Bonum Certa Men Certa

Today's IBM is Acting Like a Patent Troll and Arming Active Patent Trolls, Just Like Microsoft Does

Finjan is suing again

A coffee pot



Summary: IBM and entities that are connected to it (and to Microsoft) are suing the whole industry using dubious software patents; they rely on out-of-court settlements to prevent the patents from actually being tested (as tests typically invalidate these)

ARMED to the teeth with dubious software patents in large quantities (the USPTO granted these with minimal scrutiny), IBM mimics the model of Microsoft, having employed Marshall Phelps, the man who turned both companies into patent bullies and took pride in it. Forbes gave Phelps a whole blog; it also gave whole blogs to literal patent trolls.

"...IBM mimics the model of Microsoft, having employed Marshall Phelps, the man who turned both companies into patent bullies and took pride in it."IBM's patent bullying is counter-productive; there have been calls for boycott over it (even from Free/Open Source software people), whereas lawyers rejoiced because all they want is litigation. The more, the merrier.

As it turned out earlier this week, based on press releases and press coverage [1, 2, 3], Groupon basically surrendered and agreed to pay IBM loads of money without an actual trial that tests the patents at hand:

Groupon has managed to secure a money-off deal in its court battle with IBM over e-commerce patents.

The pair have agreed to settle the dispute, with the e-voucher biz set to pay $57m to IBM, knocking almost a third off the price tag granted by a court this summer.

In July, a jury ruled that Groupon had wilfully infringed four of IBM's e-commerce patents and awarded the firm some $83m – about half the $167m Big Blue had initially sought.

However, Groupon indicated at the time that it would consider seeking a reduction, or appealing the decision, and today's agreement suggests it did so with some success.

The lawsuit, filed in 2016, alleged that Groupon had infringed four of IBM's e-commerce patents, some of which date back to the 1980s for the firm's pre-internet Prodigy online communication service.


Yes, IBM uses old software patents for blackmail. Acting like Microsoft (more or less), IBM quit pretending to be a legitimate technology company. Groupon is only one among many companies that IBM is shaking down; we found out about Groupon only because there was a refusal and subsequently a lawsuit. Yesterday we saw nothing but shallow coverage about it [1, 2]; no doubt patent maximalists are going to celebrate this in days/weeks to come.

"It might be interesting to see to what degree -- if any -- Finjan relies on the patents it got from IBM."IBM wishes to be thought of as "science" and "wisdom" (Watson is pure PR/marketing), but in reality today's IBM applies for truly ridiculous patents while lobbying for software patents and engaging in blackmail rather than sales.

To make matters even worse, IBM extends its patents to notorious patent trolls like Finjan; sponsored/backed by Microsoft and armed by IBM last year, Finjan has just announced another lawsuit, this time in Delaware for a change because it's displacing Texas according to fairly recent data.

Finjan Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNJN), a cybersecurity company, today announced that -- after more than two years of good faith efforts to resolve a patent dispute with Rapid7, Inc. and Rapid7 LLC (collectively, "Rapid7") -- its subsidiary Finjan, Inc. ("Finjan") has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Rapid7, a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware ("Delaware").


So this Microsoft patent troll does the only thing it ever does; it's suing (trolling) Microsoft rivals again. It might be interesting to see to what degree -- if any -- Finjan relies on the patents it got from IBM. They're a leveraging/bargaining card at the very least.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Techrights Will Spend the Next Few Years Writing a Lot About Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
It's a growing problem
The State of EPO Staff's Health in Rijswijk or The Hague
We're going to cover the EPO some more later in the month
NVIDIA Corp Lost 36% of Its "Value" Since Cheeto Inauguration, But "Gen Hey Hi" (GenAI) is Totally Not a Bubble
Selling loads of unneeded hardware based on hysterical hype; like selling shovels during a Gold Rush
 
