Smartflash founder claims he received death threats after Apple case
The founder of a company that was awarded more than $500 million after it successfully sued Apple for patent infringement has claimed he received multiple anonymous death threats after the case.
Patrick Racz, of patent licensing company Smartflash, said he was subjected to a barrage of abuse from what he described as the “real trolls” out there.
In an exclusive blog post for news website the Huffington Post, he said he was emailed abusive messages including some that said he should be “burnt at the stake” and is “the next candidate for an ISIS execution in Iraq”.
There is no suggestion or evidence that Apple, which had not responded to WIPR’s request for comment at the time of publication, was behind the alleged threats.
He also said “well-known publications” proclaimed him as an “eighth grade dropout patent troll”.
Racz and his company Smartflash sued Apple in May 2013. Smartflash claimed that the California-based company’s iTunes software infringed its patents directed to accessing and storing downloaded songs, videos and games.
Apple filed a counterclaim in July 2014 and argued that the patents were invalid and also issued a statement condemning Smartflash.
“Smartflash makes no products, has no employees, creates no jobs, has no US presence, and is exploiting our patent system to seek royalties for technology Apple invented,” Apple said.
During the trial Apple claimed that it did not infringe the patents and that earlier patented inventions covered the same technology.
But District Judge Rodney Gilstrap dismissed the claims in February this year and awarded Smartflash $533m.
Continuing his blog post, which was published yesterday (June 2), Racz wrote that he wanted to address “imbalances” in the subsequent reporting of the case.
“The truth is that 16 years ago I had the foresight to invent something new and truly inventive,” he said.
“The US Patent and Trademark Office also believed this to be the case, which is why our patents were granted in the first place,” he added.
Racz wrote that he invested his “entire personal wealth” along with millions of dollars from other investors to develop the technology and that the company had offices and employees in several countries and partnerships with major technology companies.
