27cde267c3"]Raspberry PI Power Switch | eBay[/URL]

. It screams "Poor Photoshopped Product"! But has sales and feedback.

Either is is an overly elaborate joke thats going too far, or some guy genuinely is trying to get a patent for a lamp switch and is trying to punch above his weight in the arena with legal threats.

I really hope it is the former...

This is what I am afraid of, since I am totally new in business and about to dive into the import/export can someone please explain to me what is patent and are allowed to sell those? Does it depend where your from selling and to? I live in Usa, Virginia, but would really like to know all details in pertains to this. Business is like a baby from scratch taking care of it until it fully grows and operates well. Just so many things go in my mind which worries me such as patent, copyrights, rules, regulations, I just wonder how you follow all these? Like what exactly or how exactly do you know which to follow and which not to when your selling your products either domestically or internationally?

 

[andviv]

This is what I am afraid of

You are afraid of EVERYTHING.

can someone please explain to me what is patent and are allowed to sell those?

Have you heard of Google?

Just so many things go in my mind which worries me such as patent, copyrights, rules, regulations, I just wonder how you follow all these?

See? More worries.

Like what exactly or how exactly do you know which to follow and which not to when your selling your products either domestically or internationally?

So you need a step by step manual of what to do and how?

Many here have told you the same. You are cut out or ready for this.

Go back to find a job and work following instructions from your boss.

There is nothing wrong with that.

It is who you are.

Stop torturing yourself trying to follow a path you simply can't follow.

 

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[Dezzamondo]

Lol, turns out this guy IS a real person (who would have thought!) AND has a genuine patent pending... that's not to say he's got a patent though. To put a lamp switch onto a USB cable, isn't exactly rocket science and I'd be astonished if they grant him the patent in 18 months or so.

In the mean time, I've started the ball rolling with some proper legal advice as he's now sending his solicitors after me. Oh well.

I was under the impression that a pending patent gives you no legal right to prevent production of a product until its been published. Does anyone know off the top of their heads if that is true?

Hooray for nutjobs.

 

[Execution=King]

He's got a lot of people to go after.

NewerTech NWTCBLUSBCS2M Sync Switch USB Extension... in stock at OWC
USB On/Off Power Cable Switch
USB cable with power switch for external HDD : Storage

 

[Execution=King]

He's got a lot of people to go after.

NewerTech NWTCBLUSBCS2M Sync Switch USB Extension... in stock at OWC
USB On/Off Power Cable Switch
USB cable with power switch for external HDD : Storage

 

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[Dezzamondo]

LOL!

King, you've made my day

 

[Execution=King]

It would be interesting to see if your guy's filing date is after Dec. 19, 2009, the date that "chika7ilo" discussed his invention on Legitreviews.com.

USB cable with power switch for external HDD : Storage

I'm no patent expert, but the legitreviews mention might serve as proof of obviousness or prior art.

(And truthfully, I can't believe that no one put an inline switch on the USB power lead before 2009.)

If you have to pay a lawyer, pay one to F*ck up his claim.

Good luck.

Edit: this pushes it back to July 2009:
http://www.overclock.net/t/550353/can-i-add-a-switch-to-a-usb-cable

I only looked for a minute. I bet if you looked longer you could find earlier examples.

 

[Vigilante]

Execution = King. Why the HELL don't you post here more? Stop lurking. You have value to add.

 

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[Execution=King]

Thanks...that's kind of you.

I'll try to come by more.

MJ's book was probably the best business book I've ever read, that's for sure.

 

[CommonCents]

FYI on patent filing changes effective in March. First to invent=>first to file

Beware the Ides of March: how to prepare for changes in patent law and the March 16th deadline - Lexology

 

[Vigilante]

I think that "First to File" is really shitty. That means that someone could patent your invention while you are still testing proof of concept. First in commerce was a much better standard.

 

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[Execution=King]

It's completely corrupt; written by and for big corporations with big legal and IP departments.


It exists to make sure that 99% of inventors can have their creations stolen from them by big business without recourse.

 

[elclandestino]

greed and jealousy know no limits

thanks for a good laugh bro