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I was under the impression Intellectual Ventures doesn't bring patent suits themselves, but has quasi-independent shell corporations do the dirty work? In any case, I'm sure a team of IP lawyers would be able to set something like that up to protect the mothership.



In which case you'd have to pierce the corporate veil.

IV scare the shit out of me.


It's much worse than you'd think. I don't have proof or specific details, but I've heard from someone in the know that it is common for IV to set up a chain of 20-or-so companies, owning each other, transferring property, etc -- and all in different jurisdictions (counties, states, contries!).

It's a legal "obscurity amplifier" - setting up these structures is relatively cheap and easy ($1K/year/shell, so $20K/year or so if you're not versed in the processes; IV can probably do that for a quarter of the price).

Piercing this structure is likely to cost >$100K and perhaps even >$500K - you have to file for piercing in each jurisdiction independently, and you cannot file in one jurisdiction until you've been granted in the previous one -- you don't even know which jurisdiction it is going to be!




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