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Closed Corp. is a California software company that develops and markets the popular
operating system (OS) Views. Starting in the mid-1990's, new releases of Views
become increasingly complex and proprietary; and the source code is, of course,
"Closed". In response, computer engineers and high end users around the world
began developing alternate operating systems. One particularly successful effort
was undertaken by an Internet User Group called "Open Sesame". This group,
many of whose members are anonymous, collaboratively developed an OS, which they
call "Open". Open employs a graphical interface that looks remarkably like
that of Views. Open is highly versatile and functional and freely available
over the Internet. As a result, Open is increasing its market share, at the
expense of Views.
Closed Corp. has brought a patent infringement lawsuit against Open Sesame. The patent
holder's first problem is finding a court with jurisdiction over unknown defendants,
and then serving these "John Doe's" with a copy of the complaint. Moreover,
the allegedly infringing activity occurred in cyberspace, rather than in any
specific geographic location. These problems are brought to the court in Open
Sesame's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and venue and for improper
service of process. The hearing on the defend's motion is the basis for
the program set for October 23, 1999.
The complete problem may be viewed
here.
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