Customer Success
ESPE with Successful Win for the US Patent Case for MightyCall
ESPE handled this case better than we ever imagined possible. We were completely shocked when patent troll targeted us, and beyond concerned because everything that was happening felt so foreign. Thankfully, ESPE approached the case professionally and sensibly, making sure all the bases—strategy, research, preparation—were covered. As a result of their work, the patent trolls withdrew the case and we didn't need to pay a dime. I know that's a rare outcome for this, so we will be forever grateful to ESPE for all the time, money and pain they saved us.
Dmitry Lepikhov
CEO at MightyCall
Entering the global market, especially in the USA, you may face lawsuits by patent trolls and competitors who claim that you infringe their intellectual property. Getting over these hurdles comes with many challenges including infringement of patent rights, trademarks, copyright and exclusive rights, not to mention high legal costs that come with complex and often prolonged legal processes.
Patents protect ideas and inventions; design patents protect aesthetic features of a product; and trademarks protect the exclusive consumer association with your company that your brands, logos or designs evoke. Copyrights protect program code, games and literary works, as well as open source content that is freely available but governed by their specific licensing conditions.
Patents protect ideas and inventions; design patents protect aesthetic features of a product; and trademarks protect the exclusive consumer association with your company that your brands, logos or designs evoke. Copyrights protect program code, games and literary works, as well as open source content that is freely available but governed by their specific licensing conditions.
The added financial challenge of an average cost of $2 to $4M to defend a US patent case, despite patent owner's claims often being weak, increases the pressure to pay licensing fees to patent owners, even when the patent owner's claim is weak and the patent's validity is suspect. The costs may be high, but the risks of inadequate protection are higher.
Like most patent cases, US patent case 2:20-cv-01758 involving MightyCall, an online conferencing and virtual phone system that provides notifications of the incoming call to a linked browser, didn't come without challenges. MightyCall faced an issue about an application involving real-time notification of a client while making and receiving calls on a desktop computer.
Like most patent cases, US patent case 2:20-cv-01758 involving MightyCall, an online conferencing and virtual phone system that provides notifications of the incoming call to a linked browser, didn't come without challenges. MightyCall faced an issue about an application involving real-time notification of a client while making and receiving calls on a desktop computer.
Every case is different but we know the rules of the game: focusing on essentials leads to better and quicker results. ESPE built a non-infringement defense based on a deep analysis of the asserted patent and Infratel's technology. We were able to identify weak sides of the patent and find best noninfringement arguments. We then met privately with the patent owner's legal team and convinced the plaintiff to drop this case. The patent lawsuit was resolved within two months, even before the initial court disclosures.
Nadia Kashchenko
CEO at ESPE
Despite these particular hurdles, MightyCall, a startup backed by SIT Capital, successfully resolved the case thanks to ESPE Consulting Group, an International IP company. ESPE Consulting Group built a non-infringement defense for MightyCall based on a deep analysis of the US 8,843,549 patent and the accused product, closing the case within two months, before it even had the chance to make it to initial court disclosures. Thanks to the expertise of ESPE Consulting and the broader team of lawyers and experts supported by SIT Capital, this case sets a precedent for future initiatives and successes.
Together, ESPE Consulting Group and SIT Capital offer an equipped team of lawyers and experts leading the industry standard at the intersection of legal and information technology. With this industry knowledge and professional expertise, successfully resolving IP cases – from patent, copyright and trade secret issues – to class actions, contracts, data protection and unfair competition issues is among the latest of services made available to tech companies across the board.
US patent lawsuits don't have to be expensive and long. A recent complaint against MightyCall was resolved quickly, without court procedures. MightyCall's technology seemed to be similar to a patent owned by Wave Linx. But the lawsuit was dropped after MightyCall offered evidence that its online conferencing and virtual phone systems actually work in a very different way. Early discussions with the patent owner about the technology at issue saved both sides the expense of litigation.
Casey Kniser
Director of US Litigation at ESPE
For more information on the full services and how to get support please contact our team at ESPEcg.com or nk@especg.com