Judge OKs inventor's Mattel suit.A Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. game inventor representing himself in a breach of contract suit against Mattel Inc. has been given the go-ahead to proceed with the case by a federal court judge. Stewart Lamle claims that the El Segundo-based toy company reneged on an agreement to develop and market a board and computer game he created called "Farook." He is seeking $28 million, alleging breach of contract, patent infringement patent infringement n. the manufacture and/or use of an invention or improvement for which someone else owns a patent issued by the government, without obtaining permission of the owner of the patent by contract, license or waiver. and intentional interference with economic relations. According to court papers, an e-mail sent to Lamle in 1997 by a Mattel employee allegedly outlined terms of a deal in which the company would pay $150,000 on the signature of a contract and an additional $200,000 advance by the end of January 1998, against a royalty rate of 15 percent of revenues. Instead, court documents indicate Lamle was paid $25,000 and that the company decided not to license "Farook" after displaying the game at a pre-Toy Fair gathering meant to gauge buyer interest. A representative for Mattel declined comment, saying the company does not comment on pending litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. . A ruling handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. found that a jury might conclude there is enough evidence to support the existence of an oral contract, and the case should be allowed to go to trial. To finance his case, Lamle set up a makeshift stand on the Third Street Promenade The Third Street Promenade is a pedestrian street in Santa Monica, California, United States. It is considered one of the premier shopping destinations in West Los Angeles and frequently draws crowds from all over Los Angeles County. in Santa Monica, from which he said he has sold thousands of the units. But even that effort landed him in court. He said he was forced to stop selling the game there after receiving 33 citations, including operating without a business permit, and being threatened with arrest. He said he filed a lawsuit against the city of Santa Monica for malicious prosecution An action for damages brought by one against whom a civil suit or criminal proceeding has been unsuccessfully commenced without Probable Cause and for a purpose other than that of bringing the alleged offender to justice. and denial of his First Amendment rights. Lamle said he is selling "Farook" through Puzzle Zoo in Santa Monica and in specialty shops in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Atlanta. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion