Bonum Certa Men Certa

As Expected, Dennis Crouch Continues Spreading Myths and Falsehoods to Help Patent Trolls and Patent Extremists

King of the trolls/patent maximalists in scholarly clothing?

Dennis Crouch at the University of Houston Law Center Photo credit: University of Houston Law Center



Summary: A patent maximalists' blog of Dennis Crouch continues to meddle and calls for meddling (in the form of briefs) ahead of a Supreme Court decision that primarily deals with patent quality and impacts patent trolls

YESTERDAY, Crouch's series of anti-PTAB posts (e.g. [1, 2]) culminated in admission of his own error. He then wrote about "Dismantling Inter Partes Review" (the very essence of PTAB). It's no secret that he is a PTAB foe, but nowadays he makes it far too obvious.



One might even say -- not baselessly -- that Crouch has inadvertently become little more than a lobbyist of patent trolls and aggressors. He is disguised as an 'academic', so courts would be inclined to listen to him. "Oil States has now filed its very well written opening merits brief," Crouch wrote, probably inviting the patent maximalists who read his blog to do the same. "Briefing will continue over the next few months, and I expect substantial amicus filing on both sides of the case, as well as input from President Trump’s Department of Justice," he added.

"We expect the patent 'industry' to use this as an opportunity to try to destroy PTAB."It's not hard to know which side he is on, having bashed PTAB for a very long time. He surely knows what's at stake here. He ends with these words: "One way that the court could rule against Oil States is by ruling that the IPR cancellation process involves “public rights” rather than private property rights."

Same old nonsense from him, comparing patents to "property" or "rights" (they are neither).

We expect the patent 'industry' to use this as an opportunity to try to destroy PTAB. Here is one of those people, a PTAB basher, saying that "PTAB finds invention that passes 101! https://e-foia.uspto.gov/Foia/RetrievePdf?system=BPAI&flNm=fd2016003171-08-22-2017-1 … identifying route 4 medical procedure on PC passes "significantly more" test..."

Here is Crouch admitting his own mistake:

The historic point here – although the it did not actually revoke any patents after 1779 — the privy council seemingly held that power up until at least 1902.

I only had a chance to look through one English patent issued during this time period – the 1896 Marconi patent. The patent does include the caveat that permits the Privy Council to void the patent – following the form language almost identically.


He has dug stuff up from more than 200 years ago in an attempt to make a case against PTAB. How low can these people go? Some of them have actually been bullying/harassing judges, too.

On the other side, looking at some myth-busting, Josh Landau (CCIA) has just responded to a common attack on PTAB. He said this:

One of the criticisms frequently leveled against inter partes reviews (IPRs) is that people file multiple IPRs; they file two, three, four IPR petitions in order to harass a patent owner. Complaints notwithstanding, the data shows just how infrequent a practice this is. The data also shows that the blame for the occasions when this does occur lies squarely with the patent owner’s own choices.

The truth is that multiple petitions are rare. And when they are filed, it’s typically because patent owners have filed patents with so many claims that you need multiple petitions just to fit your arguments into the word limit.

[...]

In other words, around 0.1% of patents in force have actually had any petitions filed against them.

It’s not true that most patents that are asserted in litigation have IPRs filed against them. On the contrary—about 85% of patents asserted in litigation are not challenged in an IPR!

In other words, only 0.1% of all patents and only 15% of patents that have been asserted in litigation have seen any IPRs filed against them. Most patents never see a petition at all, much less multiple petitions.



Over at TechDirt a couple of days ago it was covered too. It simplified it for readers. The SCOTUS case was framed as "Another Chance To Help Take Down The Patent Trolls". To quote:

The Supreme Court has a chance to help banish patent trolls back under the bridge where they belong. In the fall session, the Court will hear Oil States Energy Service v. Greene's Energy Group – a case that has massive implications for the future of patent law and U.S. innovation.

Patent trolls (sometimes called non-practicing entities, or NPEs) don't actively create any goods or provide any services. Instead, they go after those who do, filing bogus patent infringement lawsuits. Ultimately, their goal is to frighten businesses into settling outside of court, collecting as much money as they can.

More than 80 percent of trolls' victims are small and medium-sized businesses, and the cost to defendants to fight a patent-infringement lawsuit can easily reach $1 million. That's why it's often more cost-effective to simply pay off the trolls.

"Trolls often aggressively push for extortionate settlements that far surpass the value of the [intellectual property] because they know many companies will choose to settle, rather than get embroiled in an expensive and drawn-out lawsuit," Ira Blumberg, a former patent-troll lawyer, explained: "Their actions can wreak havoc on tech companies of all sizes."



