Alan, Normally you just rant and rave on this board, but I think that you may actually be right about this patent issue here. Here's my spin. The PG suit is not about the intellectual property claimed in the Elam patent or for that matter the validity of the IP, but rather an invalidation of the patent because of prior art which was left out. If I'm not mistaken, the Elam patent was re-issued with several new claims just a few months ago. Therefore, the PG suit is an open and shut case. If anything, the way PG worded the press release, it looks like they basically admitted that Soundview owns the V-chip technology (at least between PG and Soundview). In fact, the guy from Soundview even goes so far as to say definitively that Soundview "owns the V-chip patent". I'm sure his attornies cleared what he was allowed to say.
So while I usually think you're crazy, I think you may be right. This appears to be a negotiating ploy. Anyway, the stock may show us today what the market thinks.. I'll bet it is a non-event.
As for TVL followers, what we need to be concerned about is whether or not there is a market for these decoders, not who owns the technology. If the market is there and if we must license other technology, TVL can still make a lot of money. |
