Just to address an old dead horse that one of R favorite posters is dredging up at the swamp:
Menon settled the patent dispute with his EMPLOYEE so that the company would not be embroiled in litigation. Menon must not have understood the U.S. patent system, because he failed to get Aruda to sign a contract stating that Aruda was doing "work for hire" -- which he was -- and instead, because Menon did not have such a contract, Aruda (who carried out tasks for Menon) sued to be considered a "co-discoverer."
I have some experience with this issue and it would never occur to a regular person that someone you hire to do work can claim to own part of the intellectual property, if you fail to get them to sign an agreement explicitly stating that they are doing work for hire and don't have intellectual property rights, and if that person takes advantage of that lack of a written contract to sue.
Obviously I don't have access to all the documents and all the facts, but I think that it is likely that Dr. Menon would have prevailed in court, had he chosen to fight Aruda's claim. Instead, for the good of the company, he settled with him so that the company could continue developing Kevetrin without the specter of litigation hanging over it. It is very common for people or companies to decide to settle rather than being involved in expensive and protracted litigation.
This is what the term "greenmail" means. It's the essence of the business plan for ambulance-chasing "shareholder suit" law firms like the Rosen Firm.
It was an expensive mistake for Dr. Menon, but it is ancient history now.
By the way, if you ever hire a photographer, make sure that you get them to sign a statement that YOU own the copyright. Otherwise, you can pay someone a ton of money for photographs, and you will discover that YOU do not have the right to make copies -- only the copyright owner does.
Menon settled the patent dispute with his EMPLOYEE so that the company would not be embroiled in litigation. Menon must not have understood the U.S. patent system, because he failed to get Aruda to sign a contract stating that Aruda was doing "work for hire" -- which he was -- and instead, because Menon did not have such a contract, Aruda (who carried out tasks for Menon) sued to be considered a "co-discoverer."
I have some experience with this issue and it would never occur to a regular person that someone you hire to do work can claim to own part of the intellectual property, if you fail to get them to sign an agreement explicitly stating that they are doing work for hire and don't have intellectual property rights, and if that person takes advantage of that lack of a written contract to sue.
Obviously I don't have access to all the documents and all the facts, but I think that it is likely that Dr. Menon would have prevailed in court, had he chosen to fight Aruda's claim. Instead, for the good of the company, he settled with him so that the company could continue developing Kevetrin without the specter of litigation hanging over it. It is very common for people or companies to decide to settle rather than being involved in expensive and protracted litigation.
This is what the term "greenmail" means. It's the essence of the business plan for ambulance-chasing "shareholder suit" law firms like the Rosen Firm.
It was an expensive mistake for Dr. Menon, but it is ancient history now.
By the way, if you ever hire a photographer, make sure that you get them to sign a statement that YOU own the copyright. Otherwise, you can pay someone a ton of money for photographs, and you will discover that YOU do not have the right to make copies -- only the copyright owner does.
2