Notice how the patent trolls and their front groups have begun attacking PTAB, trying to create scandals and urging people to contact the court to (essentially or in effect) help the trolls.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Uses LLM Slop to Defraud (or Rob) Shareholders
Microsoft is basically defrauding its shareholders by LLM slop
The "Davos Effect": Tarnishing the Reputation of Places Not by Overtourism But by Oligarch Infestation
The last Venice needs is an affiliation with Venetian oligarchs
 
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Distraction-Free Writing and Hytale Mismanagement
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Beauty of Blogging" and "Etiquette of Collapse"
Links for the day
The Web is a Dead End
We need to adopt alternatives
When Words Lose Their Intended Meaning
examples of words that, at least in the technical spheres, don't mean what they sound like
People Who Disagree With You on Technical Matters May or May Not Agree With You on Political Things (But Usually They Do)
What bothers me a great deal is seeing left-leaning people accusing other left-leaning people of being "nazis"
"Too Much Choice" and "Too Many Programming Languages"
What IBM and its apologists aim for was attempted in the 1930s and it failed
Microsoft Lost 400,000,000 Windows Users, According to Microsoft
more people adopt smaller computers and many people replace Windows with GNU/Linux, as they don't really need a new computer
Half a Year Gone, What's to Come Next
In the second half of 2025 we expect to be done with the Microsoft SLAPPs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 30, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 30, 2025
People at the Very Top of Microsoft Know How Bad Things Really Are
There's no product that can replace the former profitability of Windows licensing and stuff that went on top of Windows
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Mid Year and a Tour of Old Languages
Links for the day
EPO Presentation Bemoans Misuse of Slop in Decision-Making on Patents and in Classification (Which is Likely Illegal Too)
We habitually mention failed use cases of LLMs on the Web
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft Confirmed, "XBox Hardware Is Dead"
It's possible that over 20% of the staff will be laid off
Links 30/06/2025: Kyrgyzstan vs Media Freedom, Dalai Lama Succession
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: Backend Programs in Gemini and Dynamic Content Without The Scripting
Links for the day
Links 30/06/2025: Zuckerberg’s Tax-Evading Scheme Harms Kids, US Copyright Office Lacks Leadership
Links for the day
Microsoft Isn't Laying Off Tens of Thousands to 'Invest' in Slop ('Hey Hi'), It's Laying Off Tens of Thousands Because It's Running Out of Money (and Willing Lenders)
the layoffs are a sign of the business failing, not "hey hi" (whatever that is) replacing staff
Intel Lays Off 20% of Its Workforce, Microsoft is Doing the Same This Year
Like a yoyo, whatever goes up will come back down
Microsoft XBox Layoffs: Almost 2,000 Layoffs Became "Over 2,000"? (Over 20% of the Staff)
over 20% of staff will be let go, not counting staff that leaves voluntarily
GNU/Linux Rises to New Highs in Angola, Africa in General is Abandoning Windows
Western media barely covers Microsoft layoffs in Africa, but in recent years Microsoft culled the workforce and even shut down entire operations
Summer Plans in Techrights and Elsewhere
massive layoffs at Microsoft
Destination Geminispace (in the Age of LLM Slop and Slop Images That Infest the Web and Social Control Media)
Geminispace isn't vast, but at least it is - on average - a lot "cleaner"
GNU/Linux Growing in Sierra Leone This Year
Based on what statCounter is seeing, this year there are more and more people there who adopt GNU/Linux
Serial Sloppers Gonna Slop
More sites out there ought to call out the cheaters
Quartz (qz.com) is Spam and a Slopfarm
It used to be OK. Then they fired the staff.
Links 30/06/2025: US Economic Woes, Extreme Heat
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 29, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 29, 2025
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: "The AI Hype" and New AuraGem Ask
Links for the day
Our Desktops Are Not Your Experiments, X is Not an Experiment
Breaking what already worked
Microsoft's Big Lies Regarding This Week's Mass Layoffs Have Already Begun (and They're Already Being Spread by Slopfarms)
Microsoft is the "market leader" in slop
Explaining the Full Story of SLAPPs From Microsoft Staff
For every action there is a reaction, for every attack there will be proportionate consequences
The Openwashing Shills Initiative (OSI) - Part III: IRS and Status of OSI
"They lied to the US IRS and there’s a paper trail"
IBM Red Hat's Dogmatic Fanaticism Under a Thin Veil of "Modernism"
IBM now has the audacity to paint people who don't agree as "nazis"
Microsoft's Share in Guatemala Fell From 97% to 14%
Eventually Microsoft will get stuck in a loop of layoffs, layoffs, and more layoffs
They Made Technology Scary and Taught Us That It's Innocent, Friendly, Even "Social"
Rejection of all this "apps" and "gadgets" and "Smart" (whatever that means!) status quo isn't a rejection of society
The Media is Under Attacks Partly Because There's Little Other (Remaining) Press to Speak in Its Defence
The biggest danger here is that when there's very little press or no "opposition media" left it becomes even easier to crush critics because there aren't many people left to speak about the matter
If Your Web Site is Run by Bots, Eventually Nobody Will 'Read' It Except Bots (People Don't Want to Read Slop)
Eventually people learn from mistakes
Links 29/06/2025: Microsoft Releases False/Fake Benchmarks, "Google Wants You to Watch Ads or Take Surveys to Read Articles"
Links for the day
Links 29/06/2025: Data Breaches and Online Censorship
Links for the day
Gemini Links 29/06/2025: "The Price Of Eggs" and Gemini 3D Tic Tac Toe
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 28, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, June 28, 2025