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Emboldened by their success over Bodog, it seems that 1^st Technology is determined to continue suing online casinos over some obscure patent issue.

Whether the company has legitimate grounds to continue pursuing online casinos is up for debate, but either way their plan of attack is very sound.  1^st Technology has managed to target management teams that may have reasons to avoid the United States by focusing their efforts on offshore online casinos.   The outdated American patent system is already difficult to enforce, but this tactic makes it a touch trickier. 

Traditionally, in American patent litigation, the system stands in defense of the patent holder.  Defending a suit can become very expensive, very quickly, even for online casinos.

It is not uncommon for companies to become wrongfully included in a patent suit and still be forced to spend $100,000 or more just to get out of it.  The chances of having court costs returned for such a suit are as good as hitting the progressive jackpot on slot machines at online casinos.  Small businesses are often bankrupted by such actions.  Unfortunately, no one seems incredibly interested in amending such an obvious flaw in the American patent law system.

One strange fact about the patent system is that patents are only applicable in the countries that file them.  However, the Bodog case proved that foreign companies can simply ignore lawsuits.

When Bodog lost its domain to 1^st Technology, the lesson was taught that there are many ways for compensation to be applied.  In addition to that, many countries have treaties that allow legal judgment entered in one country to be enforced in another.

The end result is that no matter where you are you still need to file a defense, no matter how expensive the process might be.  Thank goodness Bodog operates very lucrative online casinos and are not a simple “mom and pop” shop.

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