I don't know anything about the dispute. Sam Altman sounds genuinely angry. That said, I thought YC would alwready have in place strict agreements, especially mandatory arbitration clauses, when they dole out the money?
As to settling, I think about this farmer who was sued by Monsanto for stealing intellectual property.
He, and his wife had a dream of a small organic farm somewhere in the south. They were situated next to a big farm that used Monsanto seeds. Pollen from the adjacent property blew onto his property/crop. Monsanto took some of his corn crop and looked for their patented genes. They found some. (I'm unclear of the science behind their claim. I didn't think just pollen from the Monsanto field could take over an entire separate crop of plants?)
Anyways, the young couple wanted to vociferously fight the suit. Within weeks they were pretty much beaten up by Monsanto lawyers, detectives, and henchmen (paid witnesses).
His neighbor's reluctant advice was unless you want to spend a half million defending your innocence; just settle the Monsanto suit.
They have enough money to keep you in court for years. The neighbor didn't even want to be seen with the guy--Monsanto has detectives in the area, and supposedly keep detailed logs on these farmers.
If anyone is interested it's all in a documentary, called Eating Alabama.
Not disputing you, but I have heard this story recounted a lot in various ways, but when I remember digging deeper into it, there were things that just didn't match up (basically, the amount of crop that could blew to their fields vs what was found out was very different and most likely had to be intentional). Also, if I remember correctly, Monsanto didn't really sue them. There are a lot of contradictory sources around, but from: http://www.dailytech.com/Monsanto+Defeats+Small+Farmers+in+C...
> Wrote the judge, "[the allegations] are unsubstantiated ... given that not one single
plaintiff claims to have been so threatened." She also complained that the farmers had "overstate[d] the magnitude of [Monsanto's] patent enforcement", which documents indicated entailed 13 cases last year, which she opined "is hardly significant when compared to the number of farms in the United States, approximately two million."
ps: not taking sides, just letting you know that MAYBE you have been mislead (as I was)
I read the full details of a Monsanto-vs-farmer court case not that long ago that sounded a lot like the one you describe.
If we're talking about the same case, the missing part of the story is that the farmers knew they had Monsanto seeds mixed in to their crop and then intentionally isolated those seeds and replanted only those seeds for the next year. Specifically, they sprayed with pesticides that kill "organic" crops but that Monsanto crops are engineered to be immune to, for the purpose of having genetically-engineered seeds for the next season without paying the required licensing fee.
Maybe it's not the same case. But it's worth being aware that people do present their side of a case in the most positive light, even when they're clearly in the wrong when all of the evidence is revealed. (This could apply to either side in this dispute, FWIW.)
As to settling, I think about this farmer who was sued by Monsanto for stealing intellectual property.
He, and his wife had a dream of a small organic farm somewhere in the south. They were situated next to a big farm that used Monsanto seeds. Pollen from the adjacent property blew onto his property/crop. Monsanto took some of his corn crop and looked for their patented genes. They found some. (I'm unclear of the science behind their claim. I didn't think just pollen from the Monsanto field could take over an entire separate crop of plants?)
Anyways, the young couple wanted to vociferously fight the suit. Within weeks they were pretty much beaten up by Monsanto lawyers, detectives, and henchmen (paid witnesses).
His neighbor's reluctant advice was unless you want to spend a half million defending your innocence; just settle the Monsanto suit.
They have enough money to keep you in court for years. The neighbor didn't even want to be seen with the guy--Monsanto has detectives in the area, and supposedly keep detailed logs on these farmers.
If anyone is interested it's all in a documentary, called Eating Alabama.