So, a lot of people are talking about Kim Dotcom’s latest gambit, which was to point out that he holds a patent (US 6,078,908 and apparently others in 12 other countries as well) that covers the basics of two-factor authentication, with a priority date of April of 1997. While interesting, he goes on to point out that he’s never sued over the patent because “I believe in sharing knowledge and ideas for the good of society.”
Category Archives: IP
Netflix Says It’s ‘Killing’ BitTorrent Traffic
“One of the things is we get ISPs to publicise their connection speeds – and when we launch in a territory the BitTorrent traffic drops as the Netflix traffic grows. So I think people do want a great experience and they want access – people are mostly honest.”
via Netflix Says It’s ‘Killing’ BitTorrent Traffic | TorrentFreak.
Newegg nukes “corporate troll” Alcatel in third patent appeal win this year
At trial in East Texas Cheng took the stand to tell Newegg’s story. Alcatel-Lucent’s corporate representative, at the heart of its massive licensing campaign, couldn’t even name the technology or the patents it was suing Newegg over.
via Newegg nukes “corporate troll” Alcatel in third patent appeal win this year | Ars Technica.
This is big win #2 in recent times for Newegg. Here’s their win against the shopping cart patent.
CLS Bank v. Alice Corp: Court Finds Many Software Patents Ineligible
In a much awaited en banc decision, the Federal Circuit has affirmed the patent ineligibility of Alice Corp’s claims to a computerized method, a computer-readable medium containing computer instructions, and a computer system that implements those instructions.
via CLS Bank v. Alice Corp: Court Finds Many Software Patents Ineligible – Patent Law Blog (Patently-O).
Also from: Federal Circuit, en banc, rules in CLS Bank ~pj Updated
The Federal Circuit. OMG. We’ve worked hard for so many years to get to this point, I almost can’t believe it. And I suppose it’s possible it could be appealed, but this is proof of what I’ve always told you, that education is never a waste. Judge Rader is very upset, I gather. He has written a dissent. But he didn’t prevail. And I’m sure he gave it his best effort. OMG. This is a new day.
Original opinion here. (pdf)
Why weren’t the Prenda porn trolls stopped years ago?
Of course, lawyers and litigants use the court system every day as a way to make money; entire business models like patent trolling remain legal, and the lawyers involved aren’t so much as sanctioned. But with Prenda, the difference in Wright’s mind was apparently the target—not companies but individuals, many without much money or court experience. Prenda’s plan, Wright said, was nothing less than a scheme “to plunder the citizenry.”
via Why weren’t the Prenda porn trolls stopped years ago? | Ars Technica.
As for the porn trolling business model, well, it’s not dead yet. But at least it can’t be done this way.
This case has been terribly confusing for me to follow. The following comment from the comment section sums up the issue with Prenda nicely.
One issue is that lawyers aren’t supposed to misrepresent who their clients are. In this case the lawyers *are* the clients, via numerous shell corporations and offshore trusts designed to obscure that fact. The Prenda attorneys allegedly bought the IP of little-known porn movies for very little money and then set up various bogus organizations to obscure the fact that the attorneys were also the plaintiffs who would benefit from favorable judgments. IANAL but apparently that behavior is frowned upon by law-talking guys.
Last mention of it here was last March. A lot of work from sites like DieTrollDie and FightCopyrightTrolls went into helping the victims of this extortion. Here’s a snippet from the latter:
We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Congratulations to everyone involved, especially Morgan and Nick.
Belgian ISPs sued for providing Internet access without paying copyright levies
ISPs over the years have profited from the switch to online media consumption and they have offered unlimited Internet access with very high download speeds in advertising campaigns, Sabam said. “The Internet access providers have never paid copyright levies for this activity. They hide behind their status as intermediary, without taking responsibility for the information transmitted over their networks,” the organization said.
via Belgian ISPs sued for providing Internet access without paying copyright levies | PCWorld.
Help Stop 1-800-CONTACTS from Abusing Patents to Squelch Competition
1-800-CONTACTS also protests that there is nothing “scandalous” about its CEO visiting Ditto’s site to check out its product. We agree. There is certainly nothing wrong with keeping tabs on the competition. What we do think is scandalous, however, is what the company did next. After checking out Ditto’s product, 1-800-CONTACTS apparently went out and purchased a patent in order to sue its competitor.
“Killer Joe” Sues VPN-Using BitTorrent Pirates
The film in question grossed disappointing box office earnings, but these fresh lawsuits offer new revenue potential.
via “Killer Joe” Sues VPN-Using BitTorrent Pirates | TorrentFreak.
TorrentFreak asked both Leaseweb and SpotFlux what kind of information they will be able to share when the subpoena comes in, but we have yet to receive a response. In its privacy policy Spotflux explains that it will comply with court orders, but that the company keeps logs to a minimum.
This might be the first attempt to go after a VPN provider. If they rotated their logs properly there shouldn’t be any information to give or hide.
Rackspace goes on offense against second patent troll in two weeks
Rackspace is being sued over its Rackspace Cloud Notes app for iOS, in a lawsuit that also includes claims again several other Texas companies, including Petroleum Geo-Services, PlainsCapital Bank, Texas Instruments, Schlumberger Technologies, and energy giant TXU. All of those companies have iOS apps which, apparently, rotate their screens.
via Rackspace goes on offense against second patent troll in two weeks | Ars Technica.
Judge says Apple, Motorola pursuing business strategy in court
Referring to the “parties’ obstreperous and cantankerous conduct,” Judge Robert N. Scola of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, described it as not a proper use of the court.
via Judge says Apple, Motorola pursuing business strategy in court | ITworld.
Word of the day!
obstreperous – Meaning “clamorous, noisy” and “argumentative,” it is from Latin ob-, “against,” and strepere, “to make a noise.”