Pinboard (jm) https://pinboard.in/u:jm/public/ recent bookmarks from jm Patent troll Sable pays up, dedicates all its patents to the public 2024-10-03T15:42:32+00:00 https://blog.cloudflare.com/patent-troll-sable-pays-up/ jm Sable initially asserted around 100 claims from four different patents against Cloudflare, accusing multiple Cloudflare products and features of infringement. Sable’s patents — the old Caspian Networks patents — related to hardware-based router technologies common over 20 years ago. Sable’s infringement arguments stretched these patent claims to their limits (and beyond) as Sable tried to apply Caspian’s hardware-based technologies to Cloudflare’s modern software-defined services delivered on the cloud. [...] Cloudflare fought back against Sable by launching a new round of Project Jengo, Cloudflare’s prior art contest, seeking prior art to invalidate all of Sable’s patents. In the end, Sable agreed to pay Cloudflare $225,000, grant Cloudflare a royalty-free license to its entire patent portfolio, and to dedicate its patents to the public, ensuring that Sable can never again assert them against another company. (via AJ Stuyvenberg)]]> sable cloudflare patent-trolls patents uspto trolls routing https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:10f32e7b82f3/ AWS told to pay $525M in cloud storage patent suit - The Register 2024-04-11T17:09:00+00:00 https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/11/aws_lawsuit_kove_io/ jm swpats software patents patent-trolls kove aws s3 algorithms distributed-hash-tables consistent-hashing ip https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:d2dede16285a/ IBM goes full patent troll 2016-03-04T10:52:29+00:00 http://www.pcworld.com/article/3040496/tech-events-dupe/ibm-sues-groupon-for-infringing-its-patents-including-from-prodigy-online-service.html jm ibm patents swpats paul-graham patent-trolls prodigy groupon https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:b04c6a80df00/ Newegg vs. Patent Trolls: When We Win, You Win 2015-07-29T16:32:57+00:00 http://blog.newegg.com/newegg-vs-patent-trolls-when-we-win-you-win/ jm via:nelson ip law patent-trolls patents newegg crypto https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:918461047bb6/ Software patents are crumbling, thanks to the Supreme Court 2014-09-15T15:48:41+00:00 http://www.vox.com/2014/9/12/6138483/software-patents-are-crumbling-thanks-to-the-supreme-court jmNow a series of decisions from lower courts is starting to bring the ruling's practical consequences into focus. And the results have been ugly for fans of software patents. By my count there have been 11 court rulings on the patentability of software since the Supreme Court's decision — including six that were decided this month.  Every single one of them has led to the patent being invalidated. This doesn't necessarily mean that all software patents are in danger — these are mostly patents that are particularly vulnerable to challenge under the new Alice precedent. But it does mean that the pendulum of patent law is now clearly swinging in an anti-patent direction. Every time a patent gets invalidated, it strengthens the bargaining position of every defendant facing a lawsuit from a patent troll. ]]> patents law alice swpats software supreme-court patent-trolls https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:a118b03c3e5e/ How the patent trolls won in Congress: Ars Technica 2014-05-26T11:46:24+00:00 http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/how-the-patent-trolls-won-in-congress/ jm"We felt really good the last couple of days," said the tech lobbyist. "It was a good deal—one we could live with. Then the trial lawyers and pharma went to Senator Reid late this morning and said that's it. Enough with the children playing in the playground—go kill it." ]]> ars-technica patents swpats patent-trolls pharma tech us-politics congress lawyers https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:5f12b1e7238b/ For world’s biggest troll, first patent case ends up in tatters 2014-04-22T15:37:13+00:00 http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/04/for-worlds-biggest-troll-first-patent-case-ends-up-in-tatters/ jm trolls patent-trolls patents swpats capital-one intellectual-ventures https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:cc749e34ecf9/ Newegg trial: Crypto legend takes the stand, goes for knockout patent punch | Ars Technica 2013-11-25T11:03:29+00:00 http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/11/newegg-trial-crypto-legend-diffie-takes-the-stand-to-knock-out-patent/ jm "We've heard a good bit in this courtroom about public key encryption," said Albright. "Are you familiar with that? "Yes, I am," said Diffie, in what surely qualified as the biggest understatement of the trial. "And how is it that you're familiar with public key encryption?" "I invented it." (via burritojustice)]]> crypto tech security patents swpats pki whitfield-diffie history east-texas newegg patent-trolls https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:9e9ce822538b/ Patent troll Lodsys chickens out, folds case rather than face Eugene Kaspersky 2013-10-03T11:20:22+00:00 http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/10/patent-troll-lodsys-chickens-out-folds-case-rather-than-face-kaspersky-lab/ jmIn Kaspersky's view, patent trolls are no better than the extortionists who cropped up in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union, when crime ran rampant. Kaspersky saw more and more people becoming victims of various extortion schemes. US patent trolls seemed very similar. "Kaspersky's view was that paying patent trolls was like paying a protection racket," said Kniser. He wasn't going to do it. yay! pity it didn't manage to establish precedent, though. But go Kaspersky!]]