One Frustrating thing about reporting on civil litigation is that so much of it ends in confidential settlements. Occasionally, though, a ray of light shines through, and it’s possible to learn how much money changed hands when a lawsuit settled before going to trial. And thanks to an unlikely source—an Iowa ear, nose, and throat doctor currently residing in a federal prison in Wisconsin after being convicted of committing health care fraud—we now know how much patent-holding company (a.k.a. “patent troll”) SP Technologies got as a result of filing suit against four leading tech companies in recent years: $2.17 million.
The information is contained in court documents filed in July by the doctor, Peter Boesen, in connection with a pending suit brought by SPT against GPS makers Garmin Ltd. and TomTom International BV in the Northern District of Illinois. In addition to being a convicted felon, Boesen happens to be the inventor on the patent SPT has asserted in that suit—and in previous suits against Apple Inc., Magellan Navigation Inc, and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.—as well as a second patent asserted against LG Electronics.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
