Exclusive: Meta Company Patent Lawsuit Update, Court Denies Startup's Request for More Time

In the latest update to the ongoing Meta Company patent infringement case, the court has responded to a request from the defendants, and the answer isn't good news.

As Next Reality reported earlier this month, John Sines, the chief financial officer for the old Meta Company team (the company's assets have since been sold to a new owner) asked the court for 45 days to find new counsel to represent them in the case. The court's answer? No.

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According to the court, Meta Company isn't allowed to represent itself in this case, so the need for official legal counsel is vital in this case.

The letter that asked for more time to find legal counsel, which was filed on Feb. 10, stated:

"Meta Company requests that the Court vacate the default judgment that was handed down on January 29, 2019. Unfortunately, at that time, Meta's assets were in the process of being sold, the company was initiating its dissolution process and was therefore unable to retain counsel. Within the next 45 days, Meta will have the resources to do so and it is extremely important for us to defend against what we consider to be a completely unjustified claim."

Instead of granting that request, which would have given the Meta Company team until around the end of this month to come up with legal representation, the court has effectively tossed the team's letter aside.

The official court response, filed on Tuesday, states, "For reasons the Court has previously referenced, the Court cannot consider the letter filed by Defendant's representative on February 10, 2019, as Defendant is a corporate entity that is not currently represented by counsel. To the extent that while this case is still pending, Defendant has counsel enter an appearance and such counsel makes a motion for relief, the Court will consider any such request (and any opposition thereto) at that time."

Therefore, we're back to where we were back in January, and time continues to run out for the Meta Company team to properly meet the court's request while attempting to defend itself from the patent infringement lawsuit that Genedics launched nearly two years ago.

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Cover image via Meta/YouTube