Last
week,
I
presented
Part
I
of
my
written
interview
with
Matthew
Allan
Newman,
founder
and
CEO
of
Newman
Infinite,
who
stands
as
Microsoft’s
formidable
opponent
in
a
landmark
patent
infringement
case
in
China.
That
column
covered
his
response
to
my
first
question,
detailing
the
significant
victories
Newman
Infinite
has
already
secured.
The
IP
court
has
ruled
in
Newman
Infinite’s
favor
on
10
of
the
14
points
contested,
a
major
win
that
Microsoft
now
faces
in
a
pending
appeal.
What
follows
are
Matthew’s
answers
to
my
remaining
two
questions
as
Newman
Infinite
prepares
its
appeal
to
the
People’s
Supreme
Court
of
China
before
April
30,
2025,
seeking
to
overturn
the
remaining
points
of
contention
with
respect
to
the
lower
court’s
infringement
findings.
As
usual,
I
have
added
some
brief
commentary
but
have
otherwise
presented
his
answers
as
he
provided
them.
Gaston
Kroub:How
do
you
see
your
litigation
experience
coloring
your
company’s
approach
to
IP
issues
going
forward?
Matthew
Allan
Newman:
My
company
and
its
legal
and
technical
teams
have
learned
that
the
China
legal
system
is
a
reliable,
predictable,
and
forceful
place
to
enforce
IP
rights.
We
will
take
much
of
what
we
have
learned
in
China
and
apply
those
lessons
to
our
IP
enforcement
in
other
jurisdictions.
Of
course,
we
will
also
be
certain
to
always
seek
all
possible
forms
of
IP
protection
in
China,
and
to
collaborate
with
our
many
prospective
technical,
manufacturing,
and
legal
partners
in
China
for
all
our
many
new
technological
developments.
In
view
of
our
in-depth,
comparative
knowledge
of
both
the
American
and
China
legal
systems,
it
seems
quite
clear
to
us
today
that
China
can
be
a
very
important
place
to
invest
in
new
technology
development,
and
a
jurisdiction
of
first
resort
to
commence
any
IP
enforcement
actions.
China’s
legal
system
has
proven
itself
to
be
faster,
less
expensive,
and
more
predictable
than
many
other
global
jurisdictions.
GK:
Needless
to
say,
the
current
escalation
on
the
tariff
front
between
the
US
and
China
may
make
the
idea
of
cross-border
investment
and
technology
development
seem
like
wishful
thinking.
At
the
same
time,
there
is
no
reason
to
believe
that
the
existent
difficulties
between
the
countries
on
trade
issues
can’t
be
resolved
over
time,
which
at
minimum
will
allow
companies
like
Matthew’s
–
with
their
familiarity
with
the
IP
and
business
landscape
in
China
–
to
quickly
seize
on
opportunities
that
arise
in
the
future.
We
can
all
hope
for
greater
certainty
and
better
cooperation
with
respect
to
all
US-China
relations,
even
as
things
may
look
bleak
at
the
moment.
GK:
Is
there
a
message
you
would
offer
other
tech
founders
that
find
themselves
in
a
similar
position
vis-à-vis
an
IP
case
with
a
larger
competitor?
MAN:
There
are
many
messages
that
we
would
communicate
to
others
in
similar
circumstances.
Over
time,
we
expect
to
document
our
experiences
and
share
those
widely.
Among
the
top
messages,
luck
favors
the
prepared,
so
prepare,
prepare,
prepare!
We
recognized
that
IP
enforcement
claims
against
a
larger
competitor
are
difficult
at
best,
and
can
bury
a
smaller
innovator
with
extreme,
if
not
insurmountable,
costs
of
time
and
money. We
saw
this
early
on
in
our
efforts
to
assess
how
best
to
proceed
against
the
world’s
largest
tech
companies.
So,
we
divided
the
problem
into
many
smaller
components,
and
over
many
months,
developed
a
wide
network
of
technical,
legal,
and
material
supporters
that
provided
invaluable
counsel,
insight,
and
education.
This
team
enabled
us
to
analyze
and
focus
our
proposed
IP
enforcement
efforts,
and
to
prepare
as
much
as
possible
for
the
many
variables
and
likely
litigation
impediments,
well
in
advance
of
filing
our
China
enforcement
action.
We
estimate
that
thousands
of
hours
were
expended
over
the
two
years
before
we
were
ready
to
file
the
original
patent
infringement
complaint
in
January
2020.
This
preparation
paid
many
dividends
as
we
interacted
with
the
Court
technical
and
legal
teams
and
resulted
in
the
Court
accepting
and
registering
the
complaint
in
December
2020.
While
no
one
could
have
predicted
a
multiyear
COVID
delay,
we
are
pleased
to
finally
be
much
closed
to
the
finish
line.
GK:
Matthew’s
comments
about
the
importance
of
preparation
will
resonate
with
many
IP
litigators,
who
are
used
to
spending
plenty
of
time
working
with
clients
to
flesh
out
litigation
preparations
and
prepare
cases
for
filing.
But,
as
Matthew
mentioned,
it
is
the
unpredictability
of
litigation
timing
—
often
because
of
factors
outside
of
anyone’s
control,
like
COVID
—
that
can
present
serious
challenges
for
even
the
best
prepared
litigants.
Still,
with
the
right
legal
team
and
resources,
even
the
longest
delays
can
be
overcome
—
and
once
IP
cases
get
moving,
it
is
very
easy
to
get
the
momentum
going
toward
the
desired
result.
Here
again,
being
prepared
to
restart
or
intensify
efforts
when
the
timing
is
right
is
critical,
with
the
odds
of
success
most
impacted
by
the
level
of
preparation
achieved
by
both
the
litigant
and
their
counsel.
As
Matthew’s
experience
shows,
that
is
true
for
cases
in
China,
just
as
it
is
true
for
IP
cases
filed
domestically.
My
thanks
to
Matthew
for
the
insights
and
cooperation,
and
I
wish
him
and
his
legal
team
the
best
of
luck
with
their
pending
cases.
While
the
legal
processes
play
out,
I
hope
that
Matthew
will
continue
to
find
success
with
Newman
Infinite,
hopefully
in
a
way
that
takes
his
business
to
new
heights. I
am
always
open
to
conducting
interviews
of
this
type
with
other
IP
thought
leaders,
so
feel
free
to
reach
out
if
you
have
a
compelling
perspective
to
offer.
Please
feel
free
to
send
comments
or
questions
to
me
at
[email protected]
or
via
Twitter:
@gkroub.
Any
topic
suggestions
or
thoughts
are
most
welcome.
Gaston
Kroub
lives
in
Brooklyn
and
is
a
founding
partner
of
Kroub,
Silbersher
&
Kolmykov
PLLC,
an
intellectual
property
litigation
boutique,
and Markman
Advisors
LLC,
a
leading
consultancy
on
patent
issues
for
the
investment
community.
Gaston’s
practice
focuses
on
intellectual
property
litigation
and
related
counseling,
with
a
strong
focus
on
patent
matters.
You
can
reach
him
at [email protected] or
follow
him
on
Twitter: @gkroub.