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Cloudflare is like Google early days. They could spend resources on things for the good of the all. In this case they’re spending millions when they could have

by fuhrtf 3y ago

Cloudflare is like Google early days. They could spend resources on things for the good of the all. In this case they’re spending millions when they could have settled for much cheaper. Thanks Cloudflare.

hsuduebc2 3y ago
Hope they wouldn't end like google. But you are right. Thank you Cloudflare.
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  May their future noble side quests be successful.
- aftbit 3y ago
  You either die a hero or you live long enough to become a villain.
  - spaceguillotine 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - hsuduebc2 3y ago
      You got a point. Yesterday this post which was trending on hacker news mentioned that cloudflare was defending not revealing identity of people at court that were stalking and literally destroying someones live with swatting. I wouldn't say they are soulles corporation like google. Their attitude is somehow problematic yet admirable. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/swatting-nikki-haley-trump-fbi-stalkers-b2494097.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/swat...
      - Exoristos 3y ago
        Since when were internet companies part of law enforcement?
    - awesomeMilou 3y ago
      > it took a mass shooting to get them to stop protecting 8Chan While I agree with moving against bad actors on the internet, it's not CloudFlares role to play the censor. Let's be real, legislators and law enforcement already have the tools available to move against these type of platforms and pushing corporations into censorship gives me the same kind of vibes like when politicians ask for ever increasing (and useless) surveillance and empowerment in law enforcement capabilities.
- yread 3y ago
  CloudFlare will be much scarier than Google as a villain
adabyron 3y ago
Newegg was famous for doing this as well. Glad to see Cloudflare keeping the "Don't be evil" concept alive.
- coldpie 3y ago
  Newegg's fall was so sad to see. From an top-notch seller of tech with an admirable legal team that made headlines, to yet another no-name online flea market.
  - bashinator 3y ago
    So true. Thank goodness for Microcenter and B&H. Especially the latter still has a hand-curated product selection.
worewood 3y ago
I think this is just basic game theory. If they settled the trolls would just keep coming. If they fight the patent extortion then trolls are going to think twice before suing them, for fear of losing .
- croemer 3y ago
  Sure it might well be in Cloudflare's self-interest, but it's still good they're doing it this way. If it was very obviously the best thing to do, other companies would do likewise. The fact that Cloudflare's approach appears novel suggests it's not just simple self-interest.
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
  The company that I used to work for, had a vast patent portfolio. They were also getting sued regularly, by patent trolls. They had really good lawyers, and had a basic policy, to never settle with trolls. It wasn't altruistic. They just didn't want to get bullied. I'm sure that they also went after other companies, and there was probably a lot of wheeling and dealing. That's one of the reasons that corporations like to hoard patents. They used to require their engineers to file a couple of patents a year. I am on a patent. I got a dollar for it.
DistractionRect 3y ago
It probably wouldn't have been cheaper. The settlement would likely look like a fixed fee for previous use + yearly fee for X years before renegotiation, renegotiated y times before the patent expired. It's likely that over the lifetime of the patent, the total cost would have been more than the cost to fight it, and as the a sibling pointed out, settling begets more suits + settlements. It adds up fast. This isn't Cloudflare being "good," it's in their best interest to fight frivolous suits.
- gkiely 3y ago
  Why did none of the other companies listed in the article fight it, if this is the case?
  - nightpool 3y ago
    Maybe Sable saw Cloudflare as a juicier target, since the other companies listed are all hardware manufactures and don't operate a large consumer business like Cloudflare (leading to very, very different usage numbers). Or maybe Cloudflare thought that they had a better chance at trial against hardware patents, since they don't make router hardware themselves.
0cf8612b2e1e 3y ago
I am still like a 10% sure cloudflare is a government run honeypot.

by fuhrtf 3y ago

hsuduebc2 3y ago

Hope they wouldn't end like google. But you are right. Thank you Cloudflare.

toomuchtodo 3y ago
May their future noble side quests be successful.
aftbit 3y ago
You either die a hero or you live long enough to become a villain.
- spaceguillotine 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - hsuduebc2 3y ago
    You got a point. Yesterday this post which was trending on hacker news mentioned that cloudflare was defending not revealing identity of people at court that were stalking and literally destroying someones live with swatting. I wouldn't say they are soulles corporation like google. Their attitude is somehow problematic yet admirable. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/swatting-nikki-haley-trump-fbi-stalkers-b2494097.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/swat...
    - Exoristos 3y ago
      Since when were internet companies part of law enforcement?
  - awesomeMilou 3y ago
    > it took a mass shooting to get them to stop protecting 8Chan While I agree with moving against bad actors on the internet, it's not CloudFlares role to play the censor. Let's be real, legislators and law enforcement already have the tools available to move against these type of platforms and pushing corporations into censorship gives me the same kind of vibes like when politicians ask for ever increasing (and useless) surveillance and empowerment in law enforcement capabilities.
yread 3y ago
CloudFlare will be much scarier than Google as a villain

adabyron 3y ago

Newegg was famous for doing this as well. Glad to see Cloudflare keeping the "Don't be evil" concept alive.

coldpie 3y ago
Newegg's fall was so sad to see. From an top-notch seller of tech with an admirable legal team that made headlines, to yet another no-name online flea market.
- bashinator 3y ago
  So true. Thank goodness for Microcenter and B&H. Especially the latter still has a hand-curated product selection.

worewood 3y ago

I think this is just basic game theory. If they settled the trolls would just keep coming. If they fight the patent extortion then trolls are going to think twice before suing them, for fear of losing .

croemer 3y ago
Sure it might well be in Cloudflare's self-interest, but it's still good they're doing it this way. If it was very obviously the best thing to do, other companies would do likewise. The fact that Cloudflare's approach appears novel suggests it's not just simple self-interest.
ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
The company that I used to work for, had a vast patent portfolio. They were also getting sued regularly, by patent trolls. They had really good lawyers, and had a basic policy, to never settle with trolls. It wasn't altruistic. They just didn't want to get bullied. I'm sure that they also went after other companies, and there was probably a lot of wheeling and dealing. That's one of the reasons that corporations like to hoard patents. They used to require their engineers to file a couple of patents a year. I am on a patent. I got a dollar for it.

DistractionRect 3y ago

It probably wouldn't have been cheaper. The settlement would likely look like a fixed fee for previous use + yearly fee for X years before renegotiation, renegotiated y times before the patent expired. It's likely that over the lifetime of the patent, the total cost would have been more than the cost to fight it, and as the a sibling pointed out, settling begets more suits + settlements. It adds up fast. This isn't Cloudflare being "good," it's in their best interest to fight frivolous suits.

gkiely 3y ago
Why did none of the other companies listed in the article fight it, if this is the case?
- nightpool 3y ago
  Maybe Sable saw Cloudflare as a juicier target, since the other companies listed are all hardware manufactures and don't operate a large consumer business like Cloudflare (leading to very, very different usage numbers). Or maybe Cloudflare thought that they had a better chance at trial against hardware patents, since they don't make router hardware themselves.

0cf8612b2e1e 3y ago

I am still like a 10% sure cloudflare is a government run honeypot.