Startup Owner Sees Lawsuit as a Rite of Passage

GoSpotCheck recently made the ranks of tech giants like Oracle and Apple—at least in one dubious category. Each of these companies has been sued by Leigh Rothschild. Rothschild and his Plano, Texas-based company Rothschild Digital Confirmation brought an action against GoSpotCheck in U.S. District Court in Denver, claiming they violated a 2008 patent for attaching a timestamp and location data to an image.

GoSpotCheck, the maker of software for field reps, is said to have “directly infringed” on Rothschild’s patent, according to the lawsuit, and “will continue to do so unless enjoined by this court.” Rothschild said that his company “has suffered monetary damages and is entitled to a monetary judgment” as a result.

GoSpotCheck’s CEO Matt Talbot said he didn’t know about Rothschild’s patent, and believes the complaint to be baseless.

“We just view this whole patent as invalid,” Talbot said. “We do intend to defend ourselves against what we view is a frivolous claim.”

Rothschild is claiming patent infringement and asked the court for GoSpotCheck to “be permanently restrained and enjoined from directly infringing” on the RDC patent, as well as monetary damages and litigation costs.

GoSpotCheck started in 2011. The company’s product is used to log field reports in retail and food industries. The six-year-old startup has raised $26 million in venture funding and now has more than 100 employees. GoSpotCheck recently moved into a new headquarters on Market Street in downtown Denver.

One of Hundreds of Lawsuit Defendants

GoSpotCheck is now one of the hundreds of companies that finds itself a Defendant in a Rothschild lawsuit. Rothschild has sued Samsung, Apple, and LG Electronics for their smartphone technology, along with scores of other tech companies.

A San Francisco company that buys patents to prevent tech clients from getting sued says that in one count of companies that hold patents but don’t produce goods, Rothschild was the most litigious patent owner in 2015. That year he filed over 140 lawsuits. In fact, just days before filing suit against GoSpotCheck, Rothschild Digital Confirmation filed a patent infringement case against FieldAware, a software company that also makes mobile apps for field workers.

GoSpotCheck’s CEO Talbot said that he considers the lawsuit a type of a “rite of passage”—but not one he anticipated.

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Protect your startup from this “rite of passage” and protect your products and services from others who may try to profit from your work and ideas.

Meet with an experienced IP attorney and get the resources you need to guarantee all aspects of your IP will remain your own. Attorney Michael Ahmadshahi, PhD focuses on patents, intellectual property, copyright, and trade secrets in Irvine, California. The Michael Ahmadshahi, PhD, Law Offices are also located in Beverly Hills and Sherman Oaks. Call us toll free at (800) 747-6081 or direct at (949) 556-8800. You can also email info@mmaiplaw.com. Let us help you with your intellectual property questions and the IP strategy for your startup.

Michael Ahmadshahi

Mr. Ahmadshahi’s area of practice is Intellectual Property Laws including Patent Prosecution and Litigation, Trademarks, Copyrights, Unfair Business Practices, and Business Litigation. He is also an entrepreneur and an inventor.