Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Patent Microcosm and Its Ludicrous New Narrative/Tale That Patent Reform is a Plot of Large Corporations

An inversion of narratives in patent reform

https://twitter.com/patentsales/status/857989537586225152

Summary: Tackling the misconception that it's somehow the billionaires and oligarchs/megacorporations who are pursuing patent reform in the United States, rather than many small companies that are suffering from patent trolls (whom they cannot afford to defend against in a court of law)

THE US COURTS, unlike the USPTO, are eager to be tough on patents. They demand proof that patents granted by the USPTO are in fact eligible and they put the burden of proof increasingly on plaintiffs (or petitioners in the case of PTAB).



"A lot of that boils down to pure nonsense and gossip, not facts."The above tweet matches a pattern that we've observed for a number of months. Patent maximalists try to paint their side as the "small guy" and in doing so they create conspiracy theories about Michelle Lee and Google, about corporate ties to reform, and so much more. A lot of that boils down to pure nonsense and gossip, not facts. The above person, who obviously does not want his/her (sur)name known, seemingly pretends that only those 5 companies call for patent reform (they don’t). That's pure nonsense. The text of the above is reproduced as follows (in case the original tweet gets deleted): "I’m going to keep tweeting this table to remind people how untrue these 5 sound when they cry injury and the need for more patent reform"

I've already argued with him/her about it, but it seems pointless. S/He maintains his/her position on this and so do sites like Watchtroll. They pretend they stand for inventors -- the very thing their stance keeps harming the most.

"They pretend they stand for inventors -- the very thing their stance keeps harming the most."The account above is called "patentsales" -- the very same thing that large corporations like doing. Recall IP3 for example [1, 2]; IAM blogged yesterday that "[t]he news, which was announced today, follows last year’s original IP3, which saw a group of companies from diverse industries come together to build on an initiative that Google had originally undertaken in 2015. This year’s version of the platform will only be available to AST’s 30 members, who include Ford, Google, IBM, Microsoft and recent joiner Uber."

IAM's report/blog is titled "Fixed-time patent-buying programme IP3 back again for 2017; but this time it’s different" (remember who's behind IP3).

Meanwhile, over at Watchtroll, they promote the notion of "intellectual property as a driver of innovation" (that's the headline) while leaving critical bits aside until late in the report. To quote:

In questioning, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) decided to advance the patent troll narrative and found a perfect sounding box in Eron to do so. “Patent trolls can use weak patents to extract monies,” Klobuchar said. Eron assented, noting that, while she was not an expert in IP laws, her understanding was that low-quality patents hurt Intel’s resources, diverting them from innovative R&D and towards litigation defense. “We do have a problem with patent trolls,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) would later add. “I don’t buy this idea that big guys are trying to squeeze out the small guys, a lot of times they’re looking for those smaller guys to scale up,” Tillis said, noting that app stores are filled with services being brought to the market on platforms provided by larger developers like Google and Apple.



What do they mean by "larger developers like Google and Apple"? Or "those smaller guys"?

There is one main difference between those "larger developers" and "those smaller guys"; one group can afford taking the trolls all the way to the court and invalidate the patent/s in question, whereas the other group cannot.

"For those who allege that United for Patent Reform is some kind of front for Google, Apple etc. watch the complete list of companies they stand for."United for Patent Reform, which recently defended Michelle Lee for her tough stance on trolls, is quoting Mytheos Holt as saying that "[p]atent trolls “exist purely to register patents and then accuse actual inventors of violating them”" (links to an article we mentioned 2 days ago). It later tweets (with photo) "I stopped innovating. I stopped creating." --Small business owner Eric Rosebrock on the result of his fight with a patent troll" and also tweets: "Thanks to Darrell Issa for coming to the screening of The Patent Scam today, and for being a champion in the fight to fix patents every day" (we also mentioned "The Patent Scam" 2 days ago).

For those who allege that United for Patent Reform is some kind of front for Google, Apple etc. (that's the new talking point), watch the complete list of companies they stand for. Here is a current screenshot from the front page (list of backers).

United for Patent Reform



Yeah, those few massive companies... it's only them behind patent reform. If anything, some of them are behind patent trolls (Microsoft for sure, in a big way) -- the very opposite of patent reform.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft's LinkedIn is Losing Money, Traffic, and Hope; Now It Wants to Sell Its Users' Lifeblood (and Data)
Let this be a reminder of what social control media really is about
Microsoft Lunduke: Freedom of Speech Means Spreading What I Have to Say and Banning People I Disagree With
4Chan is one he aims for and he is siccing 4Chan trolls at people he doesn't like
Richard Stallman Back at the "Rudolf-Diesel" Hörsal "MW 2001" in About 40 Hours
He spoke there before; there's a very high seating capacity there
US Government: 6.1% of Site Visitors Use GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has a considerable share and it is growing
Why the FSF No Longer Recommends Debian, as Explained by Richard Stallman This Month
some weeks ago
 
