12.18.16
Hijacking the Dialogue: How Patent Law Firms Distort the Record on Software Patents in the United States
Reference: Historical revisionism
Summary: Rebuttal to some recent articles from sites of (and for) the patent microcosm, or the meta-industry which wants more and more patents (hence more and more litigation)
PATENTS are a two-edged sword and for patent lawyers it means double-dipping. They profit both from the plaintiff and the defendant, or the aggressor and the victim. When people speak of the benefits of patents they often neglect to mention the harms; only one group benefits irrespective of the outcome.
“When people speak of the benefits of patents they often neglect to mention the harms; only one group benefits irrespective of the outcome.”The US, at a national level, wanted so badly to use patents against China and now China is schooling them using their own weapon. As the trolls’ voice (IAM) puts it, “[f]or US patent owners, a key element of their China strategies could be about to get much harder” (I have also heard this personally from an old friend who pursued or at least explored the option as recently as months ago).
The patent strategy of the US is clearly not working. The US is killing its very own businesses — especially small (or local) businesses — and only a growing meta-industry benefits. Watchtroll, part of this meta-industry, is now attacking another politician who does not agree with him and his grubby, money-grabbing hands. We don’t want to entertain IAM or Watchtroll too much (they are the opposition’s voice), but we are hardly surprised by these posts of theirs that border on personal attacks, lobbying disguised as news, and shameless self promotion.
“As one can expect, patent law firms ignore all the decisions they don’t like, then amplify rare exceptions.”Speaking of shameless self promotion, in these times when it’s widely agreed that software patents have become a waste of time and money (after Alice in particular) law firms like Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP don’t want us to know the facts and instead cherry-pick cases to construct a flawed narrative. Hunter Freeman and Seann Patrick Lahey from McNair Law Firm give tips for overcoming a de facto BAN on software patents. Imagine if they gave such tips in areas of criminal law, immigration, etc. (like ways to avoid prosecution for rape/murder). It’s surreal, yet it has become so banal. This banality is now so prevalent that we must not simply ignore it. Here is Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP cherry-picking PTAB/CAFC cases. As one can expect, patent law firms ignore all the decisions they don’t like, then amplify rare exceptions. Why? To mislead prospective/existing clients. They fight an information war.
“Having been awarded a software patent in 2016 is no small achievement,” says this new press release as if software patents are likely to survive courts like the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC).
In the “PTAB Litigation Blog”, a blog run by a self-serving firm rather than unbiased observers, more of the expected bias can be found this past week. “The PTAB Currently Places The Burden Of Proof For Claim Amendments On The Patent Owner,” it says (as should be, rightly so). Is there a problem with that?
“It’s typically a sign of one firm’s financial failure if not bankruptcy, resulting in re-employment elsewhere.”Baker Donelson, another person from the meta-industry, is downplaying PTAB IPRs that are being used to invalidate many thousands (by extrapolation) of software patents in the US. Curiously, based on Donelson’s link in his article (IAM-hosted), the author’s employer is being absorbed. “Baker Donelson will combine with the well-respected national law firm Ober|Kaler as of January 1, 2017,” it says. Yet another example of one legal firm collapsing onto another in the post-Alice era? We’re losing count. It’s typically a sign of one firm’s financial failure if not bankruptcy, resulting in re-employment elsewhere. Sustainability of such firms is declining, spurring a panic and frantic attacks on Obama’s patent policy.
Let it be understood that software patents are not potent and CAFC has done virtually nothing to stop PTAB from invalidating software patents even outside the courts. Let it also be clear that the meta-industry (or patent microcosm as it’s sometimes called) created a misleading picture and constructed a parallel reality in order to further its agenda and embellish its bottom line.
“The era of software patents is over and the only opportunity for a rebound might be Justices and USPTO Director appointments by Trump…”See this new report about Verint Systems Inc. v Red Box Recorders that says “Plaintiff Verint asserted six patents against Red Box (U.S. Patent Nos. 7,774,854, 5,790,798, 6,510,220, RE43,324, RE43,386, and 8,189,763) in the District Court for the Southern District of New York. Red Box rebutted, asserting that all claims were invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101 due to being directed to patent-ineligible abstract ideas.”
That’s Alice and if it’s pursued all the way up to CAFC or SCOTUS expect all these patents to be thrown away. The era of software patents is over and the only opportunity for a rebound might be Justices and USPTO Director appointments by Trump, which is why the meta-industry already lobbies him so unbelievably hard (more on that in the next few posts). █
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