Re: Copyright & The New World Economic Order

On 07/15/1999, Andrew Greenberg <werdna[_at_]gate.net> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 13 Jul 1999, Nick Zales <zales[_at_]execpc.com> wrote:
> >
> > I find IP law is dominated by large firms and for the average
> > person in the U.S. copyright law provides only illusory protection
> > at best. Not many can afford the $250,000 the typical IP lawsuit
> > costs. Copyright law is about as "anti-average person" as it can
> > be. Far from keeping lawyers employed, copyright law makes a few
> > lawyers rich and leaves the mass of the public wholly unprotected.
>
> Agreed that litigation is expensive. The price quoted above is,
> however, way too high to describe the costs of "the typical IP
> lawsuit." Much depends, of course, on the facts and nature of the
> lawsuit and the location in which it is brought. AIPLA financial
> studies show a remarkable range of costs for soup to nuts lawsuits
> based on these factors.
>

I was going to write and say the price quoted was much too low, and that a more realistic figure where sizeable companies are involved is closer to $1 million. I guess this proves Andrew's point -- it really *does* depend on perspective and specific facts.

Mark Lemley
<mlemley[_at_]mail.law.utexas.edu> Received on Fri Jul 16 1999 - 16:23:20 GMT