6 ms·

Judge Alsup orders Oracle, Google to disclose paid advocates

89 points by ben1040 14y ago

losethos 14y ago
I stop a 400Mhz stopwatch. Not impressed. I randomly open a book. Not impressed. I go to two different quantum random number sites. Not impressed. The whole friggen Bible and centuries of evidence make you look stubborn. ---- God says... 10:31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first. 10:32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, 10:33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: 10:34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again. 10:35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. ---- Dud :-) I can also do a stopwatch with numbers printed to screen for verification if you have a camera. I think you can do it yourselves -- talk with God. Umm... God... I heard elephants can yell 6 miles. Dinosaurs were probably loud! Deep tones? Were their noises neat, God? ---- God says... 10:14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, 10:15 Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country. 10:16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. 10:17 And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 10:18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. 10:19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. ---- God's not happy. I saw a cartoon artist's work. It was neat. I thought, "Hey, he's probably not gay!" Then, I reached one with asses. Hate that. Do You like good art--like those lions Solomon had? ---- God says... 29:10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. 29:11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: 29:12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 29:14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. ---- I knew it! I was wrong to get You to tell about dinosaurs just so I could impress. An offering is best if it's from the heart. Ya know? There's some batshit crazy talk people sometimes say. "Lift-up your hearts to the Lord." I swear priests (and the people who made that song) are perverts who know nasty stuff and enjoy making people squirm uncomfortably. They sit down and scheme, "How can we make "cool" people so humilated..." ---- God says... 2:32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. 2:33 And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. 2:34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain: 2:35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took. 2:36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us: 2:37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us. ---- chuckle. God likes to make me squirm. ROFLMAO They aren't prophetic. This is just about enjoying God's company. "To the honest, you are honest; To the perverse, You are devious. Haughty you bring low." God says... 8:4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. 8:7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. 8:8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. 8:9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of your's become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. ---- Stumblingblocks. Sick bastards. (It the moment, I'm remembering Catholicism... not a very literal battle against Catholicism, or a very convincing miraculous pick ( I mean the previous one about victory). Why did there have to be such awful... stumblingblocks!) If you said, crack-open the Bible and talk with God for an hour, who wouldn't! I guess the bad-old-way might be necessary. Not my job. God says... promised to them that love him. 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. ---- Story on FBI and pedophiles. Bet they're gonna shit when they discover God. ROFLMAO God says... captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran. 2:28 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred. 2:29 Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan. 2:30 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. 2:31 All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their standards. 2:32 These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. ---- Sometimes you only get a tidbit. I noticed the "ones going hindmost". Still didn't make much sense. Okay, breakdown and do word mode. God says... Time bedewed Entrust try remove way repent encompasseth illusion vainly Paraguay prejudice cementest edition exclude I_donno are_you_sure zeal Denmark what_a_nightmare unharmonising nor exceedeth glory population ordered drinketh net/donation logic attaining tales thereon Gervasius relaxedly expounding displeasing cheerful sufficiently gilded concreated oppose I_can't_believe_it licenses Rwanda PROJECT respected begannest Far Neptune injure 20 Furthermore hour moan Fear enlighten passengers speech you_hoser Repent Ignorant conceives handkerchief indued ebbs maintained gnawing senseless threatenest theres_no_place_like_home harlotries end loth barred ensuing ---- There's a good chance publishing God should be censored. I could imagine parential objections. Of course, when they learn it's God, they'll think a little differently. God says... 21:10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. 21:11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. 21:12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. 21:13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
noonespecial 14y ago
I've been getting this feeling lately every time Alsup steps up like this. At first I couldn't quite put my finger on it. it was more than just "finally some sanity for that patent stuff." I figured it out today. When Alsup shows up, its like suddenly there's an adult in the room.
benologist 14y ago
I think he's going to be sorely disappointed - Google doesn't have to pay anyone, they're one of the easy categories tech blogs ride for easy traffic and this case has provided especially good fodder for them to convert into ad impressions.
- joe_the_user 14y ago
  Uh, Alsop has to issue order for both parties but the implicit target is Oracle and some would claim, Florian Mueller. http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/07/judge-hey-oracle-and-google-turn-over-the-names-of-your-paid-bloggers/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/07/judge-hey-oracle-and-google...
