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GNOME files defense against patent troll
- danShumway 7y ago> We want to send a message to all software patent trolls out there — we will fight your suit, we will win, and we will have your patent invalidated. [...] > Third: our counterclaim. We want to make sure that this isn’t just dropped when Rothschild realizes we’re going to fight this. Good on them. Patent trolls thrive on hoping companies will take the easy route out. It's the same model as ransomware. I don't hold it against people who find themselves in a difficult position and can't afford to fight, but capitulating to these demands encourages trolls to try again. I have a lot of respect for anyone who's willing to go out of their way to make a patent troll regret filing a claim. In case people aren't reaching the bottom of the post, Gnome has a donation link up for legal funds: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/gnome-foundation-inc/gnome-patent-troll-defense-fund https://secure.givelively.org/donate/gnome-foundation-inc/gn...
- t0astbread 7y agoOr if you want to donate via regular bank transfer (without Plaid) you can do that as described here: https://www.gnome.org/support-gnome/donate/ https://www.gnome.org/support-gnome/donate/ It won't go specifically to the patent case though.
- dqv 7y agoI just donated $25. It was easy. Match me!
- dqpb 7y agoIs there anything we can do as a community to go after Rothschild Patent Imaging and put them out of business?
- jaimex2 7y agoSomeone should get patent on patent trolling and go nuts suing them all.
- pests 7y agoYou joke but I think IBM or someone similar did already get a patent on patent trolling.
- rhinoceraptor 7y agoA system and methods for extracting value from a portfolio of assets, for example a patent portfolio, are described. By granting floating privileges described herein, a portfolio owner can extend an opportunity for obtaining an interest in selected assets from the portfolio to a client who lacks the resources to accumulate and maintain such a portfolio, in return for an annuity stream to the portfolio owner. Their IP lawyers must have had a lot of fun writing that one. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20070244837 https://patents.google.com/patent/US20070244837
- jaimex2 7y agoWow. I'd love to see it used to troll the trolls.
- AdmiralAsshat 7y agoRegrettably, "the community" may not have standing to sue, however vile Rothschild may be.
- sigzero 7y agoMaybe not, but you can donate to the fund to help.
- brokensegue 7y agoseems the relevant patent is http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=9936086.PN.&OS=PN/9936086&RS=PN/9936086 http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=H... patented by this guy https://www.intellectualventures.com/buzz/insights/inventor-spotlight-leigh-rothschild/ https://www.intellectualventures.com/buzz/insights/inventor-...
- dahart 7y agoI read a little bit of it and started to wonder how iCloud isn’t prior art. Then I noticed that there’s a prior patent that’s nearly the same, but filed many years earlier (8437797) and they’ve used it to file against Apple and many others... Panasonic, Motorola, Netgear, etc. http://npe.law.stanford.edu/patent/8437797 http://npe.law.stanford.edu/patent/8437797
- ipozgaj 7y agoIt seems that the person in question was #2 on the "patent trolls top list" in 2016 https://www.rpxcorp.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/05/the-most-active-patent-trolls-of-2016.pdf https://www.rpxcorp.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/05/t...
- Smithalicious 7y agoHeh, it seems like being #2 on a scumbag top list is the worst place you can be; you don't even get to claim you're the biggest scumbag around.
- msadowski 7y agoHere is what I don't understand about this: where is innovation in this patent? It seems like some of the digital photo frames could be used as a prior art. As an outsider it looks to me that the US patent system is seriously limiting your innovation.
- ansible 7y agoFew people around here won't think that software patents (at least) are a cancer upon society, draining resources and wasting everyone's time.
- vkaku 7y agoGood for them. This is exactly how patent trolls should be handled.
- derekp7 7y agoI was wondering, since Gnome has a lot of development sponsored by Red Hat, and IBM now owns Red Hat, would IBM have any business interest in helping with the defense?
- phkahler 7y agoIBM spent a fortune fighting SCO, but we shouldn't expect them to be the only ones.
- xvilka 7y agoThe people behind patent trolls should be put in jail. Essentially they are dangerous for society.
- gnode 7y agoOr at least such lawsuits should be recognised as the vexatious and frivolous litigation which they are, and sanctions made accordingly (pay the defendants' costs, and disbarment for repeated cases).
- kitsunesoba 7y agoJust donated $50. Their fundraising platform supports Apple/Google Pay, so it’s super quick and easy. Don’t even have to give them card info if you don’t want to.
- tumetab1 7y agoPretty cool feature that I have never used before. Still beware that with Apple Pay gives out information like email and billing address.
- ansible 7y agoI was trying to find a way to do that from my desktop system, and could not. I ended up following the link via my Android phone to use Google Pay. Welcome to the mobile world! Insert a joke here about how I'm so old that I remember what it was like to buy things on a desktop system.
- alias_neo 7y agoHow does this work? I've been trying to donate, desktop doesn't give me any option other than bank account, and it doesn't support my UK bank, and even though I have Google Pay on Android, I don't get any such option in Firefox Mobile.
- kitsunesoba 7y agoI don’t have an Android device handy but you might need to use chrome to get Google Pay.
- dalaidunc 7y agoDefinitely I plan to donate, but it's important that this gets a lot of media attention. Patent trolls go through certain lax courts and judges who rule on the side of patent trolls an alarming number of times. If there is enough media attention around this then should there be any corrupt judges involved, they will have to think twice about their verdict as it will be closely scrutinized.
- nayuki 7y agoKudos to GNOME for standing up to the extortionist! This is similar to how Newegg fights patent trolls too, for example: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/01/patent-troll-realizes-it-sued-newegg-drops-lawsuit-the-next-day/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/01/patent-troll-rea...
- white-moss 7y agoAs one of (weekend) FLOSS software developer, I support this decision. Donated!
- eneveu 7y agoTried to donate multiple times but I keep getting an error "donation processing failed" :/ Tried twice on mobile using Google Pay, then on desktop using a credit card, then again with uBlock origin disabled...