In order to demonstrate the pathetic state of the patent system in the United States, consider this patent which even earned bragging rights.

The patents protect innovations that enable "Pay-Per-Call" advertising and "Click to Call" technology...

Here is what you find once you dig a little deeper. [Via Digitial Majority]

Convicted felon Steve Ivester was involved with VoIP Inc. during its early days when it was making a transition from tea company to Vonage competitor. Over the past 12 months, VoIP Inc.’s stock has tanked — from over $8 a share to less than a penny.

"Convicted felon," eh? Shades of LANCOR, which is a patent troll suspected of serving Microsoft's and Intel's interests. The guy at the top spent some time in jail, having committed fraud. Perhaps the missing link that connects the likes of Ray Niro [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] is total lack of ethics. It does, after all, take some nerve to resort to such practices, which include lawsuits by proxy. Remember the recent Apple case in Europe? It contained traces of crime as well, with conviction even. Proxy strategies are not so rare after all.

Verizon continues the battle of the telecoms with yet another lawsuit (no exactly news), but the following phrase is worth emphasising.

In the Charter case, Verizon is seeking damages that are “no less than a reasonable royalty,” as well as an injunction blocking Charter from using the technology.

“No less than a reasonable royalty,” insists Verizon. Very innovative... source of income. ⬆

The USPTO is sinking