> eugene-kaspersky shakedowns law east-texas swpats patents patent-trolls https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:8295f054679d/ The Web’s longest nightmare ends: Eolas patents are dead on appeal | Ars Technica 2013-07-24T09:30:02+00:00 http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/07/the-webs-longest-nightmare-ends-eolas-patents-are-dead-on-appeal/ jmUnder Doyle's conception of his own invention, practically any modern website owed him royalties. Playing a video online or rotating an image on a shopping website were "interactive" features that infringed his patents. And unlike many "patent trolls" who simply settle for settlements just under the cost of litigation, Doyle's company had the chops, the lawyers, and the early filing date needed to extract tens of millions of dollars from the accused companies. [...] The role of the University of California is one of the most perplexing twists in the Eolas saga. The university kept a low profile during the lead-up to trial; but once in Texas, Eolas lawyers constantly reminded the jury they were asserting "these University of California patents." A lawyer from UC's patent-licensing division described support for Eolas at trial by simply saying that the university "stands by its licensees." (Eolas was technically an exclusive licensee of the UC-owned patent, which also gives it the right to sue.) At the same time, the University of California, and the Berkeley campus in particular, was a key institution in creating early web technology. While UC lawyers cooperated with the plaintiffs, two UC Berkeley-trained computer scientists were key witnesses in the effort to demolish the Eolas patents. Pei-Yuan Wei created the pioneering Viola browser, a key piece of prior art, while he was a student at UC-Berkeley in the early 1990s. Scott Silvey, another UC-Berkeley student at that time, testified about a program he made called VPlot, which allowed users to rotate an image of an airplane using Wei's browser. VPlot and Viola were demonstrated to Sun Microsystems in May 1993, months before Doyle claimed to have conceived of his invention. ]]> patents swpats eolas web patent-trolls ucb universities research viola plugins berkeley https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:139baa265fd4/ Meet the nice-guy lawyers who want $1,000 per worker for using scanners | Ars Technica 2013-04-08T14:44:11+00:00 http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/meet-the-nice-guy-lawyers-who-want-1000-per-worker-for-using-scanners/ jm via:nelson ethics business legal patents swpats patent-trolls texas shakedown https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:d63786bd444d/ The Patent Protection Racket 2013-04-03T12:59:55+00:00 http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2013/04/02.html jmThe fastest growing industry in the US right now, even during this time of slow economic growth, is probably the patent troll protection racket industry. ]]> joel-on-software patents swpats shakedown extortion us-politics patent-trolls via:fanf https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:ebf874da2acf/ The America Invents Act: Fighting Patent Trolls With "Prior Art" 2013-03-19T14:02:20+00:00 http://readwrite.com/2013/03/19/the-america-invents-act-fighting-patent-trolls-with-prior-art jmmany of the best practices for tracking new versions of software and other digital assets can also help protect you against patent trolls. It’s a good time to talk to your lawyer about a defensive strategy, and to connect that strategy to your version control and deployment systems to make sure you’re collecting and retaining all of the information that could help you under this new law. ]]> swpats patent-trolls patenting us prior-art https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:1a333cae12f3/ How Newegg crushed the “shopping cart” patent and saved online retail 2013-01-27T21:47:08+00:00 http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/how-newegg-crushed-the-shopping-cart-patent-and-saved-online-retail/ jmPatent trolling is based upon deficiencies in a critical, but underdeveloped, area of the law. The faster we drive these cases to verdict, and through appeal, and also get legislative reform on track, the faster our economy will be competitive in this critical area. We're competing with other