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| A Patent Lie | 
 enlarge | Author: Paul Goldstein
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $12.47
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New (24) Used (14) from $6.18
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 53901
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0385517181
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780385517188
ASIN: 0385517181
Publication Date: June 17, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.
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Product Description
Forced out of his high-powered Manhattan law firm and stuck in a dead-end solo practice, Michael Seeley, the tough-but-wounded hero of Errors and Omissions, cannot say no when his estranged brother, Leonard, head of research at upstart biotech Vaxtek, Inc., flies in from California to beg him to take over the company’s lawsuit for patent infringement of its pathbreaking AIDS vaccine after the sudden death of the lead trial lawyer. The financial and moral stakes of the case are staggering, and Seeley suspects that murder cannot be ruled out as a hardball litigation tactic of big-pharma adversary St. Gall Laboratories.
As Seeley travels between San Francisco and Silicon Valley to prepare for trial, dark facts surface concerning the vaccine’s discovery by Vaxtek scientist Alan Steinhardt and its alleged theft by St. Gall researcher Lily Warren. Ethical quandaries deepen into mortal danger as the trial, under the stern prodding of federal judge Ellen Farnsworth, rushes to its unexpected end. A timely and fascinating look at how the law operates at its most arcane yet financially consequential, A Patent Lie is further evidence that Paul Goldstein is an emerging master of the legal thriller.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 "There's an issue of principle here." June 29, 2008
30 out of 34 found this review helpful
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 distraught wife, is convinced that her husband was murdered, and she urges Michael to look into the circumstances surrounding his death. District Judge Ellen Farnsworth is a no-nonsense type; she has little patience with anyone who tries to cross her. Joel Warshaw, the owner of Vaxkek, is a wily and venal entrepreneur who buys and sells companies for profit. After meeting him, Seely is convinced that the amoral Warshaw would sink to any depths in order to enrich himself.
This is an engrossing and complex courtroom drama that requires close concentration, since there are intricate scientific and legal issues at stake. Seely is no fool, and after bringing himself up to speed and interviewing Judy Pearsall and Lily Warren, he realizes that he may be missing the forest for the trees. Something does not compute, and Michael is determined to find out what it is. Both he and Lily must decide whether to play along with what may be corporate malfeasance or risk their reputations and lives opposing a group of powerful and ruthless men. This is your classic David vs. Goliath story and it is well told. For the most part, the author avoids phony theatrics and formulaic plot devices. The courtroom scenes are instructive and absorbing, and Goldstein wraps up his narrative satisfyingly. "A Patent Lie" will appeal to audiences of legal thrillers that rely on ideas and personalities rather than silly twists and turns, mindless violence, and steamy sex scenes. Goldstein does not go for the glitz, but instead focuses on what happens when clever lawyers and those who employ them act selfishly and callously, ignoring the needs of those who are unable to stand up for themselves.
Patents, and how to understand them July 14, 2008
19 out of 23 found this review helpful
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.
RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "THE NAIL THAT STICKS UP IS THE ONE THAT GETS HAMMERED!" July 24, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
I would first like to state for the record that I am "not" related to the author. Especially since the last family reunion, about forty years ago, when we got into a discussion, that quickly turned into a heated argument, that necessitated me launching a big roundhouse right hand punch, that connected solidly with his jaw... which enabled him to connect just as solidly with the ground. As all my uncles forcefully restrained me, the shriek that emanated from the floor... stated quite clearly... that I was no longer part of the family... and he would never speak to me again!
In the ensuing years, he graduated from Columbia Law School, while I graduated from The University Of Viet Nam class of '69. But during the moments following that punch... that still to this day... echoes within my soul... whenever I dare to think of "what-might-have-been"... a hot, dry, summer breeze, barely wafting off the languid ocean... passing over the scorching beach sand... without cooling even a single grain... a gaggle of seagulls flew briskly overhead... toward the top of the endless blue sky... like criminals... who knew they were soon to be caught... and could already hear... the heavy jail cell door... slamming shut on their future...
And that's why I had to buy my own copy of this book. Now to the review:
Michael Seeley was a lawyer in Buffalo who had clearly, already seen better days. He had been a partner in a prestigious New York City law firm, specializing in intellectual property law, but excessively heavy drinking had led him... or washed him... back to his childhood home in Buffalo. Gone was the beautiful skyscraper office, now Seeley's biggest problem was getting what could be the "oldest radiator in western New York or in the Western world" in working order. Then his brother Leonard, who lives in San Francisco, whom he hadn't seen in nine years, walks into his office and immediately tries to convince him to come to San Francisco and defend his company Vaxtek in a patent infringement case.
This unsolicited visit by Michael's younger brother evokes a tidal wave of unsettling flashbacks to his unhappy youth. The reader is repeatedly made aware of their drunken abusive Father... of the big brother always protecting and looking out for the timid and conniving younger brother... a Mother so despised by Michael that all efforts for any reconciliation at all, are rebuffed out-of-hand. There is even an incident with their Father's gun, that hints at their parents having a former life as Nazi's. Michael's last painful childhood memory, as well as his last act as a member of the family, was as a fifteen year-old-boy, hitting his Father... and aiming the gun at his Father... the final note in the song... was the "safety" on the gun... cancelling the crescendo.
Despite grave misgivings, Michael goes to San Francisco to defend Vaxtek, "who had filed a lawsuit against St. Gall, the giant Swiss drug producer, for infringing the patent on Vaxtek's entry in the race for an AIDS vaccine." Michael immediately finds out that the lawyer he is replacing was killed/murdered when he jumped/was pushed in front of a railroad train. From there, pieces just do not seem to fit. Who stole the lab work from whom? Why do people on the same legal team seem to have different motivations?
The suspenseful action in this book is more cerebral than physical, and the reader will be given an interesting layman's overview of the fight against AIDS in the laboratory as well as in the business marketplace.
 What a waste of time... July 22, 2008
4 out of 11 found this review helpful
What a waste of my time...the only way I can justify such ruinous waste of precious life's time is the fact that: I am retired, and I was sick and quite under the weather at the time I read this burdensome tale of legalistic machinations, with its convoluted, all but nonsensical plot line...to mention the author in the same sentence with John Grisham, as appears on the back cover, is like comparing George Bush with Abe Lincoln. If you want a legalistic thriller which involves the pharmaceutical industry, try "The Pandora Prescription"...
Entertaining, skillful, and intellectual writing July 21, 2008
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
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.
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