Bonum Certa Men Certa

What is Interval Research Corporation? (Origin of Paul Allen's Patent Troll)

Interval banner



Summary: A quick review of the patent troll which is used by Microsoft's co-founder to sue almost everyone but Microsoft

IN OUR previous two posts about Microsoft's co-founder Allen becoming a patent troll [1, 2] we attempted to gather more information about the shell he was using. It was originally called "Interval Research Corporation".



One reader gave us a link to the Web site from 13 years ago (the site no longer exists). In the interests of preserving this for history, here is how Interval described itself back then: "Interval Research Corporation considers how technology will impact individuals and experiments with the possibilities.

"Founded in 1992 by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., and David Liddle, a computer industry veteran with deep roots in research, Interval is a research setting seeking to define the issues, map out the concepts and create the technology that will be important in the future. With its long-term resources, Interval pursues basic innovations in a number of early-stage technologies and seeks to foster industries around them -- sparking opportunity for entrepreneurs and highlighting a new approach to research.

"Typical research areas at Interval include signal computation, digital entertainment systems, field ethnography, adaptive computational structures, portable and wearable information technology, interactive entertainment, wireless communication and sensing, network cultures, design, technology and lifestyle choices, immersive environments, on-line journalism, and experimental media.

"To bring a fresh and real-world perspective to creating these futures, Interval has gathered a broad range of people to make up its research staff, including film makers, designers, musicians, cognitive psychologists, artists, computer scientists, journalists, entrepreneurs, engineers and software developers. The company also collaborates with other research groups and university laboratories, including the Royal College of Art, the MIT Media Lab, the Santa Fe Institute and Stanford University and many others.

"Technology will change the way we perceive our world. Interval will change the way people feel about technology."

Allen's colleague at the time (co-founder David Liddle) is described in Wikipedia as "co-founder of Interval Research Corporation, consulting professor of computer science at Stanford University, and credited with heading development of the groundbreaking Xerox Star computer system. He has served on the board of many corporations. He was chair of the board of trustees of the Santa Fe Institute from 1994 to 1999."

What has he been up to since then? Allen's history is well known and documented extensively on the Web, even some literature. So let's take a look at Liddle. He appears to be here and according to LinkedIn, his recent professional history is as follows:

# Director Karmasphere

(Privately Held; Information Technology and Services industry)

March 2010 — Present (6 months)

# Director Electric Cloud

(Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

2007 — Present (3 years )

# Director Klocwork

(Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

2005 — Present (5 years )

# Director MaxLinear

(Public Company; MXL; Semiconductors industry)

2004 — Present (6 years )

# Director Optichron

(Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)

2002 — Present (8 years )

# Director New York Times Company

(Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)

2000 — Present (10 years )

# Venture Partner U.S. Venture Partners

(Partnership; Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)

January 2000 — Present (10 years 8 months)

# General Partner U.S. Venture Partners

(Partnership; Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)

July 2000 — July 2009 (9 years 1 month)

# President, CEO Interval Research

(Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

1992 — 1999 (7 years )


Prior to that he worked for IBM, Metaphor Computer Systems, and Xerox Corporation. Prior to Xerox he earned his Ph.D. and right now he works as a venture capitalist. The interesting thing is that he left Interval 11 years ago having served as president and CEO there. Their Web site vanished and suddenly it resurfaced out of nowhere only with a lawsuit and some patents. Did someone just pick up those patents and decide to sue without the awareness of Allen and Liddle? Maybe they just carried Allen's name in the press release in order to gain credibility? We decided to find out. Given that Microsoft was excluded from the lawsuit, it's quite likely that Allen had a role. If so, this shows that he is just as malicious and greedy and Gates. As Against Monopoly put it:

Paul Allen Files Patent Lawsuits Against The Entire Web (Except for Microsoft)



[...]

Obviously, the less-than-clarifying Bilski decision from the Supreme Court isn't deterring him.


The question is, how much of a role does Allen really play here? According to Wikipedia, "As of June 2008, the interval.com domain registration was maintained by Digeo, another Paul Allen company." The article also says that "Interval Research was issued approximately 300 patents" and that Allen's own Interval Licensing LLC holds them. A direct relationship can therefore be shown.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM Misleads and Gaslights Investors With Slop Sold as "AI" (the Business is Waning, Mass Layoffs Continue)
People who do this are dishonest. They should not be put in charge.
Submit Your Suggestions for EU's Embrace of Software Freedom by Tomorrow
Time to leave GAFAM (US) hegemony behind
Slopless Weekend
This is not sustainable
 
