Bonum Certa Men Certa

J Nicholas Gross Thinks Professors Stop Being Professors If They're Not Patent Extremists Like Him

Summary: The below-the-belt tactics of patent trolls and their allies show no signs of abatement and their tone reveals growing irritation and frustration (inability to sue and extort companies as easily as they used to)

THE INTERNET is not a pleasant place when it comes to discussions about patents. We may seem confrontational/abrasive at times, but nowhere near as much as trolls and their defenders. They describe people who invalidate patents as "killers" or "death squads". Watchtroll even called them a "cartel" earlier this month.



J Nicholas GrossThis theme of death or "kills" isn't too uncommon. Here is one patent maximalist stating: "In a Rule 36, Fed. Cir. Affirmed 101/Alice Kill of ZKey Patent Asserted against Facebook" (he always, without exception, uses the word "kill" in such scenarios, otherwise "survives" i.e. the language of militarism).

These people are habitually attacking CAFC judges, not just PTAB panels and SCOTUS Justices (as well as the EFF, as J Nicholas Gross repeatedly did when he wrote for the Web site of a patent troll last year). According to him, based on this tweet, professors stop being professors when he doesn't agree with them on patents. These are his words: "Anti-patent troll "Professor" (RIGHT!) Lemley reversed today: cafc.uscourts.gov/sites/default/… CAFC says his serial infringer client loses on 101 bc SOFTWARE-BASED 'innovations can make “non-abstract improvements to computer technology”' here security profile enabled bette [sic] virus filtering..."

J Nicholas Gross must be suffering from inferiority complex; he's not a professor like Lemley (heck, he is not even a doctor), so he's attacking Lemley's credentials. Some patent trolls did this to me as well, defaming me as having fabricated my Ph.D. and even resorting to literally below-the-belt insults (like speaking about my genitals in their public podcasts). He appeared to have developed quite a reputation for these things and he is connected online (maybe professionally) to these trolls, too. Here he is, only days ago, attacking PTAB's decision: "Another typical day at PTAB: Facebook inventor has novel, non-obvious invention that distinguishes over prior art, so Examiner overruled; but random application of 101 results in no patent: e-foia.uspto.gov/Foia/RetrieveP…"

And on he goes:

Today's CAFC decision proves categorically that their 101 jurisprudence is disastrously panel-specific, and your only hope as patent owner is that you are fortunated to get udges who actually understand how software works: http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/opinions-orders/16-2520.Opinion.1-8-2018.1.PDF …



From what I can gather, virtually none of these proponents of software patent (and vocal PTAB bashers) even wrote a computer program. Ever. The above rant comes from a person (attorney) whose online profile suggests to be "[c]urrently marketing and soliciting offers for license or purchase of certain key patent assets in the area of e-commerce..."

Sounds like the patent 'assertion' types (borderline trolling). That explains it then. ⬆

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Shutdowns in Africa, Mass Layoffs Also Reported This Week
further shutdowns
Links 13/10/2026: More Plagiarism Lawsuit Over Slop and AirAsia Needs State Help
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part II - An Outline of This Series
What's to come
When Computers "Expire" Because Certificates Expire
People who promote Restricted Boot are liars. They lie for a living.
 