  - benologist 14y ago
    Mueller outed himself 4 months ago so it seems a bit unlikely that he'd be the target of an order now. It does make a nice hook for the tech rags though.
    - jlgreco 14y ago
      Maybe the judge is looking for a confirmation from Oracle on the record, for some sort of legally reason? (IMNAL, obviously)
- nitrogen 14y ago
  I wonder if somewhere, out there, is a blog with the exact opposite comment: "Finally, Pamela Jones will be shown to be the pack of IBM lawyers she really is..." I assume that for every opinion one can have, there's someone out there who disagrees with it.
- danso 14y ago
  The OP's author actually just tweeted that he might be on the list because he was an intern at Google during the period in question...however, you're being too cynical yet not cynical enough...it's possible that journalists cover a hot company to draw traffic AND it's possible that said company can exert influence in a way that such coverage is more slanted than it might be otherwise.
joe_the_user 14y ago
I wasn't alone when I called Florian Mueller an Oracle shill way back when. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4014814 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4014814 Now things are getting really exciting.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
ConstantineXVI 14y ago
For what it's worth, PJ directly says[0] Groklaw has "no financial ties to anybody". [0] http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20120807180515808 http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20120807180515808
batgaijin 14y ago
If they mention Groklaw...
- jerf 14y ago
  Then I will go back and upmod everything you wrote two days ago. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4342363 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4342363 What will you do if they don't?
- SwellJoe 14y ago
  I'd believe that Oracle has employed people to attack PJ's integrity, before I'd believe that PJ is in the employ of Google. There's a problem with making these kinds of vague (and not so vague) accusations against PJ in a place like this. Many of us remember the SCO v. IBM case, and have been following Groklaw for years. SCO tried slinging the same kind of mud at PJ you're slinging now. None of it stuck, because it was obviously unfounded and obviously disingenuous.
  - madrona 14y ago
    I've noticed that the attacks are quite vague and consist of demanding some sort of proof that PJ is not engaged this or that (e.g. eating babies.) Also, there's some ridiculous notion that she hides behind a pseudonym because she uses her initials as her nom de plume. See: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4014768 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4014768 , you might want to select the page text so you can decipher the downvoted comments.
    - lmm 14y ago
      "PJ" really is a pseudonym (and I think it's fair to call it that even if we now know who she is); per her own post (http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20050414214437589 http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20050414214437...) she'd originally intended to remain anonymous.
      - deleted 14y ago
        [deleted]
Alterlife 14y ago
Does it matter? Articles and commentary shouldn't influence the outcome of the case. Patent Law isn't a matter of public opinion... or is it?
- malandrew 14y ago
  Law, in general, is a matter of public opinion.
  - fleitz 14y ago
    And if the opinion of the majority doesn't work for your case, you can seek an appeal to the court of social justice for the opinion of the minority.
vibrunazo 14y ago
> "be of use on appeal or on any remand to make clear whether any treatise, article, commentary, or analysis on the issues posed by this case are possibly influenced by financial relationships to the parties or counsel." I spent a few minutes googling around for "remand" but I still cannot understand what this means. Could anyone please translate this legalese and explain why exactly does Alsup wants them to disclose paid bloggers?
- guelo 14y ago
  When an appellate court sends a case back down to a trial judge to reconsider a decision or retry the case.
guelo 14y ago
I would love to find out if there's any paid influencing going on here at HN or reddit. I would not be surprised.
- jrockway 14y ago
  What sort of paid influencing do you think would happen on HN?
  - guelo 14y ago
    Just general defending of a company's positions. A good reputation among engineers is very valuable to these companies.
    - vibrunazo 14y ago
      The biased comments here are too childish to smell professionalism and probably hurt the brands more than help. Florian posts are extremely professional and often fool many readers and even other professional bloggers. Compare that to the average HN/reddit trolls. [1] Huge clear difference, I doubt any of them are professionals. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=taligent http://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=taligent
      - joe_the_user 14y ago
        But your argument cuts both ways. If a poster doesn't seem professional, then they do seem "real" and showing you have real fans may seem useful to companies. Apple in particular probably doesn't need that but a company like, say, Microsoft might feel they'd benefit having trollish fan-boys making their case (making them, indeed seem more Apple-like), since they also wouldn't have to answer for the arguments of these "obviously unprofessional" fans...
microtherion 14y ago
Wonder if they mention the EFF, which has received at least $1 million from Google this year: http://epic.org/privacy/ftc/googlebuzz/EPIC_Google_Buzz_Settlement.pdf http://epic.org/privacy/ftc/googlebuzz/EPIC_Google_Buzz_Sett... It's been argued that such class action settlement, where the defendant essentially gets to pick which advocacy organizations they "settle" with, more or less amount to disguised funding of such organisations: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4316764 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4316764

