It would be great if more companies handled patents like Tesla. They obtain patents and then let others use them royalty free
IBM sues Airbnb for patent royalties
31–40 of 240 posts
Re: IBM sues Airbnb for patent royalties
#32I recall an article a while back about how IBM is so innovative because it had the most patents filed per year on tech or something. I think we can see now that their patenting is less about innovation and more about patent trolling. Quote from the FT article on this below does not seem to show to me that this is the sort of patent that promotes real innovation - "improved navigation using bookmarks" does not seem li…
What's weird though, is like why didn't they patent the relational database? No one disputes that was an innovation, or its provenance at IBM.
I guess software patents just didn't exist then.
Re: IBM sues Airbnb for patent royalties
#33This is not a good year for AirBnB. First the virus, then this, all while they were planning to IPO.
This should be noise. COVID-19 will be a big hit, though.
Re: IBM sues Airbnb for patent royalties
#34According to the article, IBM did this same thing to Twitter (suing for ridiculous patent claims immediately prior to an IPO, in order to pressure some sort of settlement).
I don't know much about the stock market, but this doesn't make a ton of sense to me. If the claim really is meritless (which, it certainly seems to be), it shouldn't effect the fundamental value of Airbnb's business. If the underlying business is unaffected, won't whatever PR-related impact the lawsuit has on stock prices be erased rather quickly? Or would investors still price in some risk as long as the lawsuit was pending, even if they felt confident it would be thrown out?
Re: IBM sues Airbnb for patent royalties
#35It would be great if more companies handled patents like Tesla. They obtain patents and then let others use them royalty free
Volvo did that with the 3 point seatbelt.
Re: IBM sues Airbnb for patent royalties
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
At the same time AirBNB has history, that is to say, a business model, based on ignoring laws they don't care for.
As a former employee, I don't agree with that. I know it's the prevailing sentiment on HN, but it's not the truth.
You could give us a reason why
Re: IBM sues Airbnb for patent royalties
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
> where most new technology is just software Is this really true?
Yep. Just look at the top 10 companies by market cap: 1. Microsoft – mostly software 2. Apple – software and hardware 3. Amazon – mostly software 4. Alphabet – mostly software 5. Berkshire Hathaway – not tech 6. Facebook – mostly software 7. Alibaba – mostly software 8. Tencent – mostly software 9. Johnson & Johnson – not tech 10. Visa – not tech, but mostly software
I'm not sure company value can really tell you what the volume of new tech is.
Does a company like Facebook really develop new tech, or just apply it? They don't produce that many papers, compared to even a small university department.
How are you even measuring the volume of new tech? What is one new composite material compared to one new JavaScript framework? How do you compare those?
Re: IBM sues Airbnb for patent royalties
#38One would think after years of getting trolled by SCO IBM would be over this.
Their staff lawyers were probably so scarred by that they just want to make an example of someone every now and then.
Re: IBM sues Airbnb for patent royalties
#39Is there some sort of group-defense, where several sue-ees group together to contest a ridiculous patent ? I guess the main difficulty is not the legal framework, but the business framing
Yup, you can seek a declaratory judgment of non-infringement, or institute an IPR at the PTAB to get a patent knocked-out. As a patent litigator, I believe most people don't understand patents, the patent system, nor what it tries to achieve.
Re: IBM sues Airbnb for patent royalties
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
At the same time AirBNB has history, that is to say, a business model, based on ignoring laws they don't care for.
As a former employee, I don't agree with that. I know it's the prevailing sentiment on HN, but it's not the truth.
That is a common sentiment. I would be interested to hearing some counter arguments, that might be more productive then just saying it's not true.