Standing Up to the Patent Trolls

We did not make up the phrase "Patent Trolls." We are not those to label 1st Technologies as such either. Nor will we post a hideous, black and white photo of two men and say the one on the left is Dr. Scott W. Lewis and the other either his dad or brother.

The flamboyant founder of sports betting and gambling company Bodog, Calvin Ayre, has done all this. Ayre has done even more: following the legal mess his company has run into, which resulted in losing the rights to the Bodog domain name and trademark to 1st Technologies, as well as an order to pay $49 million in damages to the suing company, Bodog has reached a brand licensing agreement with Kahnawake-based Morris Mohawk Gaming Group.

The deal was announced by Bodog in a press release dated September 6, 2007. How exactly this will help Bodog in its operations and marketing in North America is yet unclear, but it does not stop Ayre from hyping the move in his statements, both in style and in content.

The legal procedure has already confiscated the domain names. It seems as if they can be recovered only by further litigation. Such a move would possibly shed some light on the entire argument and the exit strategy, as many information-thirsty industry people hope for. At the moment, the case is cast in fog.

 
The Partner

Noted First Nations leader Alwyn Morris is the head of the Kahnawake-based Morris Mohawk company. His life story is at elast as interesting as his new partner's, Ayre's story. Morris is a double Olympic medal winner in kayaking. At the 1984 medal ceremony he famously held up his ancestors' symbolic eagle feather, promoting ever since the cause and pride of Canada's Aboriginal peoples.

His involvement in online gambling could help conservatives label him as a negative element. Morris, however, has worked with youth in the Health and Welfare Canada Native Drug Abuse Program, and has even won Canada's highest civilian honor.

 
The Partnership

Ayres and Morris have come out with excited statements. The former added a somewhat crude blog post as well, with the mock photo of 1st Technologies' Lewis.

In his blog, Ayre attacks 1st Technology in strong, language. He even justifies the new partnership by describing the Mohawks as not "known for backing down from a fight," as if a fight is what is ahead. In fact, he invokes Mohawk history, saying Lewis would not fare well if he takes on "head to head with... a Mohawk whose ancestors scalped 56 Americans during the Battle of Beaver Dams." Lewis is even described as a Patent Troll, a term for a bottom feeder who lives off stealing other people's patents.

Morris in turn has responded with a more civil response, saying: "Our deal with Bodog is another great addition to the business community that has developed in Kahnawake. Working with the top brand in the industry will further solidify the extensive experience, knowledge base and importance of this vertical."

 
What next?

A renewed legal discussion will provide more information and possibly more outrageous statements from Ayre. We will surely wait for that. Raising the stakes, in new business partnerships and no less dramatic in rhetoric, the fight will surely have additional rounds and can be sure we will stay put to watch.