Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Latest SLAPP From the Patent Microcosm Shows Just How Abusive Patent Extremists Can be Towards Their Critics

The reality of writing about patent "scams"

SLAPP
Image source/context: Strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP)



Summary: Reaffirming its commitment to a highly aggressive approach, the patent microcosm once again sends me legal threats (for merely writing about nefarious actions)

TODAY is Easter Monday here in the United Kingdom. We planned to take a break from publishing. But publishing is not easy for reasons other than motivation or need to rest etc. I certainly don't wish to write about myself (too boring a topic), but sometimes I have no choice. I'd rather focus on the issues.



In relation to a patent "scam" which we last wrote about yesterday, TechDirt has just weighed in. It wrote about what happened a week ago. Yes, I immediately shared the letter with them, knowing that they are a famous victim of SLAPP (same person who had threatened me for my postings) and knowing that they are thus familiar with such matters.

"Readers should remember that the patent 'community' is all about lawsuits, so it's only good at suing or threatening to (in order to coerce people), not really fearing disbarment for SLAPP."As some background, Michael W. Shore is the main person behind misusing tribal immunity to secure dodgy patents. US politicians are already all over this, calling it all sorts of nasty things and creating legislation to stop this (it was in the news last week). TechDirt had covered this before and it was all over the news (New York Times etc.), so we're not talking about some obscure issue. Many people in various blogs have called this a "scam", which is why I put that word in quotes. A Federal judge called it a "sham". PTAB recently ruled against it as well. There are many layoffs in Allergan these days, so they must be getting desperate. We in Techrights already wrote nearly 15 or 20 articles about this topic alone (some of these were very long). We focused on the tribes and we focused on Allergan, rarely remarking/writing about individuals (such as the lawyers involved).

Readers should remember that the patent 'community' is all about lawsuits, so it's only good at suing or threatening to (in order to coerce people), not really fearing disbarment for SLAPP. Such disbarment very rarely happens. It's like they feel immune (and enjoy impunity) from a political system that is dominated by lawyers. The said action is just the latest of the abuse I receive for covering patents. There's more of it (this one I made public because it's very obviously frivolous). The USPTO should get its house in order/check because those patents that it grants are fueling/empowering a bunch of bullies, who not only threaten companies (patent trolling and blackmail) but also reporters, bloggers, critics etc. Coming to their rescue are extremist sites like Watchtroll, which are so eager to 'kill' PTAB that they post attack pieces almost every day (today too there was a piece about PTAB, this time by Hans Sauer and Melissa Brand). PTAB bashers are crazy. Some have even become racist and menacing. They're not pleasant people. They're schoolyard bullies.

"Legal threats like these aren't new; this has been done to me before, I think about half a dozen times (e.g. Charlatan Shiva, who claimed credit for inventing E-mail as soon as the real inventor of E-mail died)."Interestingly enough, the above-mentioned threat (good summary with background at TechDirt) came on around the very same day IP Kat published "Right of publicity not a right to control one's own image by censoring disagreeable portrayals, says appeals court in de Havilland case" (how timely an article!).

Legal threats like these aren't new; this has been done to me before, I think about half a dozen times (e.g. Charlatan Shiva, who claimed credit for inventing E-mail as soon as the real inventor of E-mail died). Readers certainly know that the EPO sent me several legal threats. It's just legal bullying from reckless thugs whose intent to silence critics; even if there's no lawsuit it's supposed to 'chill' the critics and thereby suppress further reporting (or other activities). After the EPO had done what it did (legal threats) it only emboldened me to write even more about the EPO and the latest case (misuse of tribal immunity) will be no exception. I will write about it even more from now on.

"If you 'dare' write about patents critically (as in critical thinking, no puff pieces) and you make a difference/have an impact, expect to be bullied."TechDirt has published the PDF that the bullies sent to me (as image; lawyers do not like sending a copy-paste-friendly version of their threats; they never do). I have no idea how he got my home address (whois.net has another address), so I am guessing that law firms might have some special access to some databases, but IANAL (I Am Not A Lawyer). The PDF says it was sent by FedEx, but it was never sent (or at least not received), so it's probably part of an intimidation tactic, sending someone to one's home to 'chill' the person even further (or a relative like my spouse). I have received some rather nasty and borderline violent threats/letters lately and would rather not have my address out there for all to see. That is the kind of stuff which can chill not only the critic but also family members or other tenants. Pure evil.

What is the lesson of all this? If you 'dare' write about patents critically (as in critical thinking, no puff pieces) and you make a difference/have an impact, expect to be bullied. The EFF has already gotten sued (repeatedly in fact) by people whose patents it 'dared' criticise. It always won the cases. But at what cost (legal expenses)? To think that 'tiny' Techrights too has become a target may make it noteworthy. But that won't silence us.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
 
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Seem to Have Had Only One Litigation Client in 2025, He Was Previously Charged, Just Like the Serial Strangler From Microsoft (Whom They Now Represent)
Karma is superstition, regulators are not
Project 2030 to Cover How "Project 2025"-Styled Anti-Media Zealots From America Targeted Techrights and Tux Machines
The common denominator is also their attacks on women
Brett Wilson LLP Failed to Meet Deadlines Set by Judge 7 Months Earlier, Tried to Ruin Our Holiday, Then Had the Audacity to Ask Us for Over 3,000 Pounds for Its Own Lateness
As a matter of principle we will never respond to assassin while we are on holiday
On Claims That After Bluewashing Red Hat Will Increasingly Become an Indian Company
Discussed this week (long and detailed)
Americans Attacking British Sites Only Months After They Leave America
We find it kind of funny if not ironic that this site, originally an American site, got legal harassment only from Americans and only months after it had moved to the UK
Despite Losing Over a Quarter Million Dollars a Year Software in the Public Interest (SPI) Gives Helping Hand to Libreboot
SPI's financial state depends a lot on its public image or its reputation
Slopwatch: Google Helps Plagiarism and Sends Traffic to Ripoff Artists
That Google as a company helps spamfarms is noteworthy
If You Want to Know the Future, Listen to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Andy Farnell
We're sure the FSF will have plenty of its own output
Links 18/09/2025: A Taliban Ban on Internet Access and Troubled US Job Market
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2025: Computer Literacy and Accessing Alhena's Database
Links for the day
Links 18/09/2025: US War on Media (Truth Banned, Cancel Culture by the Hard Right), NYT Chief Executive Warns Cheeto is Deploying ‘Anti-press Playbook'
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 17, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 17, 2025