Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patents of Microsoft's Largest Troll, Intellectual Ventures, Are Sold to be Used Offensively

When Microsoft does not sue directly, as it habitually does, one can count on Intellectual Ventures to step in, if not one of the many shells or shadowy clients of Intellectual Ventures

Related (March 2017): It Certainly Looks Like Microsoft is Already Siccing Its Patent Trolls, Including Intellectual Ventures, on Companies That Use Linux (Until They Pay 'Protection' Money)

Ballmer on patents
Full, 6-frame explanation of Microsoft's strategy



Summary: Intellectual Ventures, the world's largest patent troll which came from Microsoft, remains active and its shadow can be found in newly-filed patent cases, including requests for embargo

MICROSOFT loves to pretend to have changed its patent stance (the media habitually helps such pretenses), but Microsoft is a breeding ground to patent trolls, including the world's largest. Michael Loney from Managing IP calls this nasty patent troll a "PAE", which is certainly something it is not. The FTC recently published a study warning about such trolls and the ITC occasionally helps trolls, by means of embargoes.



Mr. Loney has written:

A recent Intellectual Ventures lawsuit filed with a companion ITC complaint may be a sign of what is to come in patent assertion entity litigation, with one observer describing it as “a formidable new change”. The ITC has now instituted the investigation against car manufacturers and parts makers


So a massive patent troll is trying not just to tax companies (including those which distribute Linux) but also to embargo, i.e. ban them from the marketplace.

"So a massive patent troll is trying not just to tax companies (including those which distribute Linux) but also to embargo, i.e. ban them from the marketplace."The 'new Microsoft'? The mask slips off again?

Another new post, this one from friends of Microsoft and Intellectual Ventures, notes that this nasty patent troll of Microsoft is passing patents to other companies and these patents are used for litigation right now. To quote the relevant part:

Of the 11 grants that ASML and Zeiss are asserting, four were picked up from Intellectual Ventures via a Dutch corporate entity called Tarsium BV (the patent nos. are 6,731,335, 7,297,916, 8,149,312 and 8,625,017). The remaining seven originated with HP and also found their way to ASML/Zeiss via Tarsium. IV appears to have transferred its patents to Tarsium in November 2014, but it has only just shown up in the USPTO assignment database as part of a nunc pro tunc assignment with a recorded date of April this year. IV picked up the quartet of grants in 2011 from an entity called Crosstek Capital LLC as part of a portfolio of more than 300 assets — prior to Crosstek they were owned by Magnachip Semiconductor.

Although IV has built a portfolio that stretches into the tens of thousands, as its sale to Tarsium shows, it has also been open to making sales. As this blog exclusively reported in April, the firm has stopped making acquisitions for its most recent fund and has significantly upped its rate of sales.


So it is indeed like an arms broker. It fuels litigation now.

"Intellectual Ventures, for instance, has used thousands of proxies and now it's just selling patents for others to carry out the litigation."The unfortunate thing is, these patent trolls are morphing to hide their real identity. Intellectual Ventures, for instance, has used thousands of proxies and now it's just selling patents for others to carry out the litigation. Will US politicians take note of it?

Dennis Crouch says that "Congress Continues to See Need to Reduce Abusive Patent Litigation," but if firms like Intellectual Ventures foster legal chaos not directly, will it be noticed at all? As Crouch put it the other day, the "approach here is that patent litigation reform is being linked with civil litigation reform generally – and Republican control suggests making it more difficult to bring claims. Recognize that a number of influential parties, including IPO, have called for reforms to strengthen patent rights – so far that is getting no traction among Republican leadership."

"They just want 'protection' money based on unspecified threats. This is clearly racketeering and should be treated as such."This ought to be a bipartisan issue. A lot of people out there are hurt by patent trolls; consider this new story of Kevin O'Connor. As this new campaign against trolls put it, a "letter Kevin O’Connor’s #smallbiz received from a #patenttroll didn’t even name the #patent in question..."

They just want 'protection' money based on unspecified threats. This is clearly racketeering and should be treated as such. From a legal perspective, this is quite likely a violation of the law. What's worth noting here is that Microsoft now exercises a strategy of proxying at two levels; first it outsources a lot of the trolling activities to Intellectual Ventures, which in turn outsources the litigation to thousands of shells (based on the mainstream media's reports). Microsoft too has its own in-house troll, called "Microsoft Technology Licensing".

But hey, Microsoft says it "loves Linux"... it even distributes free buttons that say so.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Shares Collapse Again (Down $101), Fifth Round of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in Less Than 100 Days in 2025
disaster
Windows Has Fallen to All-Time Lows in Switzerland Since GNU Celebrated 40th Anniversary (GNU’s 40th Birthday in Biel, Switzerland)
GNU/Linux has been doing well in Switzerland
One Person's Take on Jef Spaleta, the New Fedora Project Leader
"With a little searching, I wonder what else may be found regarding Microsoft."
 
Links 07/04/2025: More Cuts to Science Funding, Snail-speed Internet in Germany
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/04/2025: Leasehold and Safe Gifts
Links for the day
In Some Countries, Laptops and Desktops Become a Dying Breed (Even Before Tariffs), Windows Has Nowhere to Go
expect more GNU/Linux on new and existing laptops
When the Credibility or 'Quality' of Clients Ceases to Matter, It's About Helping Rich Companies Like Microsoft Censor Critics (No Matter the Risks)
Bad ideas typically result in undesirable outcomes
UAE: GNU/Linux and Android at Record Levels, Windows at New Lows and Falling Below Apple
Even iOS is measured as bigger than Windows this month
Links 07/04/2025: Reddit Occupied (Social Control Media Controlled by Oligarchy), Demise of Globalisation Ongoing
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 06, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 06, 2025
Links 07/04/2025: Leaving Gemini/smolweb and Mastodon Migrations
Links for the day
In Iraq, Windows 3.1 (Percent)
There's also zero
Links 06/04/2025: Flood, Cool Gemini Capsule, and Long Form
Links for the day
Links 06/04/2025: Science, Politics, and Pricier Goods
Links for the day
LLM Slop Has Virtually Killed unixmen.com and Many Other Sites
There's no longer any incentive to write real articles in there
Sharp Declines for Microsoft Windows in Bangladesh (Pop. ~175,000,000), Big Gains for GNU/Linux
Microsoft Windows has been having a really hard time in poor countries
Links 06/04/2025: Fake Reviews, Privatisation Heists, and "AI" as Smokescreen for Impoverishing Humans
Links for the day
Taking a Moral Stand Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and the Worst Offenders/Facilitators
Any other stance would sidle with moral depravity or moral hazard
Links 06/04/2025: Many New Acts of Repression and Elements of Financial Depression
Links for the day
In Qatar GNU/Linux Rose From Under 1% to Over 4% in Two Years (or Over 5% If Counting ChromeOS)
It's a big improvement compared to what we saw last year
LLM Scrapers Are a Nuisance, But They're Also a Reminder It's Time to Make Your Site Static
Perhaps the best protection is the ability to endure surges
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 05, 2025
Links 06/04/2025: Attacks on Education, Fake Patents, and Fake (Illegal) Patent Courts
Links for the day
France: Apple and Microsoft Down, GNU/Linux Up to New Record Levels
How will tariffs against France impact things in the coming months?
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
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
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