Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patents Roundup: Microsoft Paid a Patent Troll for Patents (Maybe in Vain); Google and Yahoo Sue Xerox

Xerox Alto
Photo of the Xerox Alto, taken by Martin Pittenauer



Summary: Anascape, a patent troll, loses its case against Nintendo (Microsoft gave up early); Xerox is countersued by Google and Yahoo for patent infringement

SEVERAL months ago we wrote about Nintendo being hit with a lawsuit similar to Microsoft's. Anascape, which is a patent troll, alleged that both companies had violated its patent. Microsoft paid up to settle, whereas Nintendo fought against the troll and won. From last week's news we have:



i.Nintendo wins appeal against patent infringement claim

ii.Nintendo Wins Controller Patent Appeal

iii. Nintendo's Court Case Saves $21 Million Controller Costs

A few years ago, a company called Anascape took Nintendo and Microsoft to court in a case regarding a US patent and that, in Nintendo's case, related to patented technology used in a variety of controllers. Microsoft settled out of court. Nintendo appealed the ruling handed down against it, along with a fine of $21 million.


iv. Nintendo beats Wii patent infringement rap

Nintendo has claimed victory in its long-running legal battle with Anascape after the US Court of Appeals said it did not infringe a patent held by the little-known intellectual property owner.


Here is the relation to Microsoft again:

Microsoft settled out of court but Nintendo chose to fight on and was hit with a damages bill amounting to $21 million for infringing upon one of the company’s patents with its Wii Classic, Wavebird, and GameCube controllers. At the time, many believed Nintendo had made the wrong decision, as settling out of court would surely have been cheaper. However, two years on, Nintendo has had that ruling overturned in the Federal Circuit Court.


Microsoft is not in a position to whine about such patent trolls because Microsoft breeds the world's biggest patent troll. Microsoft itself engages in patent racketeering [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

According to legal sites, the USPTO is preparing to improve the appeals process and the ITC becomes intolerant (or less tolerant) of patent trolls.

Patent trolls beware. You won't win a case at the International Trade Commission if the only thing you do with your patent is sue people for infringing it.

That's not a domestic industry.


This is not enough to deter patent trolls like Acacia, which needn't rely on the ITC because they are well funded and have patience. Additionally, the patent problem involves patent trolls and patent hoarders alike, just not the majority that's in the middle (SMBs). Xerox, for example, is a the company that gives Acacia all sort of patents, which are later being used against GNU/Linux. Xerox also sued Google and Yahoo back in February, only to be sued by Google and Yahoo this month. [via]

Google Inc, its YouTube video service, and Yahoo Inc on Thursday filed counterclaims against Xerox Corp in a lawsuit accusing them of infringing the document management company's patents on Internet searches.


We've hardly ever seen Google suing with patents. Now we do.

What is the benefit to science when patent trolls attack companies with actual products or two companies with products are attacking one another? The biggest winners here are patent lawyers.

"Hey, Steve, just because you broke into Xerox’s store before I did and took the TV doesn’t mean I can’t go in later and steal the stereo."

--Bill Gates, Microsoft



Recent Techrights' Posts

Imposters Inheriting Institutions
Dealing with the "imposter syndrome"
[Meme] The Ponzi Scheme That Eats Rivals (by Paying Them to Stop Competing)
Why compete when you can bribe and defang antitrust authorities?
In 2006 We Had a Novell Problem and Now We Have Several Novells
Microsoft thorns inside the community
Richard M. Stallman (RMS) Debunks Misconceptions About What Free Software Means and Explains How It Works
Free software means people (including users and developers) exercise control over the program, not the programmers
Certificate Authority Let's Encrypt Has Fallen From 12% in Geminispace to Just 1.2% in Two Years (Capsules Usually Self-Sign Their Certificates)
Don't ask the imposters about security
 
