Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 68 Ethan! Get ready to go to jail!

Before leaving, Barbara specifically told Ethan one thing, which was to find out whether Atari was sued by Milova.

Because in patent infringement cases, there are generally two parties involved in the law.

The first entity is the patent infringer, which refers to the person or entity that directly or indirectly participates in patent infringement activities, and the scope covered includes but is not limited to infringement of technical features and technical content.

The second entity is the actual operator, which refers to the person or entity that has control over or involvement in the infringing behavior, such as the seller of the infringing product or the distributor who has the right to produce and sell.

Of course, sometimes the same person or entity is involved in the infringement of both entities, so only one person or entity is reflected in the complaint. This situation also exists.

But "Snake Game" obviously does not fit the latter situation. It was invented by Ethan and Evelyn and sold by Atari, so Ethan and Evelyn are the patent infringers, and Atari is the actual operator.

In this case, when Ethan and Evelyn were sued by Milova, how could Atari escape legal sanctions? In most cases, when dealing with such infringement cases that can be judged at a glance, the plaintiff will sue the patent infringer and the actual operator together, write them in the same complaint, and let the court hear them together.

But now, the indictment that Ethan and Evelyn received did not include Atari's name, which could only prove one thing...

Mi Luohua’s requirements for both parties are not the same.

"Snapped!"

On the night of September 16, 1975, Atari, which was supposed to be closed, was now brightly lit.

Nolan Bushnell angrily slapped the indictment he received in front of Ethan.

The bulging veins on the back of his hand expressed his dissatisfaction, and his bloodshot eyes spewed out his anger.

"Ethan Jones!!!"

“Why did things turn out like this???”

Nolan Bushnell stared at Ethan with bloodshot eyes and shouted wildly: "As a former employee of Milova, don't you know that Milova holds the patent for video games and training devices? Why did you sell the Snake Game arcade machines everywhere without getting the authorization? Do you know that your behavior will kill us Atari?"

"hold head high?"

The hysterical voice caused Ethan to have some tinnitus.

If it was a few hours ago, when Ethan had just received the court subpoena and Milova's complaint, he would definitely argue with Nolan Bushnell in the face of his roar, feeling that he had the upper hand. But after Barbara took them through Milova's patents, all Ethan could do at this moment was to calmly pick up the complaint sent by Milova to Atari and read the contents.

It doesn't matter if you don't watch it, once you watch it...

Ethan just felt that what Barbara said was right.

In the complaint received by Ethan and Evelyn, MILO demanded that they stop infringing and pay a million in compensation. In the complaint received by Atari, in addition to demanding that they stop infringing and pay a million in compensation, MILO also demanded that MILO recall and destroy all infringing products on the market.

Among these three conditions, compensation is the most normal and cannot be avoided. Ceasing infringement is a must, but it is impossible for the defendant because games have to be sold no matter what. As for recalling and destroying all infringing products from the market?
This is a bit nonsense.

How many copies of Snake Game were sold?
Including the circuit board, the cost would be at least 8,000!

When such a huge shipment volume was spread all over America, Milova and his team wanted Atari to recycle and destroy the sold arcade machines and circuit boards? What was the difference between that and killing them?
Not to mention whether the customers who spend money to play games on the market are willing, just the merchants who purchase arcade machines will never agree!

They were making tons of money from the Snake Game arcade machines, and now this happens?
Then you are asking for their lives!
Although Ethan was aware that the whole matter was very serious, he never expected that Miluohua would offer such conditions.

At this moment, he wanted to curse, but after pursing his lips, he held back.

He was now in Atari, not next to Evelyn, and he couldn't vent his true thoughts.

So, he looked at the indictment in his hand with a puzzled look, as if he had just received the news.

"Nolan, what's going on? Why did Milova file a lawsuit in court? I went to San Francisco today to attend the electronics show held by IEEE there. I was quite busy all day, so I don't know much about these things."

