Patent-holder that sued EFF for defamation won’t show up in court

A blog post by EFF attorney Daniel Nazer about his selection for the "Stupid Patent of the Month" resulted in an Australian lawsuit and a $750,000 damage demand. EFF has challenged the Australian order in US federal court. (credit: EFF)

An Australian patent-holding company that's filed dozens of federal lawsuits can't seem to find its way into court, now that it's facing off with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Global Equity Management SA, or GEMSA, spent much of 2016 filing lawsuits against big companies in the Eastern District of Texas. It claimed various major websites—including Expedia, Zillow, and Airbnb—infringe its patents on "virtual cabinets."

The company's intensive campaign of lawsuits won it a special place in the pantheon of patent-holders, when GEMSA became the subject of EFF's long-running series, "Stupid Patent of the Month."