[Meme] Video Uploads Improved
The tools are all in our self-hosted Git repository and the licence is, as usual, AGPLv3
Apple Event as Fine Example of the "IT" Circus
It's not clear if the enemy of Free software is a company like Apple is simply public ignorance that Apple keeps fostering
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 11, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Gemini Links 12/09/2024: Clean Island and VCFMW19
Links for the day
Links 11/09/2024: EPO Patents Tossed Out by Courts, Software Patent Reveals Ford "Tech That Listens to Driver Conversations to Serve Ads"
Links for the day
More "Linux" SEO SPAM, Wrapped Up as Clown Computing, Composed by a "Bullshit Generator" (LLM)
linuxsecurity.com at it again this week
"Linux" and Linux.com Diploma Mill
The front page of Linux.com right now is the usual nonsense
Links 11/09/2024: ROOPHLOCH Report, Small Web Experiences, and Cohost Effectively Dead
Links for the day
Links 11/09/2024: Russia Enters Latvia With Drone, Truth Social Stock Crashes
Links for the day
The "IT Industry" is Full of Imposters (It's a Growing Crisis)
They often manage the companies
Richard Stallman Explains Stochastic Parrots (LLMs)
From his latest talk
The Toys of Today's Kids and Coordination Woes, Not to Mention a Lack of Social Skills
Too much time indoors, too much screen time
Dispelling the Notion That Microsoft is Political Left
Microsoft not only got bailed out (several times) by Donald Trump but also approached him to take over TikTok without paying for it
Linus Torvalds, the Son of a Politician, Tries to Stay Out of Politics (or Political Topics)
"I'm just a geek" has its limits in practice
Richard Stallman Still Deals With Politics
Stallman's gonna Stallman
GAFAM Not Invincible
The US has an election very soon and Microsoft is already bribing candidates for deregulation and favours, based on press reports
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 10, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 10, 2024
The Greatest Show on Earth (Buzzwords Circus)
What next? Being denied medical service because you don't have a Facebook account?
Gemini Links 11/09/2024: Happiness, Improvised Nebuliser, and olden Age of Palm OS
Links for the day
Julian Assange's Father Turns 80 and They Show Themselves in Melbourne
Will he be active in Wikileaks soon?
Slow But Ongoing Mass Layoffs at EPO, Estimates That Nearly Half of the FOs Will be Made Redundant Soon
When you cease to care about validity and quality of patents you're granting why bother with humans at all?
[Teaser] EPO Tightening Its Belt
who didn't see this coming?
Are Lawsuits Over EPO Corruption Next?
Why does the mainstream media not cover it?
Europe's Second Largest Institution, the EPO, Exploits Lack of Oversight to Commit Crimes Every Day
Immunity begets impunity, which in turn begets crime
[Video] Richard Stallman's New Talk in Germany Covers What Free Software Means, Why LLMs are "Bullshit", and Lots More (Web3 Summit 2024 Berlin)
Closing Keynote Day 3 - Dr. Richard Stallman - Web3 Summit 2024 Berlin
Transcript of Latest Public Talk by Dr. Richard M. Stallman (RMS), Delivered Last Month at Web3 Summit 2024 Berlin
quick-and-dirty transcription
Links 10/09/2024: Big Brother Awards Germany 2024 and Telling the Unemployed to 'Drive Uber'
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/09/2024: DUIs and Useless Analytics
Links for the day
The Peril of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Illuminates the Dangers of Founders Leaving or Being Forced Out
Whatever you may think they stand for, you risk being fixated on what they originally were and perhaps what their Web sites still say
Difficult Times at Soylent News
We hope that Soylent News will recover from this
New Article in redhat.com: How to Install Microsoft Windows
That's just about as bad as that sounds...
Crimes of the EPO Are Costing Everybody in Europe
Since virtually everyone in Europe is a user of software (almost nobody is a forest dweller like in countries near the equator), this impacts everybody
OSI's Blog is Still 100% Microsoft-Sponsored Attacks on Free/Open Source Software
OSI is a compromised, defunct body. It exists to serve the enemies of its original mission.
A Decade Ago Things Became So Bad at the European Patent Office (EPO) That Staff Jumped Out the Window During Working Hours
Colleagues saw the suicide; the EPO's response wasn't to tackle the causes but to bolt down the windows (like factories in China installing controversial 'suicide nets')
Red Hat is Suing to Protect From Patent Trolls
Why doesn't Red Hat (IBM) also lobby to eliminate all software patents once and for all?
COVID-19 Ushered in Attacks on Human Rights and Things They Said They Had Introduced Temporarily Are Still in Effect/Operation Today
COVID-19 changed a lot of things
Quitting Academia When Its IT Systems Are Dominated by Clowns Who Outsource
It seems like a common trajectory
Why the Free Software Foundation (FSF) Owning or Renting Office Space Mattered
"In the long term, the FSF needs to own its future office space, but then the deadly risk is that the property ownership becomes the end goal rather than software freedom."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 09, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, September 09, 2024
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Probably Has No Choice But to Shut Down Its Office
Net Income -$686,366
Nearly Two Years After Quitting My Job
My colleagues and I were bullied by managers (grievance complaint got filed) who didn't even know what "Linux" was
Terms of Service (TOS) Under Scrutiny - Part XVIII - In Conclusion
Many activities can be done offline without having to sign anything