Category Archives: IP

Intellectual Property issues and news

Qualcomm hit with $173M patent verdict—but plaintiff is the real loser

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Nine-digit verdicts don’t happen every day. A $173 million windfall—especially when no other revenue sources seem forthcoming—would have most investors in a small company like ParkerVision jumping up and down. But that didn’t happen. “Were Investors Set Up To Fail?” asked one writer on investment site SeekingAlpha. He quotes a JP Morgan Chase analyst telling clients that just a week ago, ParkerVision was in a position to win up to $2 billion.

via Qualcomm hit with $173M patent verdict—but plaintiff is the real loser | Ars Technica.

Troll-Killing Patent Reform One Step Closer

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Of course, today’s discussion draft is not perfect. Compared to the Shield Act, the attorney’s fees provision is watered down. (It does not include a bond requirement, for example.) And the customer suit provision is too weak. We need stronger reform to stop the disturbing trend of patent trolls picking on customers and end users. Finally, today’s discussion draft focuses on litigation system, rather than targeting the root cause of the problem: the flood of low-quality, over-broad software patents. Despite these reservations, we are encouraged to see so many good reforms in a single package.

via Troll-Killing Patent Reform One Step Closer | Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Google wants a patent on splitting the restaurant bill

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Google Patent Application, October 2013: “For example, continuing with the example of FIG. 4, assume that Users A-C have drinks at a bar and User B pays a bill of $45 for the drinks. User B adds the payment transaction as an expenditure of the group and allocates $15 of the transaction to User A, $20 to User B, $10 to User C. In this example, the balance module 308 would update the individual balances of Users A-C to indicate that User B now owes $115 to User A ($130-$15) and User C owes $10 to User B ($0+$10).”

via No joke: Google wants a patent on splitting the restaurant bill – GeekWire.

I didn’t think one could patent a mathematical formula.

Hundreds of Innovators Tell Congress to Stop Patent Troll Abuse and Legislate Cheaper, Faster Ways to Fight

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The Alliance letter calls for legislation that would:

– Create a cheaper, faster alternative to litigation by allowing the Patent Office to review – when evidence justifies – all business method and software patents so that start-ups have a chance to fight against the low-quality patents that are trolls’ best ammunition.

– Require the Patent Office to create public searchable demand letter databases so we can track the basis and volume of patent claims and quickly identify abusive trolls;

– Reduce litigation costs by requiring parties to pay if they demand more in discovery than “core” technology documents, which are generally all that is needed to know if a technology is infringing.

– Protect end-users of off-the-shelf hardware and software. Just as coffee shops should not be sued for providing wi-fi to customers, app developers should not be sued for using off-the-shelf APIs that infringe a patent.

via Hundreds of Innovators Tell Congress to Stop Patent Troll Abuse and Legislate Cheaper, Faster Ways to Fight | Application Developers Alliance.

Content Industry Drafts Anti-Piracy Curriculum for Elementary Schools

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“It suggests, falsely, that ideas are property and that building on others’ ideas always requires permission,” Stoltz says. “The overriding message of this curriculum is that students’ time should be consumed not in creating but in worrying about their impact on corporate profits.”

via Downloading Is Mean! Content Industry Drafts Anti-Piracy Curriculum for Elementary Schools | Threat Level | Wired.com.

Microsoft botches six Windows patches in latest Automatic Update

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In an amazing tour de force, Microsoft’s Automatic Update chute released at least six bad patches on Tuesday. Here’s what’s amazing: It’s just 48 hours or so since the bomb bay doors opened, and Microsoft has acknowledged problems with all of these patches.

via Microsoft botches six Windows patches in latest Automatic Update | Microsoft windows – InfoWorld.

This is why I never do automatic update.

Patent troll backs down, agrees to stop suing public transit agencies

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Unfortunately, ArrivalStar’s many targets in the private sector are going to have to continue to grapple with the litigious patent-holding company. ArrivalStar has never taken its patents anywhere near a trial, and hardly any of its lawsuits even go beyond early stages of litigation. With today’s settlement, ArrivalStar can continue avoiding any rigorous testing of its patents.

via Patent troll backs down, agrees to stop suing public transit agencies | Ars Technica.

2,919 Movie Pirates Walk Free as BitTorrent Trolling Scheme Falls Apart

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“The agreements are noticeably devoid of any provision for the disposition of any revenues that could be obtained from verdicts or court orders of fees or costs upon success in court, suggesting a business model of using the information obtained from early discovery into the identities of individual defendants to negotiate quick settlements under the threat of embarrassing and expensive litigation without actually litigating claims on their merits,” the Judge explains.

via 2,919 Movie Pirates Walk Free as BitTorrent Trolling Scheme Falls Apart | TorrentFreak.

Rotolight uses DMCA to claim ”Infringement” on Review it didn’t like

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While spending some time on my Facebook feed I came across a post I missed earlier by a friend of mine Den Lennie talking about censorship from a test he did on some lights.  It would seem that the company Rotolight didn’t fare as well as they would have liked and decided to file a DMCA notice with Vimeo.  This is a disturbing trend that companies are trying to use to remove tests that they don’t like, and even bigger brands are trying to use it as GoPro tried to do with a review it didn’t like.  Though GoPro upper management realized it stepped in it and backtracked a bit saying it was just the images they were filing on not the review content.

via Rotolight uses DMCA to claim ”Infringement” on Review it didn’t like – Dave Lawlor {Dot} Com.

Eolas patents are dead on appeal

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Berners-Lee was one of several web pioneers who came through the court during the course of a four-day trial, which ultimately convinced a jury to invalidate two patents owned by Eolas, the tiny patent-holding company that Doyle and his lawyers transformed into one of the most fearsome “patent trolls” of all time.

Now Eolas appears to be gone for good. The company mounted a lengthy appeal, but it was all for naught; this morning, a three-judge appeals panel affirmed the jury’s verdict without comment.

via The Web’s longest nightmare ends: Eolas patents are dead on appeal | Ars Technica.