Patent Infringement Question

Subject: Re: Patent Infringement Question

Comments:
: I have a problem regarding patent infringement and I am hoping that someone can provide some advice as to my best course of action. : My brother inlaw and I started a company in 1997 and developed an online video employment service. The service was a web site that featured a search and retrieval system that allowed subscribing companies to search for potential employees and view their videotaped interview responses. Due to a lack of funding, the service never got off the ground, but we were able to patent the search system. US Patent 6185573, applied 4/22/1998, awarded 2/6/2001 (http://www.missearch.com/patent/6185573.pdf). My brother inlaw and I have since moved on in our careers and are working full time on other projects. : My problem is this - while we waited to see if our system would be patented, a number of large companies developed products based on our technology. I have written infringement analyses that show that two companies infringe on the claims of the patent. I am pretty confident that my patented technology is a basic building block for a lot of digitized media search and retrieval technologies. Unfortunately, we have no funds to pursue infringement claims against these companies. What would be the best way to collect for our blood and sweat that we sacrificed while developing the technology and attaining the patent? : I have been considering sending letters to a group of companies (including the infringers) announcing that the patent is for sale. I would include a copy of the patent along with copies of the infringement analyses. I assume that the companies who are infringing would be interested in buying the patent to keep it from falling into the hands of their competitors (who would use the patent to collect license fees or slap court injuntions on the infringers). Is this assumption flawed? Could the infringing companies legally pursue me for sending the letters? : Any advice would be most appreciated. : Best regards, : Stephen Madaras : Vice President : Millennium Integrated Systems : stevem@missearch.com : http://www.missearch.com

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