Bodog puts them up against 1st Tech

The fight over patent rights between Bodog and 1st Tech has become even more entertaining, as Bodog owner Calvin Ayre has publicly challenged Scott Lewis, CEO of 1st Technology, to a Mixed Martial Arts fight to settle the dispute.

The legal aspect of the dispute has already been partially settled, as both Bodog’s appeal against the $49 million default judgment and 1st Tech’s attempt to seize Bodog’s domains were denied by a Nevada Court. Both parties have appealed, and a new court date has been set for November 2.

This was apparently unsatisfactory to 1st Tech’s Lewis, who issued a press release last week, making the following two points:

- A debtor order has been issued against Calvin Ayre, meaning he must present himself at court in Nevada on November 2nd or face an arrest warrant.

- Part of the proceeds made by 1st Tech from this lawsuit will be donated several charitable organizations such as The Twin Towers Orphan Fund, The National Counsel on Problem Gambling, and a variety of American inventor organizations.

As part of a long response undermining Lewis’s legal threats (as well as his charitable intentions), Ayre showed the flair for entertainment which has made him a millionaire by issuing a personal challenge to Lewis in his personal blog:

What I propose is that I put up US $1 million in trust with a lawyer. We then set up a three-round Bodog Fight rules mixed martial arts event at a jurisdiction in which we are licensed. If you win the fight you get the money. If I win? I'd want those now valueless domains you stole to be given back to their rightful owner. BodogTV would produce the event and own the television rights. (Your lawyer bosses can work this out with some of our lawyers.)

 Although it is highly unlikely that Lewis will accept, Ayre would have nothing to lose if he took the challenge and even if he won, since television rights for such a fight would probably be well over the $1 million Ayre offered to pay if beaten. More probably, the issue will be settled in a Nevada court by a dozen men in dark suits, which will be fine and well for the American legal system but a great loss to fans of action entertainment around the world.