After cleaning up the complaint, he raised his head slightly and cast a puzzled look at Nolan, "I need to consult a lawyer about the contents of the complaint. Please give me some time to see if there is any misunderstanding here."

That's right, Ethan plans to stall for time.

He needed to tell Barbara what was in the lawsuit Atari had received.

He will not respond until the mage gives instructions.

However, just as Ethan was wondering whether Milova and his group had eaten shit and had something wrong with their brains, as soon as he finished speaking, a document fell in front of him, and with it, another figure appeared.

"MFxxk! --Ethan! What are you doing here acting stupid!"

"When Milohua's attorney handed us the subpoena and a copy of the indictment, he said they were suing you as well!"

"You clearly received a subpoena from the court, but now you tell me you don't know what's going on?"

"Do you think we are idiots?"

Don Valentine clenched his fists and slammed them on the table.

The roar was enough to blow the roof off, and Ethan cursed in his heart.

"These stupid lawyers are too nosy, aren't they?" But his expression remained unmoved.

"I told you, this might be a misunderstanding," Ethan said in as calm a tone as possible.

However, his attitude made Don Valentine even more annoyed.

He leaned forward, propped his hands on the table, and stared at Ethan fiercely like a hungry wolf.

"As a former employee of Mirohua, you are telling us that there is a misunderstanding in this matter?"

"Do you think I believe it?"

He raised his right hand slightly, extended his index finger, and pointed hard at the document that had just been thrown out.

"A copy of Milohua's patent is right here!"

"The copy of the indictment they gave us is also here!"

"If you say you don't understand these things, then I'll give you some time now so you can take a good look!"

"I hope you can find the word misunderstanding in this contract written in black and white!"

"With such clear facts before you, do you still want to quibble?"

The sound was as swift as thunder, and Ethan glanced down.

When he saw the copy of the patent 'US3728480 A', he knew that Atari might have cleared the case.

But what can we do about it?

Ethan knew that Don Valentine and Nolan Bushnell were annoying, but he was even more annoying!

Retracting his gaze, Ethan sighed softly and said, "I know you are very anxious, but I can't answer your questions now. I haven't studied law, so I need to find my lawyer and communicate with him before I can get a possible answer."

Ethan felt that his answer was fine.

Although he knew that he had violated Milohua's rights, he couldn't just admit such a thing, right?

Because these things will lead to legal liability!
Being honest at this time is not honesty! It's just stupidity! It's courting death!
However, Ethan's neither humble nor arrogant attitude was like a match, completely igniting the powder keg of Don Valentine.

With a loud 'bang', he slammed the table with both hands and jumped up.

"Okay! Okay! Okay!"

Don Valentine's chest was heaving and he was breathing heavily.

"Ethan Jones——"

He put his hands on his hips and looked at Ethan.

"Are you sure this is your choice?"

"We wanted to discuss something with you! And you kept making excuses! We wanted to find a lawyer! We wanted to solve the problem through legal means!"

"can!"

"I satisfy you!"

At this point, he paused.

Then he thrust out his right hand, pointed his index finger at Ethan, and roared, "I'm telling you! We at Atari will file a lawsuit against you tomorrow!"

"We are going to sue you for deliberately concealing the fact that your product is infringing! We are going to sue you for deliberately selling infringing products to us, Atari!"

“You are committing commercial fraud!”

"You must be responsible for this matter! Bear all the losses of our Atari!"

"I! Don Valentine! I am here to inform you as the actual controller of Atari! We will reach a settlement with Milova! Satisfy all their demands! Stop selling Snake Game! Compensate them for their millions of losses as they requested! And recall all Snake Game arcade machines and circuit boards on the market! And the money involved in these matters——"

"You will bear all the consequences!!!"

Don Valentine stretched out his voice when he roared to this point. His red face became ferocious, and his bloodthirsty eyes were full of cruelty.

"Ethan Jones——"

"Aren't you going to talk about the law?"

"Then prepare to go to jail!"

(End of this chapter)