12.02.17

Ignore IAM’s Jaw-Dropping Spin, Tencent Flourished in Spite of Patents, Not Thanks to Them

Posted in Asia, Patents at 4:26 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: The real news about Tencent has been exploited and twisted by the patent trolls’ lobby (IAM), which attempts to falsely attribute success to patents

IAM is more or less a think tank for patent trolls and various aggressors. It sets up lobbying events, sometimes even for the EPO, and it pushes a toxic agenda which is clearly very harmful to science and technology.

Yesterday IAM outdid itself and sank to new lows. IAM’s staff (what’s left of it anyway) saw some news about a company in China becoming big and decided to spin that as “patents” (the company succeeded in spite of patents, not thanks to them). The headline is laughable and it’s just the latest fantasy from the patent trolls’ lobby (IAM). It wants us to think companies succeed only thanks to patents. To quote some portions:

In the hottest Hong Kong IPO in a decade, shares of China Literature surged over 90% in their trading debut earlier this month. The wild success of Tencent’s digital publishing business with investors is just the latest success for the Shenzhen-based internet giant, which recently became the first Asian tech company to reach a total value of over $500 billion – joining the likes of Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet. The China Literature listing is a good example of how Tencent has deployed an IP strategy that goes well beyond patents to drive big revenues.

[...]

Patents have also supported Tencent’s move into the market for mobile and video games, where it has used M&A to become a major global force. A 2015 analysis found Tencent to be the most important holder of Chinese patents in the field, with other big powers including Huawei, ZTE and Microsoft. Thus far, the gaming segment seems to be the one that has precipitated the most overseas patent conflict for Tencent.

IAM then admits, only at the very end, that it’s not even about patents, as the company does not have many patents compared to smaller companies:

Tencent may not have quite the profile in the patent world that Chinese telecoms and other tech companies with more overseas business do, but the numbers show that it’s an important local player.

Lying is sometimes an art. IAM is artistic in the sense that it takes a subject which has nothing to do with patents and then turns that into patent maximalists’ propaganda. █

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Permalink Mail Send this to a friend

If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

Pages that cross-reference this one

What Else is New

EPO is Not European

Internationalists and patent trolls are those who stand to benefit from the 'globalisation' of low-quality and law-breaking patents such as patents on algorithms, nature and life itself; the EPO isn't equipped to serve its original goals anymore
The EPO's Central Staff Committee and SUEPO (Staff Union) Respond to “Fascist Bills” Supported by EPO President António Campinos

Raw material pertaining to the latest Campinos "scandal"; what Campinos said, what the Central Staff Committee (CSC) said, and what SUEPO said
Storm Brewing in the European Patent Office After a Hot Summer

Things aren't rosy in EPOnia (to say the least); in fact, things have been getting a lot worse lately, but the public wouldn't know judging by what media tells the public (almost nothing)
Why I Once Called for Richard Stallman to Step Down

Guest post from the developer who recently authored "Getting Stallman Wrong Means Getting The 21st Century Wrong"
As Richard Stallman Resigns Let's Consider Why GNU/Linux Without Stallman and Torvalds Would be a Victory to Microsoft

Stallman has been ejected after a lot of intentionally misleading press coverage; this is a dark day for Software Freedom
Links 16/9/2019: GNU Linux-libre 5.3, GNU World Order 13×38, Vista 10 Breaks Itself Again

Links for the day
Links 16/9/2019: Qt Quick on Vulkan, Metal, and Direct3D; BlackWeb 1.2 Reviewed

Links for the day
Richard Stallman's Controversial Views Are Nothing New and They Distract From Bill Gates' Vastly Worse Role

It's easier to attack Richard Stallman (RMS) using politics (than using his views on software) and media focus on Stallman's personal views on sexuality bears some resemblance to the push against Linus Torvalds, which leans largely on the false perception that he is sexist, rude and intolerant
Links 16/9/2019: Linux 5.3, EasyOS Releases, Media Backlash Against RMS

Links for the day
Openwashing Report on Open Networking Foundation (ONF): When Open Source Means Collaboration Among Giant Spying Companies

Massive telecommunications oligopolies (telecoms) are being described as ethical and responsible by means of openwashing; they even have their own front groups for that obscene mischaracterisation and ONF is one of those
'Open Source' You Cannot Run Without Renting or 'Licensing' Windows From Microsoft

When so-called ‘open source’ programs strictly require Vista 10 (or similar) to run, how open are they really and does that not redefine the nature of Open Source while betraying everything Free/libre software stands for?
All About Control: Microsoft is Not Open Source But an Open Source Censor/Spy and GitHub/LinkedIn/Skype Are Its Proprietary Censorship/Surveillance Tools

