6 ms·

Should they not punish the region? The Eastern district is corrupt.

otterley 8y ago
I can't see how it makes sense to punish the customers for the behavior of a Federal district judge who isn't elected by them. (The President appoints Federal judges and the Senate confirms them.)
- thorwasdfasdf 8y ago
  At least it draws attention to the matter which helps in the long run. You need awareness of the issue, for it to make it into the public debate. Right now, most voting people don't understand the evils of patent trolling.
  - tfandango 8y ago
    And they are opening a new store very close to the existing stores, just out of the district. So people will only have 1 store to go to, but it will be pretty close. I too think this may draw some attention from people who live there who may demand a change. I'd bet that most people would care more about a convenient Apple store over some corrupt lawyers and judges making a money grab.
- mbrameld 8y ago
  The customers elect people who can influence the president.
  - otterley 8y ago
    The damage is done, though. Federal judges are appointed for life, and only a higher Court (again, whose judges are appointed for life by the President) can overturn their judgments. There is literally nothing the customers can do to change the outcome -- even through the electoral or political process -- except by petitioning Congress to change patent law.
    - darkpuma 8y ago
      Right now this region enjoys a financial windfall from the business their corrupt judges bring in. As such, I'd expect the judges to well liked in the region. Could this be the root of their motivation? Most bipedal monkeys love social validation. If the tables turn and the judges start hurting the local economy, I'd expect them to become hated. This is all very indirect, but I think it's worth a try.
monochromatic 8y ago
Oh please. The fact that you don’t like patents doesn’t mean that judges who disagree are corrupt.
- mattnewton 8y ago
  This district is a notorious harbor for patent trolls. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2017-05-25/the-texas-town-that-patent-trolls-built-j34rlmjc https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2017-05-25/the-te... https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/patently-unfair/ https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/patently-unfair/ https://boingboing.net/2017/09/26/judge-rodney-gilstrap-2.html https://boingboing.net/2017/09/26/judge-rodney-gilstrap-2.ht... http://www.judicialhellholes.org/2015-2016/u-s-district-court-for-the-eastern-district-of-texas/ http://www.judicialhellholes.org/2015-2016/u-s-district-cour...
  - monochromatic 8y ago
    I’m aware that patent trolls bring a lot of cases there. That’s hardly the same as the judges being corrupt.
    - macintux 8y ago
      The steady influx of business has brought significant financial benefits to the area. It's not hard to suspect the correlation has a negative impact on the court's impartiality. In the case of Gilstrap's predecessor, there's a direct connection. > The top judge for patent cases in East Texas used to be John Ward, until he "retired" to join his son in a local law practice representing patent trolls. From https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151101/00440632686/court-has-opportunity-to-finally-end-east-texas-patent-troll-docket.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151101/00440632686/court...
- hnbroseph 8y ago
  goodness me. i always chuckle at these kinds of reductive strawmen.
tomc1985 8y ago
Oh man, imagine the riots and changes that would ensue is Amazon suddenly started blocking purchases from Eastern district residents... "well we don't want to be considered as doing business there, y'all need to fix your courts..."
- emiliobumachar 8y ago
  For maximum effect, organize. Amazon. Google. Netflix. Apple. All boycotting and IP blocking the District. Cue cries of corporations becoming more powerful than governments.
  - stcredzero 8y ago
    Cue cries of corporations becoming more powerful than governments. That is a legitimate reason for concern. US corporations have ravaged entire countries in the past. Four of the largest US tech corporations taking coordinated action to punish a part of the US judicial system is something to be concerned about. If you're concerned about corporate lobbying, you should be at least as concerned about that. Probably more.
  - darkpuma 8y ago
    It was only a matter of time before the banana republic phenomena returned home.
  - tomc1985 8y ago
    "FANG Leaves Texas Court District In Digital Dark Age" A fun idea, never going to happen though...
usefulcat 8y ago
That's almost certainly not the intent. I'm pretty sure most Americans don't know or care very much about patent abuse, so to make this 'punishment' even remotely effective Apple would have to accompany it with a significant amount of marketing to get the message across. Have you heard of anything even remotely like that coming out of Apple? I mean, I guess they still could, but it does seem a pretty un-Apple thing to do.

