Richard Frenkel
Richard "Rick" G. Frenkel United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), [https://oedci.uspto.gov/OEDCI/details.do?regisNum=47578 Patent Attorney/Agent database entry for Richard G. Frenkel]. Retrieved on March 15, 2008. (born 1966 or 1967 Michael Orey, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080331235755/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_14/b4078075822107.htm Busting a Rogue Blogger], BusinessWeek, March 27, 2008. Consulted on April 4, 2008.) was an in-house intellectual property counsel and director of intellectual property at Cisco Systems.Asher Hawkins, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080315014616/http://www.forbes.com/home/entrepreneurstechnology/2008/03/11/cisco-sun-microsystems-ent-tech-cx_ah_0311ciscoblog.html Shut Up, Already!], Forbes.com, March 11, 2008. Retrieved on March 15, 2008.Michelle Massey, [http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/209237-patent-troll-tracker-sued-for-defamation Patent troll tracker sued for defamation], The Southeast Texas Record, March 13, 2008. Retrieved on March 15, 2008. He was once the anonymous author of the Patent Troll Tracker blog, focusing on the subject of "patent trolls" and "a must-read blog among top intellectual property litigators".
Dispute
In October 2007, Frenkel posted anonymous comments through his Patent Troll Tracker blog about a patent infringement case in which Cisco was the defendant. Frenkel claimed that the plaintiff, a company named ESN, filed a lawsuit one day before the patent in the lawsuit was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (which if true would have meant that ESN did not have legal standing). Frenkel also suggested that ESN's local counsel may have improperly convinced the Clerk of Court of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to change the date on the docket to reflect that the case was filed the next day. At that time, a $15,000 bounty for his identity had also been offered Niraj Chokshi, [http://www.legalweek.com/Articles/1100021/Mystery+patent+blogger+is+Cisco+in-houser.html Mystery patent blogger is Cisco in-houser], Legal Week, February 26, 2008. Retrieved on March 15, 2008. by Chicago attorney Raymond Niro Sr.
Litigation claims
After Frenkel publicly revealed his identity on February 23, 2008,Stuart Weinberg, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120398012448391943 Controversial Blog on Patent Suits Is Authored by Cisco Executive], Wall Street Journal, February 25, 2008. in the entry titled "Live by anonymity, die by anonymity", the attorneys for ESN, T. John Ward, Jr., the son of East Texas federal Judge T. John Ward, and Eric Albritton, filed defamation actions against Cisco and Frenkel. "The attorneys [were] seeking damages for shame, embarrassment, humiliation, mental pain, and anguish. Further, the attorneys state[d] injuries to their "business reputation, good name, and standing in the community, and [would] be exposed to the hatred, contempt, and ridicule of the public in general as well as of his business associates, clients, friends, and relatives."
=Issues=
The case raised questions about the risks of blogging anonymously, and received wide publicity in the blogosphere as it was thought that the lawsuits could result in precedents to be applied to future bloggers. Subsequently, Cisco updated its policy on employee blogging.[http://blogs.cisco.com/news/2008/03/lessons_learnedcisco_updates_p_1.html Lessons Learned….Cisco Updates Policy on Employee Blogging], The Platform, The Official Cisco Blog, March 24, 2008. Consulted on April 5, 2008.
Trial
The Albritton case went to trial in Tyler, Texas on September 14, 2009.[http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleFriendlyCC.jsp?id=1202433814443 Trial Kicks Off in Suit Over Blog Post By Cisco In-House Lawyer], Brenda Jeffries, Texas Lawyer, September 16, 2009. Consulted on July 24, 2010. After Judge Richard A. Schell ruled that Albritton had to prove actual malice to be eligible for punitive damages, the litigation settled.[http://thepriorart.typepad.com/the_prior_art/2009/09/troll-tracker-defamation-case-settles-before-going-to-jury.html Troll Tracker Defamation Case Settles Before Going To Jury], Joe Mullin, The Prior Art Blog, September 22, 2009. Consulted on July 24, 2010. The Ward case—which was filed against Cisco and not Frenkel—settled in January 2010.[http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202438981803 Cisco Systems Settles Defamation Suit Over Blog Posting], Brenda Jeffries, Texas Lawyer, January 19, 2010. Consulted on July 24, 2010.
Career change
Frenkel left Cisco in August 2008 to join the Palo Alto office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as a patent litigator.[http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202423562886 Cisco Blogger Decamps To Wilson Sonsini], Zusha Ellison, The Recorder, August 6, 2008. Consulted on July 24, 2010. He was a partner with the firm.{{cite web |url=http://www.wsgr.com/WSGR/DBIndex.aspx?SectionName=attorneys/BIOS/11102.htm |title=Richard G. Frenkel |website=Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125182452/http://www.wsgr.com/WSGR/DBIndex.aspx?SectionName=attorneys%2FBIOS%2F11102.htm |archivedate=November 25, 2009 |url-status=dead |accessdate=May 4, 2013 }} At the time he joined the firm, he said he was done with blogging. As of 2022, Frenkel was a partner at the law firm of Latham & Watkins.[https://www.lw.com/en/people/richard-frenkel Richard G. Frenkel Attorney Biography, Latham & Watkins]
References
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Bibliography
- Richard G. Frenkel, Intellectual Property in the Balance: Proposals for Improving Industrial Design Protection in the Post-TRIPS Era, 32 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 531, 541 (1999) [http://llr.lls.edu/volumes/v32-issue2/frenkel.pdf (pdf)]
=Primary sources=
- Ward v. Cisco and Frenkel Case No. 2007-2502-A [http://www.patentlyo.com/ward.petition.tex.pdf (pdf)]
- Albritton v. Cisco and Frenkel Case No. 2008-481-CCL2 [http://www.patentlyo.com/albritton.cisco.pdf (pdf)]
- Dennis Crouch, [http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2008/03/troll-tracker-d.html Troll Tracker, Defamation, and Splitting the Bar], PatentlyO blog, March 12, 2008
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Category:American male bloggers
Category:American patent attorneys