patent holders

Well, well. While their names may be fading into history, Morpheus and Kazaa were the two big file sharing apps after Napster was shut down.

They were both built on the same basic platform (which came from Kazaa), and at some point the two actually got into a fight, leading Kazaa to shut off Morpheus, and years later there were still some lawsuits going on.

dwg points us to a fascinating ruling by CAFC in EON-NET LP v.

FLAGSTAR BANCORP, in which CAFC (who generally sides with patent holders) not only went against a patent troll, but also actually smacked the lawyers down with fairly large Rule 11 sanctions for filing a bogus lawsuit, where the intent appeared to only be to get a company to pay up.

We've talked in the past about the whole concept of tech transfer offices at universities.

This was an idea that became popular a couple decades back, that universities, with all their researchers, could create a profit center by licensing or selling the patents that come from university research.

The reality is that this has been a dismal failure.

Linux and Open Source Blog: "All good patent trolls know that you sue in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Texas (EDTX).

It's known for its pro-patent judges that speed patent cases along their docket to the patent holders' victory.

That's not just me and my anti-patent buddies speaking."

In the past, we've pointed out how many patent holders now get two entirely separate cracks at trying to get those they accuse of patent infringement to pay up.

There's the regular court system and there's an entirely separate International Trade Commission (ITC) process, as well.

Basically, the ITC can make rulings preventing importing infringing works, totally outside of the court system.

Lawyer Terry Hart, who we linked to last month for his discussion about whether or not it was okay to call infringement theft has now written another piece arguing that those of us who point out that copyright is not property may also be making a mistake.

Via Joe Mullin, we learn the rather unfortunate news that, when asked about Paul Allen's decision to sue lots of big tech companies over questionable patents, Wozniak comes out in favor of "patent trolls" and patent holders suing companies who actually innovate.

For someone so beloved by the tech community, these statements seem really unfortunate.

NY Times: "Nathan Myhrvold, chief of Intellectual Ventures, says patent holders are being treated unfairly."