Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patents Roundup: Microsoft Paid a Patent Troll for Patents (Maybe in Vain); Google and Yahoo Sue Xerox

Xerox Alto
Photo of the Xerox Alto, taken by Martin Pittenauer



Summary: Anascape, a patent troll, loses its case against Nintendo (Microsoft gave up early); Xerox is countersued by Google and Yahoo for patent infringement

SEVERAL months ago we wrote about Nintendo being hit with a lawsuit similar to Microsoft's. Anascape, which is a patent troll, alleged that both companies had violated its patent. Microsoft paid up to settle, whereas Nintendo fought against the troll and won. From last week's news we have:



i.Nintendo wins appeal against patent infringement claim

ii.Nintendo Wins Controller Patent Appeal

iii. Nintendo's Court Case Saves $21 Million Controller Costs

A few years ago, a company called Anascape took Nintendo and Microsoft to court in a case regarding a US patent and that, in Nintendo's case, related to patented technology used in a variety of controllers. Microsoft settled out of court. Nintendo appealed the ruling handed down against it, along with a fine of $21 million.


iv. Nintendo beats Wii patent infringement rap

Nintendo has claimed victory in its long-running legal battle with Anascape after the US Court of Appeals said it did not infringe a patent held by the little-known intellectual property owner.


Here is the relation to Microsoft again:

Microsoft settled out of court but Nintendo chose to fight on and was hit with a damages bill amounting to $21 million for infringing upon one of the company’s patents with its Wii Classic, Wavebird, and GameCube controllers. At the time, many believed Nintendo had made the wrong decision, as settling out of court would surely have been cheaper. However, two years on, Nintendo has had that ruling overturned in the Federal Circuit Court.


Microsoft is not in a position to whine about such patent trolls because Microsoft breeds the world's biggest patent troll. Microsoft itself engages in patent racketeering [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

According to legal sites, the USPTO is preparing to improve the appeals process and the ITC becomes intolerant (or less tolerant) of patent trolls.

Patent trolls beware. You won't win a case at the International Trade Commission if the only thing you do with your patent is sue people for infringing it.

That's not a domestic industry.


This is not enough to deter patent trolls like Acacia, which needn't rely on the ITC because they are well funded and have patience. Additionally, the patent problem involves patent trolls and patent hoarders alike, just not the majority that's in the middle (SMBs). Xerox, for example, is a the company that gives Acacia all sort of patents, which are later being used against GNU/Linux. Xerox also sued Google and Yahoo back in February, only to be sued by Google and Yahoo this month. [via]

Google Inc, its YouTube video service, and Yahoo Inc on Thursday filed counterclaims against Xerox Corp in a lawsuit accusing them of infringing the document management company's patents on Internet searches.


We've hardly ever seen Google suing with patents. Now we do.

What is the benefit to science when patent trolls attack companies with actual products or two companies with products are attacking one another? The biggest winners here are patent lawyers.

"Hey, Steve, just because you broke into Xerox’s store before I did and took the TV doesn’t mean I can’t go in later and steal the stereo."

--Bill Gates, Microsoft



Recent Techrights' Posts

Representing and Speaking for Animals
If I ever choose to take this matter to tribunal with animals-centric NGOs on my side, it'll get some press coverage for sure
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About "Linux", Slop Images in VentureBeat, Linux Foundation Spam Made With LLM Slop and Slop Images
The only relief or upside - if any exists - is that the pace of slop was down a bit this week
Richard Stallman (RMS) Talk in Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress Will be Remote
This past week RMS received lots of accolades online
 
Links 29/08/2025: Lisa Cook Sues Convicted Felon and Backdoor Mandate in UK Resisted
Links for the day
Links 29/08/2025: Arti 1.5.0, War on Public Health (CDC), and Slop 'Bros' Made to Pay for Their Mass Plagiarism
Links for the day
No, 4Chan is Not Fighting for You by Lawyering Up Against Ofcom (UK)
Don't mistake proto-fascists for people who "fight for you". They don't.
Downlplaying the Impact of "UEFI 9/11" is a Losing Strategy
we won't publish much whilst on holiday
In Many Places in the World Vista 11 "Market Share" is Going Down, Not Up
In some countries Windows is already down to third place or lower
More Microsoft-Connected Layoffs, at Least Third Time This Month! (Also Another Death on Campus)
Microsoft as a "gaming" company is where studios, projects, games, and even developers come to die
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 28, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 28, 2025
Gemini Links 29/08/2025: Poems, Games, and Java 25 Performance
Links for the day
Links 28/08/2025: Greenland 'Interferences' by US and Skinnerboxes to Get Banned in Korean Schools
Links for the day
The Register MS (Run by Microsoft Operatives): Free Software is Putin, Hence Evil and Dangerous
The current editor in chief is an American Microsofter, the previous one went to work for Google (US)
Links 28/08/2025: Chatbots Distorting/Fabricating History and Also Driving Suicide
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/08/2025: Back in Japan and Why "Hacker News" Sucks
Links for the day
A Much-Needed Wake-up Call to Users of Wordpress.com, Blogspot, Substack and All Those Other Outsourced (and Centralised) Platforms
There are several lessons in there
The UEFI 9/11 - Part II - Campaign of Censorship and Defamation Against Critics
In dictatorships, humour serves an important role. It's tragic.
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Resists Software Freedom, Even by Attacking Its Own
The OSI is compromised
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 27, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Slopwatch: linuxsecurity.com, Slopfarms in Google News, and More
Some readers of ours end up sending us links that are from slopfarms, not realising those are slopfarms
Gemini Links 27/08/2025: Katrina Memories and Google Versus Software Freedom
Links for the day
Links 27/08/2025: Police Against Media Freedom in the UK, Energy-Hungry Countries Targeted by China
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows Fell to All-Time Lows in Egypt This Summer, Vista 11 Adoption Decreases While GNU/Linux Increases
Vista 11 is going down rather than up
Links 27/08/2025: Microsoft Demoralises Staff With Slop Demands, Leaving Mastodon Explained
Links for the day
12 Hours Ago The Register MS Published a Fake (Paid-for) Article, But This One for a Change Did Not Promote a Ponzi Scheme
There are also Free software alternatives, but they don't pay The Register MS for "synthetic" so-called 'journalism'
More People Need to Call Out and Put a Stop to Serial Sloppers
Unless slopfarms are stopped, people will read and share Microsoft propaganda made by chatbots
Gemini Links 27/08/2025: Headphones and Tartarus
Links for the day
Morale at Microsoft is Terrible (Proprietary Plagiarism Machines Have No Future, LLM Slop is a Bubble)
The slop sceptics/critics are going to have lots of "told you so" moments
GNOME "governance issues, staff reduction, etc." amidst Albanian whistleblowing and women trafficking
Notice the connection to Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) and GNOME
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, August 26, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, August 26, 2025