“Stupid Patent” Blog Spawns Lawsuits

In June 2016, the Electronic Frontier Foundation featured IP litigation initiated by Australia-based Global Equity Management (GEMSA) in a blog series it calls “Stupid Patent of the Month.” GEMSA subsequently accused EFF of “false and malicious slander.” It filed a lawsuit and obtained an injunction from an Australian court ordering EFF to take down the blog post, and never talk about the company’s IP again. EFF refused, citing a 2010 federal law that counters so-called  “libel tourism,” a practice by which plaintiffs sue U.S. writers and academics in England and other countries where it is easy to win defamation cases. EFF has countersued, claiming that foreign orders aren’t enforceable in the United States unless they are consistent with the free speech protections. GEMSA has yet to respond.