Posts Tagged: "Gawker"

Hulk Hogan, Gawker case shines light on controversial bond requirement for right to appeal

Without getting into the substance of the Hogan vs. Gawker lawsuit, the issue of posting bonds to appeal is a contentious one, and if you ask me there is something fundamentally unfair about requiring a party to pay in order to challenge what they believe is an erroneous or unfair ruling. It seems particularly wrong in the patent space where we know that strange and mysterious things transpire in the name of “efficiency,” but which over the years increasingly seem like code for nothing short of denying property rights to patent owners. Yet, pending patent legislation would impose a bond requirement to exercise what seems like a fundamental right — to seek redress for an incorrect, unfair or unjust ruling.