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: What Was Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
We hope to finish this whole lot within a week, then move on to election, lobbying etc.
Links 05/04/2025: Tariffs Backfiring, YouTuber Arrested, X/Twitter Set to be Fined
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Offline is For Everyone, Copyright Colonialism, and More
Links for the day
Links 05/04/2025: TikTok Unsold (Still), Royal Society is Dead
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia, Windows by Default No More?
GNU/Linux is now on the shelf
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux 'Articles' From Linux-Hostile LLMs
It is almost always negative things and nobody can be held responsible for it except the charlatans prompting the LLMs
Links 05/04/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) "Sale Looks Highly Imminent" (US), Stock Market Drowning in Panic
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Moving Plants, No to Smartwatches, RAID Hygiene
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 04, 2025
Techrights Has Dealt With More Potent SLAPPs Than Violent Microsofters Begging to Hide What They Did to Women
I became accustomed to SLAPPs
Links 04/04/2025: Fury in South Korea, Flight MH370 Remains Mystery
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Anger and Raspberry Pi CM4
Links for the day
Links 04/04/2025: LLM Slop Bubble Bursting and Korea Music Copyright Association Bans Slop 'Music'
Links for the day
Traf-O-Data, the Company That Jeffrey Epstein's BFF (Bill Gates) (Co)Founded 53 Years and Went Out of Business Due to Heavy Losses
Who will die first, Bill or Microsoft?
Why Microsoft's Shares Sank Almost 20% in Recent Months (the Bubble is Imploding)
verified press reports from the past 24 hours
A Note on SimilarWeb
Or why SimilarWeb is meaningless for more than 99% of the sites on the Web
GNU/Linux Rises to Almost 5% in Algeria While Windows Sinks to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux grew tenfold
Where to Get More Gags
A valued reader recommended that to us
Links 04/04/2025: Tech Stock (Inc. GAFAM) Fall, Google Pretends to Do End-to-End Encrypted Emails (With Google in Control)
Links for the day
IBM Said to be Shutting Down Offices or Sites in the United States
the press can no longer avoid admitting that IBM moves many jobs to India
To Participate in Fedora Diversity You Must Use Proprietary Software
Not for the first time either
LLM Slop as Attack Vector on the Reputation of Linux
The attacks on Linux have escalated to information warfare
Yandex About to Be Three Times Bigger Than Microsoft (Bing) in Asia
That's about 60% of the world's population
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Decoupling Updates, Elaho as Gemini Client
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 03, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 03, 2025
Microsoft's Trouble in Africa and Asia
A new all-time high for GNU/Linux
Brett Wilson LLP Reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The saddest thing in all this is that law firms can maintain high standards shall they wish to
Links 03/04/2025: Tariff Pains and C.D.C. Cuts
Links for the day
StatCounter: Microsoft is Masking a Disaster, It's Way Behind DeepSeek Already and Interest in LLMs Has Waned
it turns out the money "raised" for "Open" "AI" may not even exist at all
Links 03/04/2025: SoftBank Money for Microsoft "Open" "AI" Probably Doesn't Even Exist, Wikimedia Foundation Blasts LLM Nuisance While Microsoft Admits Demand Has Shrunk
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/04/2025: Patch Panel and Pictures
Links for the day
Islamic Republic of Iran: GNU/Linux at All-time High This Month, Windows Falls to 12%
Vista 10 is up this month despite being "end of life" (EoL) soon
Indonesia: All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
What's noteworthy right now is the growth of GNU/Linux
statCounter Says GNU/Linux Usage is Up Again (Internationally)
some preliminary April data
Only on April 1st Can the Free Software Foundation Associate With Microsoft's Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We saw some pranks that day linking the FSF to Microsoft (e.g. "endorsing" Windows)
Confirmed in the Mainstream Media: A Lot of Microsoft "Workloads" Were Just LLM Slop (Helping to Fake Growth for Years, as Microsoft Had Paid "Open" "AI" to Become a "Client") and Demand is Rapidly Waning, Datacentres Canceled and/or Shut Down
Anything to facilitate further accounting fraud
Taiwan's Media Covers Closure of Microsoft's "AI" Lab, It's Time to Talk About the Gradual Death of Windows and Implosion of the "AI" Bubble
Earlier this week we showed that mostly Asian media had the 'nerve' to mention Microsoft silently shutting down its 'AI' lab
IBM Gets Rid of Kelly Chambliss as Mass Layoffs Reported in IBM Consulting, IBM Loses Key Contracts/Graft
IBM Consulting has been in disarray lately
More Gains for GNU/Linux, Based on Web Surveys
the Steam site shows rapid growth for "Linux" this month
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles, Not Even Written by Humans
Why aren't Web sites more vocal about this problem?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Links 03/04/2025: Apple Fined Over Secret Surveillance, "Elegant Writer For A More Civilized Age"
Links for the day