(UPDATED December 30, 2011)

We thought it was interesting when we read that PIEtech, Inc., a company in Powhatan, Virginia, actually asked to be a defendant in a patent infringement lawsuit that involved one of its clients.

In August, PIEtech's competitor (and neighbor in Richmond, Virginia) Wealthcare Capital Management, sued the large Wall Street firm UBS Financial for infringement of patents for a “Method and System for Financial Advising”. Both patents were issued last summer.

In June the Supreme Court handed down its non-decision in the famous – or infamous, depending upon your point of view – Bilski case. Ever since then, patent attorneys and patent owners have been trying to figure out exactly what the decision means. It has been suggested that subsequent decisions by the C.A.F.C. will clarify the matter.

Every now and then, we take time from our primary function – entertaining our readers – to write about something of legal significance. This is one such instance.