economies that are not burdened with this type of litigation. China doesn't have this, South Korea doesn't have this, Europe doesn't have this. [...] It's actually surprising how quickly people forget what Lemelson did. [referring to Jerome Lemelson, an infamous patent troll who used so-called "submarine patents" to make billions in licensing fees.] This activity is very similar. Trolls right now "submarine" as well. They use timing, like he used timing. Then they pop up and say "Hello, surprise! Give us your money or we will shut you down!" Screw them. Seriously, screw them. You can quote me on that. ]]> patent-trolls east-texas newegg shopping-cart swpat software-patents patents ecommerce soverain https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:383fac7a7c41/ Patent trolls want $1,000 for using scanners 2013-01-02T15:15:08+00:00 http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/patent-trolls-want-1000-for-using-scanners/ jm 'You should know also that we have had a positive response from the business community to our licensing program. As you can imagine, most businesses, upon being informed that they are infringing someone’s patent rights, are interested in operating lawfully and taking a license promptly. Many companies have responded to this licensing program in such a manner. Their doing so has allowed us to determine that a fair price for a license negotiated in good faith and without the need for court action is a payment of $900 per employee. We trust that your organization will agree to conform your behavior to respect our patent rights by negotiating a license rather than continuing to accept the benefits of our patented technology without a license. Assuming this is the case, we are prepared to make this pricing available to you.' And here's an interesting bottom line:
The best strategy for target companies? It may be to ignore the letters, at least for now. “Ignorance, surprisingly, works,” noted Prof. Chien in an e-mail exchange with Ars. Her study of startups targeted by patent trolls found that when confronted with a patent demand, 22 percent ignored it entirely. Compare that with the 35 percent that decided to fight back and 18 percent that folded. Ignoring the demand was the cheapest option ($3,000 on average) versus fighting in court, which was the most expensive ($870,000 on average). Another tactic that clearly has an effect: speaking out, even when done anonymously. It hardly seems a coincidence that the Project Paperless patents were handed off to a web of generic-sounding LLCs, with demand letters signed only by “The Licensing Team,” shortly after the “Stop Project Paperless” website went up. It suggests those behind such low-level licensing campaigns aren’t proud of their behavior. And rightly so.
]]> patents via:fanf networks printing printers scanning patent-trolls project-paperless adzpro gosnel faslan https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:30abf83b788f/ On Patents 2012-07-23T10:18:42+00:00 http://notch.tumblr.com/post/27751395263/on-patents jmI am mostly fine with the concept of “selling stuff you made”, so I’m also against copyright infringement. I don’t think it’s quite as bad as theft, and I’m not sure it’s good for society that some professions can get paid over and over long after they did the work (say, in the case of a game developer), whereas others need to perform the job over and over to get paid (say, in the case of a hairdresser or a lawyer). But yeah, “selling stuff you made” is good. But there is no way in hell you can convince me that it’s beneficial for society to not share ideas. Ideas are free. They improve on old things, make them better, and this results in all of society being better. Sharing ideas is how we improve. A common argument for patents is that inventors won’t invent unless they can protect their ideas. The problem with this argument is that patents apply even if the infringer came up with the idea independently. If the idea is that easy to think of, why do we need to reward the person who happened to be first? Of course, in reality it's even worse, since you don't actually have to be first to invent -- just first to file without sufficient people noticing, and people are actively dissuaded from noticing (since it makes their lives riskier if they know about the existence of patents)...]]> business legal ip copyright patents notch minecraft patent-trolls https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:62608e1951fa/ France To Launch a National Patent Troll 2011-06-12T20:27:14+00:00 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110609/09021214636/french-government-creates-its-own-giant-patent-troll.shtml jm france fail omgwtfbbq patent-trolls swpats patents government innovation software europe https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:06b09c68e6af/ RunwayFinder shut down by patent trolls 2010-12-16T12:22:11+00:00 http://blog.runwayfinder.com/ jm patents swpats patent-trolls flightprep runwayfinder aviation web law https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:335d3fe9f697/