IMO, 3 separate companies filed suit against TPL/Patriot in hope that it would give them some leverage in negotiating a license. Based on Acer’s complaint filed in Pacer, TPL and Acer have been in communication for the last 14 months, and have been unable to reach an agreement. IMO, Acer, Asustek, and HTC filed 3 separate lawsuits in an attempt to raise our cost to protect our IP, i.e. we have to fight on 3 separate fronts, therefore hoping that we will come down in price and allow them to buy a license cheaper than the deal we have been offering. IMO this is purely tactical. I also hope we tell them to go to hell and we take it to them. Time to send a message.

With that said, I emailed a patent attorney last week about this, as I wanted to get a professional opinion before I brought it to the board. FWIW….

My question:

His response:

A DJ action is not uncommon. You are correct that Acer is likely initiating suit in the Northern District of Ca. to avoid being sued in Texas. In addition, rather than be a defendant in a patent infringement suit, Acer is now the plaintiff and gets to tell its side of the story first. A DJ action can be filed whenever there is a threat of impending litigation. A typical DJ action seeks a declaratory judgment that the patents are invalid and/or that they do not infringe the patents.