I can't see how it makes sense to punish the customers for the behavior of a Federal district judge who isn't elected by them. (The President appoints Federal judges and the Senate confirms them.)

thorwasdfasdf 8y ago
At least it draws attention to the matter which helps in the long run. You need awareness of the issue, for it to make it into the public debate. Right now, most voting people don't understand the evils of patent trolling.
- tfandango 8y ago
  And they are opening a new store very close to the existing stores, just out of the district. So people will only have 1 store to go to, but it will be pretty close. I too think this may draw some attention from people who live there who may demand a change. I'd bet that most people would care more about a convenient Apple store over some corrupt lawyers and judges making a money grab.
mbrameld 8y ago
The customers elect people who can influence the president.
- otterley 8y ago
  The damage is done, though. Federal judges are appointed for life, and only a higher Court (again, whose judges are appointed for life by the President) can overturn their judgments. There is literally nothing the customers can do to change the outcome -- even through the electoral or political process -- except by petitioning Congress to change patent law.
  - darkpuma 8y ago
    Right now this region enjoys a financial windfall from the business their corrupt judges bring in. As such, I'd expect the judges to well liked in the region. Could this be the root of their motivation? Most bipedal monkeys love social validation. If the tables turn and the judges start hurting the local economy, I'd expect them to become hated. This is all very indirect, but I think it's worth a try.

monochromatic 8y ago

Oh please. The fact that you don’t like patents doesn’t mean that judges who disagree are corrupt.

mattnewton 8y ago
This district is a notorious harbor for patent trolls. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2017-05-25/the-texas-town-that-patent-trolls-built-j34rlmjc https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2017-05-25/the-te... https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/patently-unfair/ https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/patently-unfair/ https://boingboing.net/2017/09/26/judge-rodney-gilstrap-2.html https://boingboing.net/2017/09/26/judge-rodney-gilstrap-2.ht... http://www.judicialhellholes.org/2015-2016/u-s-district-court-for-the-eastern-district-of-texas/ http://www.judicialhellholes.org/2015-2016/u-s-district-cour...
- monochromatic 8y ago
  I’m aware that patent trolls bring a lot of cases there. That’s hardly the same as the judges being corrupt.
  - macintux 8y ago
    The steady influx of business has brought significant financial benefits to the area. It's not hard to suspect the correlation has a negative impact on the court's impartiality. In the case of Gilstrap's predecessor, there's a direct connection. > The top judge for patent cases in East Texas used to be John Ward, until he "retired" to join his son in a local law practice representing patent trolls. From https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151101/00440632686/court-has-opportunity-to-finally-end-east-texas-patent-troll-docket.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151101/00440632686/court...
hnbroseph 8y ago
goodness me. i always chuckle at these kinds of reductive strawmen.

tomc1985 8y ago

Oh man, imagine the riots and changes that would ensue is Amazon suddenly started blocking purchases from Eastern district residents... "well we don't want to be considered as doing business there, y'all need to fix your courts..."

emiliobumachar 8y ago
For maximum effect, organize. Amazon. Google. Netflix. Apple. All boycotting and IP blocking the District. Cue cries of corporations becoming more powerful than governments.
- stcredzero 8y ago
  Cue cries of corporations becoming more powerful than governments. That is a legitimate reason for concern. US corporations have ravaged entire countries in the past. Four of the largest US tech corporations taking coordinated action to punish a part of the US judicial system is something to be concerned about. If you're concerned about corporate lobbying, you should be at least as concerned about that. Probably more.
- darkpuma 8y ago
  It was only a matter of time before the banana republic phenomena returned home.
- tomc1985 8y ago
  "FANG Leaves Texas Court District In Digital Dark Age" A fun idea, never going to happen though...

usefulcat 8y ago

That's almost certainly not the intent. I'm pretty sure most Americans don't know or care very much about patent abuse, so to make this 'punishment' even remotely effective Apple would have to accompany it with a significant amount of marketing to get the message across. Have you heard of anything even remotely like that coming out of Apple? I mean, I guess they still could, but it does seem a pretty un-Apple thing to do.