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Patent reformer becomes troll, sues defunct OSS company
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| A small Web development and open source software company called CityWare was
| recently named alongside Google, Yahoo, Amazon and other software giants in a
| patent infringement lawsuit. What makes this unusual is that CityWare has no
| products or customers and no longer exists. The company was formed by
| software developer Nate Neel in 2004, but folded soon after due to lack of
| customers.
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http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/07/patent-reformer-becomes-troll-sues-defunct-oss-company.ars
Recent:
For East Texas Patent Lawyers: Maybe Next Time Don't Sue Random Open Source
Developers
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| Except, it appears that the lawyers for the patent holder (McKool Smith -- a
| favorite among the patent hoarders) didn't do much research on at least one
| of those "companies," named CitiWare. Slashdot alerts us to the fact that
| CitiWare was basically just a small open source project from one guy, who
| hoped to turn it into a business, but couldn't find any customers and shut it
| down. That guy has now turned the CitiWare.com website into an angry open
| letter to the patent holder and to its lawyers, demanding that they drop the
| case against him.
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http://techdirt.com/articles/20090726/0404495660.shtml
The Linux Defenders: Stop the Trolls, Protect Linux, Further Innovation
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| Patent Trolls are an ever-growing threat to global innovation. These IP
| aggregators purchase low-quality patents and use them as leverage to hijack
| potential revenue and profits from hardware and software companies, our
| largest economic driver. This causes entrepreneurs to reconsider launching
| companies, while CEOs devote more of their time and resources to managing
| intellectual property. New online and offline tools and services are becoming
| available to combat Patent Trolls and enable technology companies to focus on
| their core business.
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http://www.linuxtag.org/2009/en/program/freies-vortragsprogramm/wednesday/details.html?talkid=582
Distric Court Warns that "Patentee's Time For Trolling" Will End Without More
Definite Infringement Contention
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| In June 2008, DSC was given the source code to 8 of the accused software
| products, along with executable copies and operating manuals for the accused
| products. Despite having this information, DSC did not elaborate further on
| the PICs.
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http://271patent.blogspot.com/2009/06/distric-court-warns-that-patentees-time.html
Patent Litigation Weekly: PubPat and "Patent Troll" Make Strange Bedfellows
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| Ravicher acknowledged that it seems strange for a lawyer affiliated with
| PubPat—even as a volunteer—to have gone so far as to set up his own
| patent-holding company and then sued a group of major Internet players.
|
| "Dave, if you were to talk to him, he’d say software patents are good, and
| they incentivize innovation," says Ravicher. "Some people can’t be friends
| with people who disagree with them. But I’m friends with lots of people I
| have strenuous disagreements with."
|
| Asked whether he surprised by his friend's involvement in the business
| colloquially known as "patent trolling," Ravicher pauses, and then
| laughs. "Nothing surprises me these days."
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http://thepriorart.typepad.com/the_prior_art/2009/06/pubpat-and-patent-troll-make-strange-bedfellows.html
Former Microsoft Exec to Release Patent Troll Study
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| The funny part is that this former executive’s company makes its money by,
| you guessed it, collecting patents. The firm has yet to assert any of its
| rights in court, however.
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http://www.xchangemag.com/hotnews/former-microsoft-exec-to-release-patent-troll.html
Inventor says Google settles patent claim
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| Google has agreed to settle an intellectual property claim brought by serial
| inventor Judah Klausner, who has won settlements in the past from Apple,
| Skype and LG Electronics, Klausner said on Monday.
|
| The dispute concerned patents that Klausner holds covering so-called visual
| voicemail, which makes voicemail work more like email by sending visual
| alerts of voice messages to computers or phones, allowing users to
| selectively retrieve the messages.
|
| Visual voicemail is a key feature of many of the latest touchscreen phones on
| the market, including Apple's iPhone. New York-based Klausner holds several
| patents relating to the technology in the United States, Europe and Asia.
|
| Klausner grabbed the attention of the mobile phone industry in late 2007 when
| his company, privately held Klausner Technologies Inc, sued Apple and six
| other companies for $360 million for violating patents on visual voicemail
| technology.
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http://aftereffects.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=680610
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