Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> U.S. Patent Office gets funding increase
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| he U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has received a budget increase of
>| about 9 percent for the government's 2008 fiscal year, prompting praise from
>| some tech groups.
> `----
>
> http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2008/010308-us-patent-office-gets-funding.html?fsrc=rss-linux-news
>
Ah, clearly they'd not dug a deep enough hole, so they've been given a
larger shovel.
> And look what /else/ is new:
>
> Digg And Others Sued For Infringing Infamous Computer Solitaire Patent
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| However, perhaps the most interesting is the third case discussed by the
>| Troll Tracker. It involves the somewhat infamous patents of Sheldon Goldberg,
>| which got plenty of attention back in 2004 when he started claiming that
>| computer solitaire was covered by his patents. The two key patents are for a
>| network gaming system and a method for playing games on a network.
> `----
>
> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080104/025253.shtml
Presumably this is referring to patience games?
>
> U.S. trade panel probes IBM-Asustek patent complaint
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| The trade agency said in a statement that the case would be
>| referred to an administrative law judge, who will hold a
>| hearing and make an initial determination. That decision is
>| subject to review by the ITC commissioners.
> `----
>
> http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSN0433227220080104
>
> State of the patent troll.
>
>
> Related:
>
> Yahoo Patent Troll
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvFUSHwRXJE
>
>
> Who is the world's biggest patent troll?
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| In two consecutive days, The Wall Street Journal presented two different
>| answers. The first is not surprising: Intellectual Ventures, the brainchild
>| of ex-Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold. It's now out "to raise as much as
>| $1 billion to help develop and patent inventions, many of them from
>| universities in Asia."
> `----
>
> http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9816163-16.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
>
>
> Playing Microsoft Patent Poker
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| This time though, while Ballmer slinks away to try to con ? convince people
>| that Microsoft Unified Communications somehow offers people more than what
>| Cisco's VOIP (voice over IP) been offering customers for years, a patent
>| attack finally launches at Linux. Specifically, IP Innovation, a subsidiary
>| of Acacia Technologies Group, has filed a patent infringement claim against
>| Linux distributors Novell and Red Hat.
>|
>| So was it just timing, or was it something more? Let's take a look at the
>| players.
> `----
>
> http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2201579,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03129TX1K0000616
>
>
> Acacia and Niro File Another Multi-Defendant Lawsuit on JPEG-on-a-Website
> Patent, Bringing Total to 16 Companies Sued
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| Assuming it files one per month for the next 39 months until the patent
>| expires, then what Acacia is really seeking is $600M from US industry for the
>| JPEG-on-a-website patent. My guess is they?ll sue many more companies than
>| that, and seek up to a billion dollars ? which, assuming a 33% contingency
>| fee (which is low, probably), amounts to a cool $100 million per year for the
>| Niro firm.
>|
>| And people wonder why he?d like to shut down websites critical of Acacia and
>| other patent trolls. The real question is what does he want from you and me,
>| for our photo blogs, our personal websites. His statements to IP Law 360 only
>| referred to companies.
>|
>| The other real question is how many companies will spend millions in
>| attorneys fees to fight rather than pay the $500K or $1M or $2M that Acacia
>| is demanding. That's the sad state of patent litigation these days.
> `----
>
> http://trolltracker.blogspot.com/2007/12/acacia-and-niro-file-another-multi.html
>
>
> Most of Chinese New Patents Are Garbage
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| On November 27, 2007, the Innovative National Construction and Intellectual
>| Property Symposium was held in Beijing. Representatives from a variety of
>| industries spoke at the event; most of them expressed their worries and
>| frustrations with China?s IPR protection framework. Mr. Fu Shaoming, head of
>| the IPR unit from Foxconn, China?s largest electronics OEM firm, claimed in
>| his speech that 90% of China's new and practical patents are de facto garbage
>| and should be discarded.
> `----
>
> http://www.chinatzone.com/news_dls.php?id=476&category=USITO%20Weekly%20China%20%20Summary
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
| Cola faq: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/linux/advocacy/faq-and-primer/ |
| Cola trolls: http://colatrolls.blogspot.com/ |
| My (new) blog: http://www.thereisnomagic.org |
|
|