Counting Unhatched Eggs Is Not Counting Chickens
Everything here will persist as normal
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 19, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, October 19, 2025
Campaign of FUD Against Framework Laptops and GNU/Linux (Using Microsoft's Attack on Linux, 'Secure Boot')
Ritual Defamation Cult has turned its attention over to Framework
Liberation From 'The Feed'
They rank things based on the editor's choice/ideology (he or she knows the sponsors, hence the masters)
Microsoft's Killing of Vista 10 Seems to Have Resulted in More Articles About GNU/Linux (But Also FUD)
We not only saw a rise in traffic, we also saw a remarkable rise in the number of articles
Today (a Day Before Richard Stallman Talk at TUM) There's a Patent Propaganda Event at TUM
Perhaps an opportunity for Dr. Stallman to rebut this "invention to patent" nonsense/fantasy (conflating monopolies with innovation)
OpenSource or "Open Source" as a Brand is Dying, Let's Get Back to Talking About Software Freedom
Those of us who actually want to reform the industry and put users in control of their systems/devices will recognise that "Open Source" was selling a lie or got-co-opted by liars
19 Years in Numbers: Techrights' Anniversary Countdown and Retrospective
In 2019 we began improving our workflows and, accordingly/predictably, we became a lot more productive
Slop Turns People Off (LLMs Lack Intelligence, They're Just Plagiarism Powerhouses That Fail to Deliver Any Real, Measurable Value)
"More" (or "MOAR") isn't always better
IBM Red Hat Has Re-calibrated or Adjusted to Bubble Economics, False Promises, and Slop/Plagiarism
This won't end well
Fake Numbers, Fake Claims, Fake Economy, and Media Grifters That Prop Up Fraud
Grifters like The Register MS won't be looked upon kindly after the bubble implodes
For Some, the GNU Web Site is Not Accessible This Week
They seem to have gone into some kind of lock-down mode
Symptoms of Upcoming Microsoft Layoffs in XBox
A crashing franchise
Psychiatrist confession: Germanwings crash & Debian toxic culture recognized before suicides
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/10/2025: Scentjacking 101, Slop Hype Boosters, and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Slopwatch: The Serial Slopper, LinuxSecurity, and Google News
Let's hope slopfarms die as soon as possible
Links 19/10/2025: Cambodia Scam Centres, Slop Hurting Wikipedia Traffic
Links for the day
As Economies Crumble Free as in Beer Will Matter, Not Just Free as in Freedom/Libre (Libertad)
French regions choosing to embrace Software Freedom
25 Years Ago, an Explanation of How Reducing Free Software to 'Apps' Would Interfere With Freedom Goals
there's nothing unreasonable about it
A List of 63 Known Gemini Clients (Software to Browse Geminispace Content With Gemini Protocol)
Not counting browser plugins for Web browsers
Gemini Links 19/10/2025: "Firma Odin Is Transforming" and Bot Attacks While "AFK"
Links for the day
LLM Slop Could Not Rise to Prominence Without Media Complicity and Artificial Hype
Inane garbage disguised as "journalism"
All the Latest Half Dozen Articles by Mehedi Hasan (UbuntuPIT) Only Admit at the End That He's Using LLM Slop
Disclosure is OK, but the practice of using slop is not
The 'Modern' Web of Fake Security and Easy Censorship of Whole Domains
Each year it gets worse
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 18, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 18, 2025
The Term "AI" is Not New and What Today's Media Calls "AI" Isn't Even AI
Only the hype was new... and totally artificial
Gemini Links 18/10/2025: "Planetary Rings", Steam, and PSU Replacement
Links for the day
Defeating LLM Abuse (State-of-the-Art Plagiarism) in the Area of Linux and GNU, Free Software, BSD, Security and So On
The aim is to get them to stop using LLMs to rip off other people's work
Links 18/10/2025: Russell Vought in Charge, US Government Leans to Russia Again
Links for the day
Credit Where It's Due: LinuxConfig.org Quit Doing LLM Slop, Back to Original and Real Articles
We waited for a while to say this, now it seems conclusive
Of Note: UbuntuPIT Aware of Critics of Slop, Adds Disclosure of Use of LLMs
We appreciate the honesty
Links 18/10/2025: Madagascar's President Flees and ICE Arrests Protest Comedian Robby Roadsteamer
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Near the European Patent Office (EPO) in 3 Days From Now
It'll be a good opportunity for patent examiners to listen, ask questions, and maybe greet him in person
From Scholar to Booster of Slop (and Even Slop in His Own Blog)
We're going to keep an eye on future posts of his
End of Vista 10 Also Good News for the BSDs
There are many news sites that recommend trying GNU/Linux this month
What's Wrong With Liking Parrots or Birds as Pets?
They'd demonise people for speaking about freedom, no matter what they say or do
Digital Sanitation Good Practices
leave behind Microsoftism
10 Days Ago Richard Stallman Gave a Long Interview in French (linuxfr.org)
English translation
Science, Not Fast Food/Junk Food
The commercial exploitation of users won't stop until users exercise full control over their software or - more broadly - their computing (including data)
The Free Software Foundation, Which Has Appointed a 43-Year-Old President, is Looking to Add Another Board Member (or Treasurer)
expect the FSF to add more people
Richard Stallman Confirms Next Week's Talk at Technical University of Munich, We Urge EPO Staff to Attend
That's probably late enough for EPO staff to attend after work
Gemini Links 18/10/2025: Notifications and Geminaut
Links for the day
Many Red Hat People Are Leaving, But It'll Be Framed Publicly as Leaving IBM
Similarly, IBM layoffs (or "RAs" as they're called) include Red Hat layoffs
Expect More Waves of Microsoft Layoffs This Month (at Least Two Rounds Confirmed Already)
From what we can gather, assuming the recent rumours about XBox are true, there will be at least 3 waves of Microsoft layoffs this month alone
Security Issues in Cisco and Jenkins Passed Off as "Linux" Problems
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD) tactics
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 17, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 17, 2025