Patent Trolls Targeting Printers

In its June Watch Dog newsletter, Printing Industries of California (PIC) warns members that printers in Southern California have been getting letters from the law firm of Farney Daniels on behalf of BetNam LLC—a patent assertion entity (PAE)—for alleged patent infringement. PAEs, more frequently called “patent trolls,” are shell companies that exist only to enforce their patents and seek money from alleged infringers instead of actually making products.

The patent being enforced by Farney Daniels supposedly covers “a system having a digital copier/scanner/multifunction device with an interface to office equipment (or to the Web) for scanning and transmitting images electronically to a destination such as e-mail applications, or local files,” according to PIC's newsletter. The firm wants $1,000 per employee for past infringement and future license. Apparently small businesses everywhere are getting similar letters accusing them of infringement from an assortment of shell companies with six-letter names like AdzPro, GosNel, and FasLan AllLed, AdzPro, CalNeb, ChaPac and HunLos.

Another law firm, Baker, Donelson et al, has been working the East Coast and Southwest for an entity called CTP Innovations, which says it owns a patent for providing a plate-ready file to a networked printer, according to the PIC newsletter. Settlement is $75,000 for past, and future use of the technology. (Click here for a sample letter one printer received.)

In a breaking news alert, PIC also added the firm Brennen Mashoff to the list, working on behalf of its client SkipPrint LLC. PIC cites two lawsuits so far, against Rastar and Quad Graphics. The patents in question were sold off by Kodak in December of 2012 as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. They include variable data printing online services, inventory management services and preflighting services, according the the PIC alert.

President Obama recently took a stand against patent trolls by ordering the patent office to tighten scrutiny of overly broad patent claims and requiring patent holders to reveal their ties to other companies. He also urged Congress to pass new laws to address patent trolls. As noted in last week's IPG E-news, Printing Industries of America has retained a patent attorney and is offering advice to affected members.

"We are actively seeking a legislative fix that would prevent frivolous patent trolling and are fighting for retroactive protection for those of our members that are currently victims of this reprehensible practice," noted PIA President and CEO Michael Makin in a letter to membership.