The Spectator Who Threw a Wrench in the Waymo/Uber Lawsuit

Eric Swildens knows how damaging intellectual property trials can be. In 2002, Speedera Networks, the content delivery network he cofounded, was sued for patent infringement and trade secrets violation by Akamai. "It was trial by fire," says the 50-year-old engineer. "I learned a bunch of stuff I didn't necessarily want to learn." Mark Harris is a freelance journalist reporting on technology from Seattle. Sign up to get Backchannel's weekly newsletter, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.