Tag: patents

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The Twenty-Year Web Cache

[Using the metaphor of web comments forms and the annoyance of “your comment may take awhile to appear” messages to describe the inanity of the US Patent system][link]:

>So imagine that your ideas weren’t improvable by others for twenty years, and also, that you couldn’t build on the ideas of others for the same period of twenty years.
>
>Welcome to the patent system.

Pretty much, yeah. (via [Jesper][jesp])

[link]: http://falkvinge.net/2011/07/07/the-twenty-year-web-cache/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Falkvinge-on-Infopolicy+%28Falkvinge+on+Infopolicy%29 “The Twenty-Year Web Cache – Falkvinge on Infopolicy”
[jesp]: http://waffle.wootest.net/ “Waffle”

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Patent-Trolling “Intellectual Ventures” Using Over 1,000 Shell Companies

[Possibly the worst patent trolls ever.][link] Their business model is to threaten companies into paying them for use of their (often dubious) patents, using shell companies so the action can’t be traced back to them.

Just so we’re clear on Extra Future’s position: Intellectual Ventures is a jackass company run by jackasses. The fact that it exists is an indictment of the problems with the US patent system.

[link]: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100217/1853298215.shtml “Nathan Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures Using Over 1,000 Shell Companies To Hide Patent Shakedown | Techdirt”

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The EFF Needs Your Help To Bust A Patent on Podcasting

[A company called Volomedia was just granted a patent on “a method for providing episodic media.” and the EFF is tackling it.][link]

It walks like bullshit, talks like bullshit, and smells a whole lot like bullshit. The EFF is looking for examples of prior art (Prior to 19 November 2003).

[link]: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/11/eff-tackles-bogus-podcasting-patent-and-we-need-yo “EFF Tackles Bogus Podcasting Patent – And We Need Your Help | Electronic Frontier Foundation”