Bonum Certa Men Certa

IBM Helps a Microsoft-Connected Patent Troll Create Another Trolling Branch, Known as Finjan Blue

Ginni Rometty
Photo source (modified slightly): The 10 Most Powerful Women in Technology Today



Summary: The parasite known as Finjan spends money buying some more patents in order to expand the breadth of its patent shakedown campaign -- a ruinous campaign which drains hundreds of millions of dollars out of the economy

IBM is doing a great disservice to Free software and to GNU/Linux. In fact, it's doing a disservice to all software developers (everywhere in the world). As we have been showing many times this year, with its patent policies and (software) patent lobbying -- not to mention patent lawsuits -- IBM made it clear that it's a pariah company hellbent/determined to extract money from rivals at any cost (even immeasurable cost to its image).



"So, while Microsoft tells us that it "loves Linux" expect this troll which it once funded to sue everyone who has some security products (or extract settlement money without ever announcing it)."Earlier this month we wrote at least three articles about Finjan Holdings' connections to Microsoft and accelerating campaign of patent lawsuits against Microsoft's rivals. Well, days ago it announced "Finjan Blue, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Finjan Holdings" (Delaware is where many patent lawsuits get filed).

What's it all about? Well, IBM has just been feeding a notorious patent troll that is connected to Microsoft, in order to help the troll go preying on a lot of companies, using patents that aren't even legitimate (if properly assessed). Finjan isn't just suing; it's also blackmailing and extorting an unknown number of companies out there. We have been writing about this for over half a decade. Here is how IAM put it earlier today:

It may be a depressed market for patent assets generally, but Finjan’s recent deal with IBM seemingly bucks that trend. Big Blue has agreed to hand over 25 grants and 16 applications to the cyber security business and in return will receive $2 million upfront and a further $6.5 million over a five-year period – that’s an overall price per patent of more than $200,000, which is a decent return by any standard.

In terms of size, though, the transaction pales in comparison with the 4,000 former Kodak patents that Dominion Harbor picked up from Intellectual Ventures or the stockpile of 6,000 Nokia assets (and before that Alcatel Lucent) that is currently being hawked in the market.


So, while Microsoft tells us that it "loves Linux" expect this troll which it once funded to sue everyone who has some security products (or extract settlement money without ever announcing it). A lot of security products are based on BSD or GNU/Linux.

Why does IBM help this? Is IBM really that desperate? This is more of the pattern we have been seeing from IBM. It's like there is no moral compass left at that company.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Michael “Monty” Widenius: It Started in 1983 With Richard Stallman (RMS)
The other co-founder of MySQL is a bit notorious for confronting RMS rather viciously
For the Second Time in a Few Weeks Microsoft Lunduke Makes False Accusations Against Senior Red Hat Staff to Incite a Despicable 'Troll Army'
Nothing that Microsoft Lunduke claims of says can be trusted
 
Links 03/10/2025: Lawyers Caught Using LLM Slop Explain Why They Did It, LibreSSL 4.1.1 and 4.0.1 Released
Links for the day
FSF Board Grew 50% Since Last Year, Has New President, Turns 40 in Two Days
It's a good move for the FSF and - by extension - for software freedom
Links 03/10/2025: Conflicts, Death of TypePad, and TikTok/CheeTok Gives a Boost to Far Right Groups in Europe
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 02, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 02, 2025
Slopwatch: Linux Journal, Google News, and LinuxSecurity
They carry on polluting the Web with fake articles
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: Kubernetes With FreeBSD and robots.txt
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2025: 'Open' 'AI' Resorting to Gimmicks and Fake Funding, Europe’s ‘Drone Wall’ Discussed
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2025: Brave Passes 100M Users Milestone, Kodak Selling Its Own Film Again
Links for the day
su lisa && rm -rf /home/ibm/power
Novell was ruined by another person from IBM, Ronald Hovsepian
A Record Demand at Microsoft: Demand to Cancel
What we're witnessing is a very ungraceful destruction of XBox
Microsoft is Losing Europe
Hence all the "support" and "discount" offers that are limited to Europe
The Free Software Foundation Starts Fund-raising for 40th Anniversary
New pop-up 2-3 days ahead of the 40th anniversary event
Systemd Breaks Networking in Debian and Microsoft Staff Rushes to Make Face-Saving Excuses in LWN
Microsoft's bluca is already there in the comments, his Microsoft money pays for LWN to let him leave comments early
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 01, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 01, 2025
What the End of XBox Will Look Like: a Fiery Crash
XBox is the next Skype. It won't last much longer. Expect many more layoffs.
Richard Stallman is Going to Finland to Give a Talk Next Thursday
A day later he speaks in Sweden
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: SMTP Pipelining and End of ROOPHLOCH 2025
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Plagiarism, Fake Articles, and FUD About Linux
not a day goes by without Google News feeding FUD from slopfarms
Gemini Links 01/10/2025: Chat Control and End of Life
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: Long Covid Risk Reiterated, "Bitcoin Queen" Caught
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: EA $55 Billion Deal is Debt and Slop "Raises Vishing Risks"
Links for the day
Bluewashing at Red Hat Means Redundancies
The man who sold Red Hat to IBM meanwhile became a Microsoft Mono booster
After Killing OpenSource.com, IBM ('Red Hat') and OSI Told Us OpenSource.net Would Replace It (But That Didn't Happen)
Now it's time to move on, perhaps tarnishing the "Open Source" label some more (for whatever sponsor wants this)
Linux is Not a Community Project, It's a Wall Street Product
The core goal should be freedom
Bad Actors Abusing the Free Software Community, Vandalising It Using Rogue Politics and Old Tactics
Oil giants have long attempted to do this; now, the digital equivalent of Big Oil does this in technology
Social Control Media Isn't the Future, The Federation or Fediverse Isn't Growing, People's Accounts Vanish for Good
users' accounts will get deleted, not just become inactive
IBM is Failing, This Helps Show Wall Street is Entirely Detached From Actual Commercial Performance
IBM is unable to grow, it's just constantly shrinking
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Clerical Aspects of Publishing and Development
In Free software, the management aspects are considerably reduced
Slopwatch: Fake Articles and Google News Promoting "Linux" Spam or Bot-Generated Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD)
These slopfarms help misplace blame
Third Wave of Microsoft Layoffs in September, This Time Many in Liverpool Affected
Be ready for more waves of layoffs ahead of the so-called "results" in late October