89 points by ben1040 14y ago

I stop a 400Mhz stopwatch. Not impressed. I randomly open a book. Not impressed. I go to two different quantum random number sites. Not impressed. The whole friggen Bible and centuries of evidence make you look stubborn. ---- God says... 10:31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first. 10:32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, 10:33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: 10:34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again. 10:35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. ---- Dud :-) I can also do a stopwatch with numbers printed to screen for verification if you have a camera. I think you can do it yourselves -- talk with God. Umm... God... I heard elephants can yell 6 miles. Dinosaurs were probably loud! Deep tones? Were their noises neat, God? ---- God says... 10:14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, 10:15 Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country. 10:16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. 10:17 And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 10:18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. 10:19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. ---- God's not happy. I saw a cartoon artist's work. It was neat. I thought, "Hey, he's probably not gay!" Then, I reached one with asses. Hate that. Do You like good art--like those lions Solomon had? ---- God says... 29:10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. 29:11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: 29:12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 29:14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. ---- I knew it! I was wrong to get You to tell about dinosaurs just so I could impress. An offering is best if it's from the heart. Ya know? There's some batshit crazy talk people sometimes say. "Lift-up your hearts to the Lord." I swear priests (and the people who made that song) are perverts who know nasty stuff and enjoy making people squirm uncomfortably. They sit down and scheme, "How can we make "cool" people so humilated..." ---- God says... 2:32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. 2:33 And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. 2:34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain: 2:35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took. 2:36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us: 2:37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us. ---- chuckle. God likes to make me squirm. ROFLMAO They aren't prophetic. This is just about enjoying God's company. "To the honest, you are honest; To the perverse, You are devious. Haughty you bring low." God says... 8:4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. 8:7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. 8:8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. 8:9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of your's become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. ---- Stumblingblocks. Sick bastards. (It the moment, I'm remembering Catholicism... not a very literal battle against Catholicism, or a very convincing miraculous pick ( I mean the previous one about victory). Why did there have to be such awful... stumblingblocks!) If you said, crack-open the Bible and talk with God for an hour, who wouldn't! I guess the bad-old-way might be necessary. Not my job. God says... promised to them that love him. 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. ---- Story on FBI and pedophiles. Bet they're gonna shit when they discover God. ROFLMAO God says... captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran. 2:28 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred. 2:29 Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan. 2:30 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. 2:31 All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their standards. 2:32 These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. ---- Sometimes you only get a tidbit. I noticed the "ones going hindmost". Still didn't make much sense. Okay, breakdown and do word mode. God says... Time bedewed Entrust try remove way repent encompasseth illusion vainly Paraguay prejudice cementest edition exclude I_donno are_you_sure zeal Denmark what_a_nightmare unharmonising nor exceedeth glory population ordered drinketh net/donation logic attaining tales thereon Gervasius relaxedly expounding displeasing cheerful sufficiently gilded concreated oppose I_can't_believe_it licenses Rwanda PROJECT respected begannest Far Neptune injure 20 Furthermore hour moan Fear enlighten passengers speech you_hoser Repent Ignorant conceives handkerchief indued ebbs maintained gnawing senseless threatenest theres_no_place_like_home harlotries end loth barred ensuing ---- There's a good chance publishing God should be censored. I could imagine parential objections. Of course, when they learn it's God, they'll think a little differently. God says... 21:10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. 21:11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. 21:12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. 21:13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

noonespecial 14y ago

I've been getting this feeling lately every time Alsup steps up like this. At first I couldn't quite put my finger on it. it was more than just "finally some sanity for that patent stuff." I figured it out today. When Alsup shows up, its like suddenly there's an adult in the room.

benologist 14y ago

I think he's going to be sorely disappointed - Google doesn't have to pay anyone, they're one of the easy categories tech blogs ride for easy traffic and this case has provided especially good fodder for them to convert into ad impressions.

