Tag Archives: fight back

Patent Troll Battle Update: Doubling Down on Project Jengo

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We’re looking for prior art on 100% of the Blackbird Tech patents. If you are interested in helping, take some time to look into those patents where we don’t have anything yet. We’ll update the chart as we review the submissions with additional information about the number we receive, and their quality, to help focus the search. After the initial review, we’ll start to color code the patents (i.e., red/yellow/green) to demonstrate the number and quality of submissions we’ve received on each patent.

Source: Patent Troll Battle Update: Doubling Down on Project Jengo

Supreme Court Overturns Patent Ruling in Blow Against Trolls

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The justices sided 8-0 with beverage flavoring company TC Heartland in its legal battle with food and beverage company Kraft Heinz, ruling that patent infringement suits can be filed only in courts located in the jurisdiction where the targeted company is incorporated. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate in the decision.

Source: Supreme Court Overturns Patent Ruling in Blow Against Trolls | Fortune.com

Standing Up to a Dangerous New Breed of Patent Troll

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There’s no social value here. There’s no support for a maligned inventor. There’s no competing business or product. There’s no validation of an incentive structure that supports innovation. This is a shakedown where a patent troll, Blackbird Technologies, creates as much nuisance as it can so its attorney-principals can try to grab some cash.

Source: Standing Up to a Dangerous New Breed of Patent Troll

Cloudflare does not intend to play along. As explained later in this blog post, we plan to (i) contest the patent lawsuit vigorously, (ii) fund an award for a crowdsourced search for prior art that can be used to invalidate Blackbird patents, and (iii) ask the relevant bar associations to investigate what we consider to be violations of the rules of professional conduct by Blackbird and its attorneys.

Newegg vs. Patent Trolls: When We Win, You Win

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In this latest round of Newegg vs. the patent trolls, Newegg went against a company that claimed its patent covered SSL and RC4 encryption, a common encryption system used by many retailers and websites. This particular patent troll has gone against over 100 other companies, and brought in $45 million in settlements before going after Newegg. We won. Winning against these trolls has become a national pastime for us.

Source: Newegg vs. Patent Trolls: When We Win, You Win – Unscrambled

Intuit beats Web encryption patent that defeated Newegg at trial

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TQP has been arguing for years that using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) combined with the RC4 encryption cipher infringes its patent. The company’s former owner, renowned “patent troll” Erich Spangenberg, acknowledged during a trial last year that he has made more than $45 million in settlements on the TQP patent. TQP is one of dozens of patent groups that he owns.

via Intuit beats Web encryption patent that defeated Newegg at trial | Ars Technica.

First patent troll ordered to pay “extraordinary case” fees

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“Lumen’s motivation in this litigation was to extract a nuisance settlement from FTB on the theory that FTB would rather pay an unjustified license fee than bear the costs of the threatened expensive litigation,” Cote stated in the order she issued on Friday. “Lumen’s threats of ‘full-scale litigation,’ ‘protracted discovery,’ and a settlement demand escalator should FTB file responsive papers, were aimed at convincing FTB that a pay-off was the lesser injustice.”

via Payback time: First patent troll ordered to pay “extraordinary case” fees | Ars Technica.

In Letter to Obama, Cisco CEO Complains About NSA Allegations

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The letter follows new revelations, including photos, published in a book based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden alleging that the NSA intercepted equipment from Cisco and other manufacturers and loaded them with surveillance software. The photos, which have not been independently verified, appear to show NSA technicians working with Cisco equipment. Cisco is not said to have cooperated in the NSA’s efforts.

via In Letter to Obama, Cisco CEO Complains About NSA Allegations | Re/code.

Newegg hurtles toward Texas showdown with famed “patent troll”

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But Jones didn’t invent SSL; nor did he invent RC4, an algorithm invented in 1987, two years before the filing date of the Jones patent.

Whatever his invention is, it came before the World Wide Web, which was made available to everyone in 1993. Jones filed for his patent in 1989, and it uses some distinctively pre-Web vocabulary; describing encryption via modems and phone lines.

via Newegg hurtles toward Texas showdown with famed “patent troll” | Ars Technica.

By claiming such common encryption, the TQP patent is essentially a “we-own-the-Internet” patent.  Spangenberg declined to speak to Ars for this story, but in an August interview he said the TQP licensing campaign has reaped around $40 million in revenue.

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.