Legal Self-Sufficiency
The more impact our work has, the more legal bullying will come our way
Plans for Winter in Manchester and London
From many perspectives, we're satisfied with the certainty and robustness of UK hosting, it's just that we're not yet robust/resistant enough to DDoS attacks
Customer Support Experience in 2026
Because the customer is never right
Gemini Links 13/10/2026: Dopamine Nation, Planner and Fatigue, and Moderators
Links for the day
Links 13/10/2026: Norway Fines Microsoft and Cops Can Creep on Airbnb
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 12, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, October 12, 2026
Gemini Links 13/10/2026: Modern Science, Joplin, Luddites, and Lots More
Links for the day
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft Again (October 2026), So-Called 'AI' Units Impacted Because Slop ('AI') Has No Real Future
So much for the future of Microsoft being "hey hi" (AI)
European Readers, Please Contact Representatives (in One's Nation) Attending the Administrative Council Meeting
Normalising cocaine in in Europe's largest institutions (the people running these) is a slippery slope
Network Plumbing
We hope it'll help speed things up
For Half a Year the European Patent Office (EPO), Europe's Second-Largest Institution, Has Had Water Problems in the Toilets
And it's not being fixed
Intercontinental Brigading - Part I - The Failed Attempt to 'Swat' Our Series About the Attacks and Crimes Committed Against Us
This coincided with threats to our lives
Links 12/10/2026: Strike on Riyadh and GOP Pays Voters ("Surprise $90 Social Security Payments")
Links for the day
Microsoft's XBox CEO Spoke of a "Return to Growth" Last Week, But XBox Sales Lowest in XBox History (Quarter of a Century)
Microsoft's XBox is dying. It's a countdown to nothingness.
Links 12/10/2026: Shopify (Slop Booster) Has Security Issues, "Russia’s Yandex Says Data Center in Vladimir Shut Down After Drone Attack"
Links for the day
"My Hands Are Shaking While Writing" About IBM's Mass Layoffs at Red Hat (Bluewashing)
Shame, shame, shame on the corporate media for not covering Red Hat's layoffs this year
Taking a Look at the Last Articles of Bob Cringely at Forbes, They Were All About IBM and Its Collapse
It's all about IBM
Microsoft Windows Causes Problems (and Delays) to LibreOffice and The Document Foundation
Nothing would please Microsoft more than Windows curtailing the development of LibreOffice and adoption of ODF
So Far This Year Microsoft Windows Lost a Lot of Ground in China, GNU/Linux Gaining at Its Expense
GNU/Linux will soon exceed 10%
Lessons of Margaret Hamilton (Software Engineer)
Stop abetting men who attack women in the sciences
RIP, Bob Cringely
He was too young to leave us, his articles were still brilliant and his mind as lucid as ever
What is "Computer Science"? It is What Broligarchs Reject.
Nowadays some people call themselves informal terms or made-up titles (with terms like "AI" or "big data" or "data" tossed into the mix)
Linus Torvalds Has a Conflict of Interest Regarding Slop
Linus Torvalds is paid by the slop pushers
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 11, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, October 11, 2026
Africa Sees GNU/Linux Exceeding 5% "Market Share"
It wasn't always like this. It used to be measured at 1 or 2 percent.
Brigading Against Women - Part XXVII - Americans and Public Executions
"People who work for Facebook / Xitter / Bytedance's Tiktok / Microsoft / Oracle / IBM / Apple / Uber / Lyft / Wolt / DoorDash / AirBnB / Bolt / and so on are doing some world-class projection when they have the audacity to call others Bad People(tm)"
Gemini Links 12/10/2026: Westminster Quarters, Civilization, Luddites, and More
Links for the day
Slop-ware Is Not Newsworthy
LLMs are exceptionally loquacious and create large code bases
Links 11/10/2026: US Sides With Vladimir Putin, Convicted Felon Dubbed "Agent of a Foreign Power"
Links for the day
IRC Tracker Back in Order, Number of Known IRC Networks Continues to Increase
We don't know if our article helped trigger a resolution
Links 11/10/2026: "Execution TV" (Iran Aped by US) and ‘Digital Oblivion’ Caused by Slop Frenzy Online
Links for the day
Voice for the Impoverished
the country's leaders attack the country's own press
Gemini Links 11/10/2026: Adults Dressing Up as Animals, 44th Birthday, and More
Links for the day
Running a Country's Economy by Borrowing Over $400,000,000,000 Per Month
This is the hallmark of an economy in irreversible decline
Brigading Against Women - Part XXVI - Trying to Deplatform Critics of Microsoft's Restricted Boot
Like James Bottomley, Matthew Garrett served Microsoft's agenda while employed and salaried by other companies
Anderon Is Not a Real Company, It's an IBM Bailout Dressed Up or Wrapped Up In Buzzwords
It certainly does seem like they receive money from taxpayers for nothing, or for IBM to do mass layoffs/closure at Albany under the guise of "making a new spinoff"...
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 10, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, October 10, 2026