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Technology Stocks : NeoMedia Technologies (Bears Board) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Poptech who wrote (176)	4/13/2009 11:42:31 PM
From: hawaiiman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 194

By requesting the PTO to reexamine the '048 patent, EFF in fact enabled NeoMedia to strengthen its patent since it greatly increases the likelihood of being upheld in a court of law. Simply put, NeoMedia was able to address the prior art, clarify its claims, and fully strengthen its patent position. In fact, it was advantageous for NeoMedia to be given the opportunity to address this prior art and clarify its claims in this reexamination forum. During reexamination, the patent owner is able to work across the table with the PTO to explain the differences between its claims and the prior art, to clarify the claims (as NeoMedia did), and to answer any questions the Examiners may have. The alternative to reexamination would be to address these issues in court during litigation, such as a defense raised by a defendant in a patent infringement suit. However, in court the patent owner is unable to amend its claims - they will either stand or fall exactly as issued. Therefore if any clarifying revisions may need to be made, the patent owner is unable to do so in a litigation forum, and the patent runs a higher risk of being invalidated. In addition, the PTO Examiners that conduct the reexamination proceeding are presumably much more experienced in patent and technical issues than are judges and juries, so the PTO is generally a much better forum in which to address these issues than is a court of law. It is also much less expensive to participate in a reexamination than in litigation. All of these factors came into play in this case, in which NeoMedia was able to clarify its claims and end up with a much stronger patent. By Barkume.