| Pearl is firm specializing in Patent Enforcement focusing in the software arena. The World Wide Web Organization has recently issued new standards that a Pearl client claims patent protection and who is currently being ignored.
The info below is from Pearl's web site.
pearlltd.com
finance.yahoo.com
The following is an article from THE NATIONAL POST, Friday, May 7, 1999
New Firm Aims at Patent Infringement
TORONTO Patent Enforcement and Royalties Ltd. hopes to make money helping small inventors win back financial control of their creations. The new firm, which is on its way to a listing on the Alberta Stock Exchange through a deal with two penny-stock companies, plans to invest in patent infringement suits begun by aggrieved inventors.
When it comes to fighting a company that has improperly helped itself to an inventor's work, "the small guy's at a disadvantage," said PEARL chairman Brian Courtney. Litigation can cost up to $2 million (US) and take five years, so big companies can use patents without permission, knowing the holders often lack the resources to enforce their rights.
Enter PEARL, the brainchild of Toronto mining promoters Kerry Knoll and Ian McDonald. It expects to have $1.2 million available to invest in four fights that meet its criteria, once it merges with the two ASE companies. "We'd like to get 10 times what our investment is if we win...because we're going to lose some, and they take a while," Mr. Knoll said.
PEARL won't pay for lawyers, and expects to do most of its business in the United States, where the number of patent infringement lawsuits jumped to more than 2,100 from fewer than 1,200 between 1992 and "97. "The big cost is really for expert witnesses," because a specialist's study could cost $100,000 (US), Mr. Courtney said. Lawyers will work for contingency fees, about a third of any winnings. But small plaintiffs can be blocked by cash expenses that may reach $500,000 US. "We fund the out-of-pocket (expenses)," Mr. Courtney said, usually on referrals from lawyers. In return for putting up its cash, PEARL negotiates a piece of any winnings.
After the merger with Ciclo Capital Ltd. and Comoro Ltd., PEARL should have enough cash to take on four cases, Mr. Knoll said. If it can win one settlement, it will have proved the concept works, and plans to raise extra capital to keep 30 suits on the go at any one time, assuming six are won or lost each year, and six new ones begun.
The company has already looked at more than 50 possibilities - some were rejected because they were too small - and taken on two.
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PEARL intends to generate strong, long-term growth of its cash flow through reinvestment of its revenues into ever-greater numbers of patents. It plans to distribute any large cash recoveries to shareholders through a generous dividend plan.
Our mission is to provide premium innovative service to our partners, the inventors whose labor is responsible for the infringer's illicit profits. PEARL firmly believes that, when there is a level playing field for both parties in litigation, it's more likely that the case will be resolved on its merits, and not on issues of financial ability, costs of discovery and other monetary concerns.
PEARL will not invest in any intellectual property without considerable due diligence. The Company will obtain, when necessary, independent legal advice with respect to the merits, chance of success, moral consequences and the potential recovery of each suit it considers. Our access to outside funding allows us to retain the most reputable law firms in Canada, the United States and Europe, so as to ensure a high probability of a successful and rewarding outcome for our shareholders.
PEARL To Enforce Patent Covering Internet Standard
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 1999--(Alberta Stock Exchange:PAL. - news) Patent Enforcement and Royalties Ltd. (ASE:PAL) announced today that it has agreed to assist in the enforcement of a patent that covers a number of elements critical to the next generation of web browsers and other Internet-related programs. PEARL invests in patents and other intellectual property by financially assisting patent owners to enforce the rights given to them under patent laws.
Under terms of the funding agreement with UFIL Unified Data Technologies Ltd. (UDTL), PEARL will assist in enforcing the claims of UDTL's U.S. Patent 5,684,985, covering technology that allows different forms of stored digital documents to be searched and accessed more efficiently on the Internet. The patent is believed to be infringed by the many companies building products based on an emerging metadata standard known as the Resource Description Framework (RDF). This standard was issued recently by the World Wide Web Organization, a standards body with more than 100 of the leading information technology companies as members. UDTL, a private company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, claims that RDF relies on technology covered by UDTL's patent. |
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