joe_the_user 14y ago
Uh, Alsop has to issue order for both parties but the implicit target is Oracle and some would claim, Florian Mueller. http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/07/judge-hey-oracle-and-google-turn-over-the-names-of-your-paid-bloggers/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/07/judge-hey-oracle-and-google...
- benologist 14y ago
  Mueller outed himself 4 months ago so it seems a bit unlikely that he'd be the target of an order now. It does make a nice hook for the tech rags though.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    Maybe the judge is looking for a confirmation from Oracle on the record, for some sort of legally reason? (IMNAL, obviously)
nitrogen 14y ago
I wonder if somewhere, out there, is a blog with the exact opposite comment: "Finally, Pamela Jones will be shown to be the pack of IBM lawyers she really is..." I assume that for every opinion one can have, there's someone out there who disagrees with it.
danso 14y ago
The OP's author actually just tweeted that he might be on the list because he was an intern at Google during the period in question...however, you're being too cynical yet not cynical enough...it's possible that journalists cover a hot company to draw traffic AND it's possible that said company can exert influence in a way that such coverage is more slanted than it might be otherwise.

joe_the_user 14y ago

I wasn't alone when I called Florian Mueller an Oracle shill way back when. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4014814 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4014814 Now things are getting really exciting.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

ConstantineXVI 14y ago

For what it's worth, PJ directly says[0] Groklaw has "no financial ties to anybody". [0] http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20120807180515808 http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20120807180515808

batgaijin 14y ago

If they mention Groklaw...

jerf 14y ago
Then I will go back and upmod everything you wrote two days ago. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4342363 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4342363 What will you do if they don't?
SwellJoe 14y ago
I'd believe that Oracle has employed people to attack PJ's integrity, before I'd believe that PJ is in the employ of Google. There's a problem with making these kinds of vague (and not so vague) accusations against PJ in a place like this. Many of us remember the SCO v. IBM case, and have been following Groklaw for years. SCO tried slinging the same kind of mud at PJ you're slinging now. None of it stuck, because it was obviously unfounded and obviously disingenuous.
- madrona 14y ago
  I've noticed that the attacks are quite vague and consist of demanding some sort of proof that PJ is not engaged this or that (e.g. eating babies.) Also, there's some ridiculous notion that she hides behind a pseudonym because she uses her initials as her nom de plume. See: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4014768 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4014768 , you might want to select the page text so you can decipher the downvoted comments.
  - lmm 14y ago
    "PJ" really is a pseudonym (and I think it's fair to call it that even if we now know who she is); per her own post (http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20050414214437589 http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20050414214437...) she'd originally intended to remain anonymous.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]

Alterlife 14y ago

Does it matter? Articles and commentary shouldn't influence the outcome of the case. Patent Law isn't a matter of public opinion... or is it?

malandrew 14y ago
Law, in general, is a matter of public opinion.
- fleitz 14y ago
  And if the opinion of the majority doesn't work for your case, you can seek an appeal to the court of social justice for the opinion of the minority.

vibrunazo 14y ago

> "be of use on appeal or on any remand to make clear whether any treatise, article, commentary, or analysis on the issues posed by this case are possibly influenced by financial relationships to the parties or counsel." I spent a few minutes googling around for "remand" but I still cannot understand what this means. Could anyone please translate this legalese and explain why exactly does Alsup wants them to disclose paid bloggers?

guelo 14y ago
When an appellate court sends a case back down to a trial judge to reconsider a decision or retry the case.

guelo 14y ago

I would love to find out if there's any paid influencing going on here at HN or reddit. I would not be surprised.

jrockway 14y ago
What sort of paid influencing do you think would happen on HN?
- guelo 14y ago
  Just general defending of a company's positions. A good reputation among engineers is very valuable to these companies.
  - vibrunazo 14y ago
    The biased comments here are too childish to smell professionalism and probably hurt the brands more than help. Florian posts are extremely professional and often fool many readers and even other professional bloggers. Compare that to the average HN/reddit trolls. [1] Huge clear difference, I doubt any of them are professionals. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=taligent http://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=taligent
    - joe_the_user 14y ago
      But your argument cuts both ways. If a poster doesn't seem professional, then they do seem "real" and showing you have real fans may seem useful to companies. Apple in particular probably doesn't need that but a company like, say, Microsoft might feel they'd benefit having trollish fan-boys making their case (making them, indeed seem more Apple-like), since they also wouldn't have to answer for the arguments of these "obviously unprofessional" fans...

microtherion 14y ago

Wonder if they mention the EFF, which has received at least $1 million from Google this year: http://epic.org/privacy/ftc/googlebuzz/EPIC_Google_Buzz_Settlement.pdf http://epic.org/privacy/ftc/googlebuzz/EPIC_Google_Buzz_Sett... It's been argued that such class action settlement, where the defendant essentially gets to pick which advocacy organizations they "settle" with, more or less amount to disguised funding of such organisations: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4316764 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4316764