Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Latest Attacks on PTAB Are Old News or Smears Recycled by Watchtroll et al.

An old newspaper



Summary: The attempts to tarnish the reputation of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), particularly because of Oil States at the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS), have reached pretty pathetic levels and endless repetition with sound bites like "kangaroo court" or "efficient infringement"

THE past week, based on our media survey, showed a rise in attacks on PTAB (compared to the prior week). We are guessing that these attacks will intensify as Oil States (SCOTUS decision) draws near. It's all about PTAB.



Watchtroll has been very late to the news this month. It was covering news from almost 3 weeks ago (e.g. Exmark, TiVo, and WesternGeco, which we mentioned before). Must be slow for them... very late to the news. But rest assured, Watchtroll will carry on with PTAB bashing. Not even anything new, just old stuff recycled.

"We are guessing that these attacks will intensify as Oil States (SCOTUS decision) draws near."There have been fewer attacks on PTAB lately (slowdown for the anti-PTAB lobby), so here comes Dennis Crouch complaining again about lack of opinions (to slow PTAB down). It wasn't just Crouch/Patently-O. Two anti-PTAB articles were published by Watchtroll on Monday and two more anti-PTAB articles came on on Tuesday, e.g. picking on the bogeyman Google (there are many cases/petitions every single day, so it's not hard to cherry-pick). Watchtroll carried on the following day (Wednesday). To us that just looks like lobbying at work, so we prefer not to link to all these examples. We're merely observing.

Another PTAB basher, "Patent Buddy", carried on with that anti-PTAB narrative, neglecting to note that PTAB is typically petitioned to deal with patents not at random; they take on some of the most problematic ones.

"...rest assured, Watchtroll will carry on with PTAB bashing. Not even anything new, just old stuff recycled.""On January 24," he wrote, "the PTAB affirmed Seven 101/Alice Rejections by Examiners and Denied One Request for Reconsideration. No 101 Rejections Were Reversed."

"On January 25," he later added, "the PTAB Published 8 Decisions on 101 Issues. 5 Decisions Affirmed Examiner Rejections. 1 Decision Affirmed in Part. 2 Decisions Reversed Examiners."

Here's one pertinent example of the exception: "PTAB Reversed 101 Rejection of Philips Patent Application for a Device for Measuring Vital Signs..."

The patent trolls recently joked that this is the sort of thing they deem to be a "win" and are celebrating. Here's more: "PTAB Reversed Examiner's Rejection of a Mechanical Device under 101..."

We're basically talking about a mere patent application here.

"Another PTAB basher, "Patent Buddy", carried on with that anti-PTAB narrative, neglecting to note that PTAB is typically petitioned to deal with patents not at random; they take on some of the most problematic ones."Paul Morinville and Watchtroll wrote that "PTAB has a kill [sic] rate of over 90%. Alice v. CLS Bank’s abstract idea is killing [sic] 67%."

That's good. It's not a "killing" or a "kill" (they try to make PTAB seem combative and aggressive).

Here's the context (more of that sickening drama about "innovation" which we've just rebutted):

Killing the fictitious patent troll has already strangled U.S. innovation in the cradle. All three branches of the government rapidly changed every aspect of the patent system to work against the small for the benefit of the large. Today, the PTAB has a kill rate of over 90%. Alice v. CLS Bank’s abstract idea is killing 67%.


"Paul Morinville and Watchtroll aren't exactly good with facts," I told Daniel Nazer (EFF) after he had responded as follows: "IP Watchdog claims that "bad patents" never get litigated. Okay, here are some bad patents that were: 6,368,268 6,415,207 6,529,725 6,612,985 6,633,900 6,763,299 6,795,918 6,817,863 6,904,359 7,064,681 7,113,110 7,119,716 7,400,970 7,899,713 7,986,426 8,788,090 9,013,334"

"There's a false assumption here that lawyers give the best advice; they often advise so to as to maximise their own profits and sell the most expensive 'products', e.g. lawsuits."See the reply from IAM: "If bad patents get litigated, the patent owner is being stubborn and/or is receiving bad advice. Crucially, by definition he/she/it will lose. The killer issue in the US is the cost of litigating and how costs are (not) allocated. [...] It's worth remembering that for deep pocket, efficient infringers the cost of US patent litigation - with the PTAB now thrown in - is a huge benefit."

I then responded to IAM: "And who's to say that bad advice isn't being given by selfish/greedy lawyers?"

There's a false assumption here that lawyers give the best advice; they often advise so to as to maximise their own profits and sell the most expensive 'products', e.g. lawsuits.

Recent Techrights' Posts

LLM Slop is Not Reliable, Constitutes No Process of 'Thinking'; There's No Thought Process at All, No Grasp or Understanding, Let Alone Context
Lies have become the "business model" [...] More people ought to talk about it and explain to other people what LLMs really are
Not a Security Expert If You Cannot Manage to Keep Online a Simple Two-User Mastodon Instance Somebody Else Built
From uptime of ~99% to maybe 80%
Microsoft Has All the Symptoms of a Dying Company (Mass Layoffs of the People Who Built the Company)
the company's debt is going through the ceiling
For Effective 'Finlandisation' (Not Digital Sovereignty) to Be Replaced by Autonomy Finland Needs to Think Like GNU (Software Freedom), Not Linux (Openwashing Source, Plus LLM Slop and Killswitches)
What is 'Finlandisation'?
IBM's Kyndryl in Trouble: Mass Layoffs, Payroll Problems, Buybacks (in Company Whose Debt is Almost Twice Its Total Value), and Soon $9 Per Share (Down Over 80%)
Kyndryl is done. Stick a fork in it.
ICYMI: GNU/Linux Did Not Start in Finland
If we're honest/true to ourselves, we need to recognise history for what it is, not what some corporations (like GAFAM) want it to be
 
