Darren, please define "patent troll" for me again. I'm going to need some help.
Is it an entity that holds patents that they do not practice like MS, IBM, HP, Apple, Sony, etc.
Or is it just anyone who files a patent suit?
Which definition are we using again here?
You should just move to China, they don't have a viable patent system. Of course, they also have next to no innovation in the technical arts, but that's inconsequential to you right?
I can't speak for Darren (nor do I want to...) but generally a patent troll is someone who follows a particular pattern of:
- Looking at an upcoming technology - Looking for problems that will need to be solved for that technology - Patenting the obvious solutions (at this stage, because the technology is upcoming, it's not the case that the Patent Office can see the solutions are obvious) - Going underground for a few years waiting for the tech to go mainstream, for significant numbers of companies to have invested enough into it not to be able to get out easily - Sue for patent infringement
It's a pattern that's been repeated numerous times. There are companies out there still suing every small business with a web-based store for infringing patents on stuff that virtually everyone implements practically automatically.
Whether this patent is an example is something I can't comment upon. It's just a shame nobody ever concentrates on patenting evil uses of a technology, so that the solution for all the companies targeted is to remove, say, the more obnoxious DRM schemes, etc.
So, hmmm, has anyone got a patent on using say, a code, stored on a flash memory card to ensure movies stored on said card are not played in countries outside of those assigned that code? Excuse me, I have a patent application to make...
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Darren, please define "patent troll" for me again. I'm going to need some help.
Is it an entity that holds patents that they do not practice like MS, IBM, HP, Apple, Sony, etc.
Or is it just anyone who files a patent suit?
Which definition are we using again here?
You should just move to China, they don't have a viable patent system. Of course, they also have next to no innovation in the technical arts, but that's inconsequential to you right?
I can't speak for Darren (nor do I want to...) but generally a patent troll is someone who follows a particular pattern of:
- Looking at an upcoming technology
- Looking for problems that will need to be solved for that technology
- Patenting the obvious solutions (at this stage, because the technology is upcoming, it's not the case that the Patent Office can see the solutions are obvious)
- Going underground for a few years waiting for the tech to go mainstream, for significant numbers of companies to have invested enough into it not to be able to get out easily
- Sue for patent infringement
It's a pattern that's been repeated numerous times. There are companies out there still suing every small business with a web-based store for infringing patents on stuff that virtually everyone implements practically automatically.
Whether this patent is an example is something I can't comment upon. It's just a shame nobody ever concentrates on patenting evil uses of a technology, so that the solution for all the companies targeted is to remove, say, the more obnoxious DRM schemes, etc.
So, hmmm, has anyone got a patent on using say, a code, stored on a flash memory card to ensure movies stored on said card are not played in countries outside of those assigned that code? Excuse me, I have a patent application to make...