Bonum Certa Men Certa

Stanford's NPE Litigation Database Makes a Nice Addition in the Fight Against Software Patent Trolls

NPE Litigation Database



Summary: As the United States of America becomes less trolls- and software patents-friendly (often conflated with plaintiff (un)friendliness) it's important to have accurate data which documents the numbers and motivates better policy; The NPE (troll) Litigation Database is a move towards that and it's free to access/use

THE courts system in the United States may be in flux (Donald Trump makes it a lot worse in a lot of ways), but for the time being it continues to reject software patents. Every single 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 case we come across (and put in our daily links) seems to result in invalidation. This has, predictably, harmed patent trolls (who depend on such patents).



"Every single 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 case we come across (and put in our daily links) seems to result in invalidation. This has, predictably, harmed patent trolls (who depend on such patents).""I'm pleased to announce the Stanford NPE Litigation Database," Prof. Lemley wrote this week. "We have coded every patent plaintiff in every suit from 2007 through 2017 into one of thirteen different categories. The database is open to anyone who wants to do research on patent litigation." It can be found here (NPE Litigation Database). It was mentioned here in passing earlier this week after Prof. Risch had mentioned it.

Patent trolls are on the decline/demise, but they haven't gone away. The patent extremists try hard to pave the way for their comeback.

Case of point? Watchtroll speaks of "House IP Subcommittee Discusses Section 101" in yesterday's roundup about U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) matters and discussions in the Congress/House. Coons et al might try to change things, but they have no support and Joe Mullin of the EFF has just issued a call for public input. This is a third year/attempt to screw the patent system on behalf of patent trolls and this year too it has already fallen off the news/headlines (same as in previous years around the same time). To quote Mullin:

There’s no published bill yet, but Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) have published a “framework” outlining how they intend to undermine Section 101 of the U.S. patent law. That’s the section of law that forbids patents on abstract ideas, laws of nature, and things that occur in nature.

Section 101’s longstanding requirement should be uncontroversial—applicants have to claim a “new and useful” invention to get a patent—a requirement that, remarkably, Tillis and Coons say they will dismantle.

In recent years, important Supreme Court rulings like Alice v. CLS Bank have ensured that courts give full effect to Section 101. That’s given small businesses a fighting chance against meritless patents, since they can be evaluated—and thrown out—at early stages of a lawsuit.

Check out the businesses we profile in our “Saved by Alice” page. Patent trolls sued a bike shop over message notifications; a photographer for running online contests; and a startup that put restaurant menus online. It’s ridiculous that patents were granted on such basic practices—and it would be even more outrageous if those businesses had to hire experts, undergo expensive discovery, and endure a jury trial before they get a serious evaluation of such “inventions.”

Listen to our interview with Justus Decher. Decher’s health company was threatened by a company called MyHealth over a patent on “remote patient monitoring.” MyHealth never built a product, but they demanded $25,000 from Decher—even before his business had any profits.

Why is the Tillis-Coons proposal moving forward? Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are working together with lobbyists for patent lawyers and companies that have aggressive licensing practices. They’re pushing a false narrative about the need to resolve “uncertainty” in the patent law. But the only uncertainty produced by a strong Section 101 is in the profit margins of patent trolls and the lawyers filing their meritless lawsuits.


As we said weeks ago, the media barely mentions this anymore and it's going nowhere, just like in 2017 and 2018. Quite frankly, we believe that merely ignoring this would be the better approach. There's no headway and any sort of coverage would likely seem beneficial to this dying/zombie legislation proposal, which we sometimes compare to the UPC.

The EFF can now cite data from the NPE Litigation Database to put together its case for Section 101 and PTAB. The people behind the database are not in favour of software patents.

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