All the big companies which Microsoft bought in recent years are proprietary software and all of the company’s big products remain proprietary software; all that “Open Source” is to Microsoft is “something to control and censor“
The Sad State of GNU/Linux News Sites

The ‘media coup’ of corporate giants (that claim to be 'friends') means that history of GNU/Linux is being distorted and lied about; it also explains prevalent lies such as "Microsoft loves Linux" and denial of GNU/Free software
EPO President Along With Bristows, Managing IP and Other Team UPC Boosters Are Lobbying for Software Patents in Clear and Direct Violation of the EPC

A calm interpretation of the latest wave of lobbying from litigation professionals, i.e. people who profit when there are lots of patent disputes and even expensive lawsuits which may be totally frivolous (for example, based upon fake patents that aren't EPC-compliant)
Links 15/9/2019: Radeon ROCm 2.7.2, KDE Frameworks 5.62.0, PineTime and Bison 3.4.2

Links for the day
Illegal/Invalid Patents (IPs) Have Become the 'Norm' in Europe

Normalisation of invalid patents (granted by the EPO in defiance of the EPC) is a serious problem, but patent law firms continue to exploit that while this whole 'patent bubble' lasts (apparently the number of applications will continue to decrease because the perceived value of European Patents diminishes)
Patent Maximalists, Orbiting the European Patent Office, Work to 'Globalise' a System of Monopolies on Everything

Monopolies on just about everything are being granted in defiance of the EPC and there are those looking to make this violation ‘unitary’, even worldwide if not just EU-wide
Unitary Patent (UPC) Promotion by Team Battistelli 'Metastasising' in Private Law Firms

The EPO's Albert Keyack (Team Battistelli) is now in Team UPC as Vice President of Kilburn & Strode LLP; he already fills the media with lies about the UPC, as one can expect
Microsoft Targets GNU/Linux Advocates With Phony Charm Offensives and Fake 'Love'

The ways Microsoft depresses GNU/Linux advocacy and discourages enthusiasm for Software Freedom is not hard to see; it's worth considering and understanding some of these tactics (mostly assimilation-centric and love-themed), which can otherwise go unnoticed
Proprietary Software Giants Tell Open Source 'Communities' That Proprietary Software Giants Are 'Friends'

The openwashing services of the so-called 'Linux' Foundation are working; companies that are inherently against Open Source are being called "Open" and some people are willing to swallow this bait (so-called 'compromise' which is actually surrender to proprietary software regimes)
Microsoft Pays the Linux Foundation for Academy Software Foundation, Which the Linux Foundation is Outsourcing to Microsoft

Microsoft has just bought some more seats and more control over Free/Open Source software; all it had to do was shell out some 'slush funds'
Links 14/9/2019: SUSE CaaS Platform, Huawei Laptops With GNU/Linux

Links for the day
Links 13/9/2019: Catfish 1.4.10, GNOME Firmware 3.34.0 Release

Links for the day
Links 12/9/2019: GNU/Linux at Huawei, GNOME 3.34 Released

Links for the day
Links 12/9/2019: Manjaro 18.1 and KaOS 2019.09 Releases

Links for the day
EPO: Give Us Low-Quality Patent Applications, Patent Trolls Have Use for Those

What good is the EPC when the EPO feels free to ignore it and nobody holds the EPO accountable for it? At the moment we're living in a post-EPC Europe where the only thing that counts is co-called 'products' (i.e. quantity, not quality).
Coverage for Sponsors: What the Linux Foundation Does is Indistinguishable From Marketing Agencies' Functions

The marketing agency that controls the name "Linux" is hardly showing any interest in technology or in journalism; it's just buying media coverage for sponsors and this is what it boils down to for the most part (at great expense)
Watch Out, Linus Torvalds: Microsoft Bought Tons of Git Repositories and Now It Goes After Linux

Microsoft reminds us how E.E.E. tactics work; Microsoft is just hijacking its competition and misleading the market (claiming the competition to be its own, having "extended" it Microsoft's way with proprietary code)
Links 11/9/2019: Acer in LVFS, RawTherapee 5.7 and Qt 5.12.5 Released

Links for the day
Linux Foundation Inc. Buys Press About Itself and Media Coverage for Sponsors

Sponsoring so-called ‘news’ sites is bad enough; it is even worse when such media then covers you and your sponsors, such as Snyk (a Linux Foundation sponsor/member, fancier word for client)