AdventureEn

You are the CEO of AcmeSoft - a fairly successful software company. You are at your desk. Suddenly the fax machine rumbles...

Command> READ FAX

It's from SharkTech! They're claiming that your company's product "Acme Professional" violates their software patent "Distinguishing Nested Structures by Color". They want 1% of your wholesale price in royalties.

Command> GIVE ROYALTIES

Now they want 5%.

Command> GIVE ROYALTIES

That satisfied them. Hmmm, the fax machine is humming again. It's from ParaTech! They're claiming your company's product "Acme Professional" assigns clients to whichever server process is least busy, and as a result want 3% of your wholesale price in royalties.

Command> IGNORE THEM

ParaTech have decided to take you to court. Do you want to settle for 10%, pay $800,000 in legal fees, or circumvent the patent?

Command> CIRCUMVENT

Your programmers say they can't circumvent the patent without hurting performance --- causing you to lose you 30% of your customer base. Do you want to circumvent?

Command> CIRCUMVENT

You've lost 30% of your customers! The fax machine is going again. This time it's from MeanTech. They're claiming your company's product "Acme Professional" violates their software patent on storing document images on a CD ROM along with an automatically generated index, and because they are a competitor, they do not want a royalty. They want you to remove the violating code or stop shipping the product. What do you wish to do:

1) Ship 400 floppy disks instead of one CD ROM. 2) Go to court. 3) Stop shipping the product.

COMMAND> GO TO COURT

Legal fees are $600,000. Current funds are $400,000. You've gone broke!

Do you want to play Patent Adventure again?> DEFINITELY NOT