When it comes to ever-developing tech, there are two ways to handle so-called patent trolls. You can do what most companies do, which is to write a hefty check for the annoying person challenging your ideas to go away, and get back to work. Or you can do what Valve just did, which is spend millions of dollars to systematically dismantle a man’s entire career and leave him personally liable for damages in what reads as the legal equivalent of “f**k around and find out.”
As of earlier this week, Leigh Rothschild, the man who has spent decades filing over 1200 lawsuits against everyone from Apple to small businesses, just did the “finding out.” A jury in Seattle sided with Valve and agreed that Rothschild violated the Washington Patent Troll Protection Act (PTPA).
This win is a massive middle finger to the industry’s most prolific litigator, and it serves as a reminder to everyone: Do not mess with Gabe Newell.
