Printing industry isn't particularly happy



Summary: Concerns are being expressed by and on behalf of a common target of patent trolls

EARLIER this week there were a couple of articles (same text in both) [1, 2] and more from PRINT 17. This includes a video (above) and says: [via Ashley Roberts]

Harvey Levenson, Professor Emeritus at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and a consultant for Graphic Communication Advisors, discusses the landscape of patent trolls, how they have impacted the printing industry and why the printing industry has been targeted.

As usual, patent trolls attack people who actually produce stuff, From one of these articles:

There were recently three major cases that were ruled in favor of printing industry defendants—printers and OEMs. However, the issue is not behind us. It’s just starting said Cal Poly Professor Emeritus, Dr. Harvey Levenson, who will lead the seminar entitled, “A Case Study of Patent Trolls Attacking the Printing Industry: The Industry Is Winning!”

[...]

Levenson will be accompanied by two “Printing Industry Heroes Among Us,” an attorney who was mainly responsible for the dismissal of the three major cases, and an inventor named on two of the patents who was almost a victim of the trolls, but wound up as their adversary. You will hear their stories, firsthand.

Printers and OEMs are being threatened with lawsuits claiming patent infringement for having equipment used for everyday business practices. Levenson said that no company is immune. “If you are a printer using software-driven technology or an OEM producing software-driven technology (small, medium, or large), and have not yet been faced with the extortion tactics of patent trolls, it’s just a matter of time that you will.”

Earlier this year, in the wake of the infamous Lexmark case, we wrote about the position of the printing industry. It's sick and tired of patent trolls. ⬆