EFF’s ‘stupid patent’ post is defamatory, alleges patent lawyer
A patent lawyer has sued civil liberties group The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for writing an allegedly defamatory blog that criticises a “stupid patent” owned by a company he represents.
Scott Horstemeyer, partner of law firm Thomas Horstemeyer, filed a complaint last week at the Superior Court of Georgia, Fulton County alleging that the EFF’s blog post called “Stupid Patent of the Month: Eclipse IP Casts A Shadow Over Innovation” was defamatory.
The blog focuses on US patent number 9,013,334, which covers a system called “Notification systems and methods that permit change of quantity for delivery and/or pickup of goods and/or services”. The patent was issued on April 21 to Eclipse IP, a company Horstemeyer represents.
The post was written by Daniel Nazer, staff attorney at the EFF, and was published on April 30.
Every month the EFF publish a blog post discussing “stupid” patents that have been asserted in lawsuits or processed by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The first blog in the series was published in July 2014.
Nazer’s blog argued that the patent should not have been granted on the basis that its claims are “abstract”.
In the complaint, filed on May 26, Horstemeyer said he recognises the EFF’s right to “express their opinions” but that the article published “several statements that were false malicious and defamatory” as alleged facts.
Horstemeyer cited statements from Nazer’s article that claimed Horstemeyer failed to fulfil an “ethical duty” to disclose information to the USPTO about the patent during the application process.
In the blog, Nazer said that the application should have disclosed a September 2014 verdict from Judge George Wu of the US District Court for the Central District of California that invalidated claims from three of Eclipse IP’s other patents for being too abstract.
Nazer said the invalidated claims are similar to those included in the ‘334 patent.
Horstemeyer added that Nazer’s statement that he is “gaming the patent system” defamed his character and reputation as a patent lawyer and inventor.
“The defamatory statements were set out as facts under the pretext of reporting, and those statements specifically named, and maliciously defamed, Horstemeyer in several ways,” the court document added.
In response to the complaint, the EFF sent a letter to Horstemeyer on May 29 stating that it “respectfully declines” his request to remove the blog post.
“The EFF firmly believes there were no false facts in the article to correct or retract, and that Mr Horstemeyer’s lawsuit is a serious mistake,” the letter added.
As of today (June 4), the article is still live on the EFF website.
Neither Horstemeyer nor Nazer had responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