Links 16/05/2026: Climate Issues, Free Speech, and Monopolies/Monopsonies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/05/2026: Retreat and Devuan Manuals
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 78 Out of 200: Slandering Me for Saying the Truth About Graveley and Garrett's Abuse of Processes, Stacking Dockets
These are the sorts of things British taxpayers ought to talk about
"AI" Became a New Name or Placeholder for Debt
Because they will only ever lose money for this thing with "tokens" or "potential"
"Microsoft Goodwill and Intangible Assets" Down Two Years in a Row, According to Microsoft
Microsoft cannot sell these, so what is their real relevance?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 15, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, May 15, 2026
IBM: Shares Down 30%, Mass Layoffs, IBM Says "Goodwill" Grew by 10% to Over a Third of the Company's Total "Worth"
According to IBM
Microsoft LinkedIn Layoffs "Very Likely Higher" Than 1,000 People
Microsoft is bleeding
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXIV - Luis Berenguer Giménez at the EPO (European Patent Office) Became the Punchline of EPO Staff
"the fact that Luis was caught with cocaine causes laughter. The use of cocaine in itself is not the real shocking bit."
IBM Keeps Culling Essential Linux, Fedora, GNOME, and GTK Staff
Over a month ago IBM laid off over 400 Red Hat engineers
Cisco Cuts Nearly 4,000 Jobs Because of Debt, Nothing to Do With Slop
The media keeps talking about revenue, not profits
Gemini Links 15/05/2026: UDP Game Forwarding Over SSH, Avoiding LLMs, and Alhena 5.5.9
Links for the day
Links 15/05/2026: Electric Company Shuns Entire Town to Prioritise Only Data Centres, Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. Carried Out Secret Attacks in Iran
Links for the day
Focus is Important, Focus is Everything
We are still running 6 multi-part series in tandem
Guest Post on False Marketing and PR Blitzes by Anthropic
A lot of people my age are just tired of the nonsense
Links 15/05/2026: UK antitrust regulator is officially investigating Microsoft Office, Anthropic’s Fraudulent Lies About Mythoslop Don't Withstand Scrutiny
Links for the day
IBM is Googlebombing the Media With Fake Numbers to Promote Fake Technology
a classic example of why much of today's media cannot be trusted (anymore)
Up to 10,000 Microsoft Layoffs in a Couple of Months
Many ways to skin a cat
Truth Hurts. People Hurt by Truth Aren't Entitled to Compensation.
Family members aren't exempt
SLAPP Censorship - Part 77 Out of 200: They Never Knew How to Handle Women (Except to Attack Them)
The case against us was really quite simple
Update on Sirius Open Source in 2026 (When Your Former Employer Commits Crimes and Nobody is Held Accountable)
I did not envision myself spending several years (even 4 years after leaving that company) challenging the system for tolerating and even covering up corruption
Codecs and Software Patents - Part VII - Entering Phase II, the Battle Against Companies That Normalise Taxed (by Patents on Mathematics) Codecs
In the next few part we'll deal with the impact on Free software, including the GNU Project
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXIII - Cocaine Use at the EPO's Top-Level Management "Adds Up" and Worsens Things "Over Time"
"cocaine use knocks the IQ down permanently a tiny bit with each use. Over time that adds up."
Gemini Links 15/05/2026: Slop Fatigue and Banning LLM Use
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, May 14, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, May 14, 2026
Links 14/05/2026: Health Science, Cheeto Meets Pooh, and Facebook Staff Loathing the CEO
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/05/2026: Early Morning Practice and Number to Roman Numeral Converter
Links for the day
FSF Advertises the Father of Software Freedom Giving a Talk in Germany (a Digital Sovereignty Interest Hub, Sponsor of Free Software)
Free Software vs malware and the need for reverse engineering
Cybershow (UK) Shaping Up to be a Neat and Very Large Gemini Capsule
If only more platforms did the same, plenty of energy would be spared, "old" machines would be totally suitable (even with 20 tabs open), as we'd focus on substance, not bells and whistles
SLAPP Censorship - Part 76 Out of 200: The Problem With the United Kingdom Allowing Americans to File Lawsuits by Proxy (Relayed by "Hired Guns")
Solicitors in UK warned not to act as ‘hired guns’ to silence critics of super-rich
When Microsoft's LinkedIn Goes Offline All Your Fake Friends/Connections and Manufactured 'Status' Will be Gone
Many people quit social control media because they recognise it for what it truly is
Major Setback for IBM in the Courtroom, the Demolition of IBM is Proving Costly
Kyndryl is a sign of how IBM ("mother ship") is run and where IBM is heading
Links 14/05/2026: Willful Ignorance and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/05/2026: Rewatching V for Vendetta, JPEG XL, and Platform Migrations
Links for the day
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXII - What the Science Says About Cocaine in the Workplace (EPO President, Mr. Campinos, Please Take Note)
What the science says
European Patent Office (EPO) President, Mr. Campinos, Ignoring Its Staff While Protecting His Friends
the President is covering up cocaine use while ignoring his own workers
Slop Cannot Replace Everybody (the Story of Perl and Universities)
Quantity where abundance exists is without merit; quality is what people opt for as they have limited time and patience
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, May 13, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, May 13, 2026