A Patent Lie

by Paul Goldstein

Book Overview

A gripping inside look at high-stakes lawyering, A Patent Lie is further evidence that Paul Goldstein is an emerging master of the legal thriller.After being forced from his high-powered Manhattan law... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385517181
• ISBN13: 9780385517188
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 293 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Patent law for the non-professional

"A Patent Lie" is an excellent read. A trial lawyer from Buffalo is brought to San Francisco on short notice to try a patent law case. The plot is well crafted, including many of the nuances peculiar to patent litigation, but without lapsing into legalese or dwelling on arcane legal procedure.

A great legal thriller; hard to put down.

If you like reading Turow, then you'll enjoy Goldstein. He explores the courtroom strategy and tactics in a fascinating case that has enough detail to create verisimilitude (learned that in high-school lit. class). All seen through the eyes of a somewhat burned out lawyer struggling against alcoholism.

Entertaining, skillful, and intellectual writing

I can understand that some people might find this book a little too demanding for their attention. It is, after all, about an arcane subject (patent law), that will be unfamiliar to most of us. But as the story unfolds, the author skillfully teaches us in an engaging way, just how important and interesting this subject matter is. The first requirement of good fictional literature is that the story rings true. This story is about the world wide impact of a particular legal struggle over a patent for an HIV vaccine. The science surrounding the discovery of the vaccine, the legal subtleties involved in getting the vaccine patent approved, the emotional struggles of the actors involved, and the ethical dilemmas affecting the outcome are all masterfully portrayed in an entertaining and gripping fashion. There is a murder involved, and the killer is always lurking in the background of the legal battle, but the murder is not just a device to appeal to mystery lovers, but an intrinsic symbol of the gravity surrounding the basic plot, emerging at the end as a logical outcome of the characters involved, much as the killers in P.D. James's novels always seem logical once the characters are fully developed. Sure, there is a touch of the pedantic, as one might expect from a master teacher. But this is one of the few recent contemporary mystery stories that leaves me satisfied for having been entertained while being taught at a high level about significant truths.

Patents, and how to understand them

OK I promise that I enjoyed this book because I have been a Patent Attorney for over fifty years, and enjoyed it because it make Patent Attorneys become heros. We always were, however we were not appreciated before. Every Attorney who is has a client, either before he files for a patent, or before litigation, should buy multi copies of this book and give every client a copy of the book. The book is well written for everyone and the suspense is well done. What it does is explain in a novel what a patent is, why it is important, and how to protect, or not protect an invention. For years patents were considered unimportant, until the Japanese, Koreans, and now the Chinese took our basic inventions, copied them, ignored our patents, and sold copied products into the US market. Then we understood the importance of patents, and used them to protect US inventions. The other review gave the story of this novel. However if you want to understand patents, the litigation of patents, then this novel is for you. If you just want a good story, it is also well worth reading.

"There's an issue of principle here."

In "A Patent Lie," by Paul Goldstein, forty-seven year old attorney Michael Seeley is a solo practitioner in his hometown of Buffalo, New York. He has a part-time receptionist, his office is a dump, and he handles "nickel and dime cases." On a chilly autumn day, his younger brother, Leonard, whom he hasn't seen in nine years, stops by to see him. Since Leonard lives in San Francisco, where he works as the chief medical officer for a small biotech company, this is not a casual visit. For weeks, Leonard has been leaving Michael frantic messages. It seems that Leonard's employer, Vaxtek, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against a giant Swiss drug producer, St. Gall. The trial is scheduled to begin in three weeks, and Robert Pearsall, Vaxtek's lead attorney, has suddenly died, an apparent suicide. Leonard wants his brother to take over this important case, since the company's financial health and his own portfolio could be seriously affected by the result of the litigation. Michael has problems of his own. Before moving back to Buffalo, he was employed by a New York corporate law firm, and although he won his share of cases, he was not happy. Lonely and deeply depressed, he found refuge in drinking, and eventually descended into alcoholism. He barely escaped disbarment, and is now staying sober one day at a time. Why risk what he has fought so hard to achieve by getting involved in a high-profile and potentially stressful trial? In addition, Michael has no desire to reconnect with Leonard, since seeing him inevitably brings back horrible memories of the two young boys cowering in fear while their drunken bully of a father stormed through the house. When he was only fifteen, Michael left home for good, and he has no desire to revisit the past or bond with what is left of his family. He cares about Leonard, but does not trust his brother, who "never stopped manipulating people and events to get what he wanted." Against his better judgment, Michael agrees to fly out to San Francisco and try the case with the assistance of a team that includes a young attorney named Chris Palmieri. Soon, however, he notices some anomalies that trouble him. He begins to suspect that the lawyers and administrators who work for Vaxtek and St. Gall may be concealing vital information. Michael eventually comes to regret his decision to leave his sleepy little practice back east in Buffalo. "A Patent Lie" is an intelligent legal thriller with a colorful cast: Michael is a crafty lawyer with sharp instincts; this case will test not only his professional ability but also his idealism, tenacity, and courage. Thirty-six year old Lily Warren is a vaccine researcher and former colleague of the supposed inventor of the AIDS vaccine, the pompous and obnoxious Alan Steinhardt. Seely is attracted to the brilliant and beautiful Warren, but he senses that she is withholding critical facts that could affect the trial's outcome. Judy, Robert Pearsall's distr