Gemini Links 02/02/2026: Stages of Age, Workflows, and Counting Capsules
Links for the day
Oracle's Debt Rose Over 20 Billion Dollars in Just 3 Months
Is "hey hi" becoming a synonym for debt?
Oligarchs' 'Speech Zones' Are Not the "Public Square"
The apologists of social control media, including press that got "addicted" to such fake "media", are helping dictators and oligarchs grab the public attention away from the real press
Links 02/02/2026: 'Melania' a Horror Movie "Will They Inherit Our Blogs?"
Links for the day
Doing More Detailed Series (Long-Form Works)
Long readings or book-like reading binges are only possible when parts are suitably labeled (name and numbers) if not interlinked
Mobbing at the European Patent Office (EPO) - Part II - Racism, Cocaine Use and White-Collar Corruption
When you hire people illegally, to work for cocaine users and keep quite about the cocaine use, what will be the impact on the reputation of an institution?
A Can of WORMS - Part II - Darkening the Name of RMS, Associating It With Crime
Beware projection tactics
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 01, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, February 01, 2026
Gemini Links 01/02/2026: Fossil Heating Installations and Some FOSDEM Coverage
Links for the day
The State of Memory Leaks in GNU/Linux
The issue won't be solved by adding more memory
Links 01/02/2026: Nvidia's Jensen Talks Down Microsoft 'Open' 'Hey Hi' and Britain's Starmer Makes Friends With China, Japan
Links for the day
Why Microsoft Accenture Has So Many Layoffs in Recent Years
The debt of Accenture doubled a year ago
Links 01/02/2026: Public TV Gutted by Cheeto, Billionaires Fund a Cheeto Propaganda Movie in 'Documentary' Clothing
Links for the day
The New Site ("New Techrights", SSG Since 2023) Exceeds the Old Site in Requests
The "New Techrights" gets about twice as many requests as the "old" (WordPress) "Techrights", the site of 2006-2023
20 Years Ago
Some time soon all this slop frenzy will become like yesterday's "blockchain" or "metaverse"
Gemini Links 01/02/2026: Zdzisław Beksiński and Disconnected Git Workflow
Links for the day
Talks About Nadella's Microsoft Exit After Chatter About Tim Crook Leaving Apple (Years Ahead of Retirement Age)
Mass layoffs and record debt do not represent a company's health.
We Still Cover the Same Problems We Spoke of 20 Years Ago
We're not easily seduced by "novelty" (new things), we try to judge them critically
Patents Standing in the Way
They also cause environmental harm
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, January 31, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, January 31, 2026
IBM, a Microsoft Company
Microsoft and IBM as a pair go a long way back
A Lot Less GAFAM in Scandinavia
Are they reacting to geopolitics and risks from the US?
IBM Kills Companies It Bought (Neudesic Seems Like Latest Casualty)
Why isn't even a single publisher investigating those things?
Fake "Linux" Articles
Just because some platform has "Linux" in the domain name and/or site name does not imply that it is a news/Linux site
Gemini Links 31/01/2026: "Proof Without Content" and "Technology Connections"
Links for the day
Links 31/01/2026: Microsoft "OpenAI Representatives Are Going to Critics’ Houses With Threats and Demands", Its Proprietary Chaffbot Faces More Lawsuits
Links for the day
Links 31/01/2026: "Introducing Encrypt It Already" and "Huge Cache of Epstein"
Links for the day
A Can of WORMS - Part I - Trying to Throw RMS Under the Bus at MIT and Everywhere Else
This series won't give air to online 'trolls'
Mobbing at the European Patent Office (EPO) - Part I - An Introduction
When the series ends, some time around the second or third EPO strike of this year, we'll contact the relevant authorities and plead for intervention
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Delusion - Part I - Who Regulates This Regulator? (Only Itself!)
We won't self-censor or prematurely terminate this series
Norway Almost Trusts Russia More Than the Bill Gates (Sleeping With Young Russian Girls) Company, Microsoft
Microsoft represents crime
Riddle Us This... (Jim Zemlin and Bill Gates)
Do these people even understand the literal meaning of "safe space"?
Is "Nobel Prize for Peace" a Sick Person's 'Code Word' for Gangbanging Now? Ask Bill Gates.
Watch all the Gates apologists getting all silenced/silent
BBC Gaslights Women Sexually Exploited (Many Under Legal Age) for Its Rich Sponsor, Bill Epsteingate (Gates)
Is this a national broadcaster or a propaganda tool "For Rent"?
Microsoft 'Open' 'AI' Reportedly About to Become Bankrupt, Seeking Emergency Cash Infusion (Loans)
the money promised to Microsoft 'Open' 'AI' failed to arrive
Gemini Links 31/01/2026: Deep Ice and Slide Rules
Links for the day
Writing About Abuse
Never ever allow misogynists to get their way if you strive to live in a decent society
MIT DEDP MicroMasters online learner's blog post about cover-up linked to resignation of Swiss financial regulator
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Salary Erosion Procedure (SAP) as the Primary Reason for EPO Strikes
They focus on financials, as the corruption aspects are un-sayable or unspeakable, except in private
IBM Bluewashing: Feels Like IBM is Scuttling Neudesic (and Some of Red Hat)
We recently saw some Red Hat staff joining a Microsoft proxy
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, January 30, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, January 30, 2026
Microsoft Stock Collapsing Due to the Slop Bubble and Microsoft is Hiding Budget 'Black Holes'
Microsoft does not perform like it tells "the media" and "the market"