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
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
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
|
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