SparkFun Hooks a Patent Troll

I wonder if one could make trolling patent trolls self-sustaining.

For example, let’s say you get hit with a demand letter. I review it and agree to finance your case. Using my resources, I prepare to invalidate the troll’s patents unless they settle for some amount less than their expected lifetime value from said patents. This gets split between you and me (after litigation costs), with maybe some of my share reserved for the eventual holdout who fights and gets their patents invalidated.

Less emotionally satisfying than invalidation. But far more scalable and thus threatening to the model.

Interesting read. Much more in-depth bullshittery than the usual patent troll. I love sparkfun, I've spent far too much money there building small trinkets, but I like supporting a local independent shop, and getting quality builds, rather than waiting and risking lower quality direct from Shenzen. I'm almost glad they got hit by the troll, because they're one of the companies with the wherewithal and life to blow them out of the water.

> > The cost is further reduced by employing only static or dynamic ram as a means for holding the state of the system. [...]

> Dynamic ram? Can I poke fun at them for not knowing what RAM is? Yes I can.

> The above paragraph succinctly describes malloc(), which is perhaps one of the most fundamental advancements in modern computing. The problem is that Al didn’t invent it. Memory management (the ability to take RAM and then give it back when your function is done) goes back to the dawn of computing.

No, this is wrong.

Nathan is referring to dynamic memory allocation, which is what malloc does, but that isn't what this line in the lawsuit is talking about.

Dynamic RAM, or DRAM is RAM that stores state in a capacitor. This is what your laptop uses -- DDR4 SDRAM is "Double data rate (version 4) synchronous dynamic RAM". In DRAM, the charge on the capacitors slowly dissipates, so DRAM needs to be "refreshed" periodically, which is why it's referred to a "dynamic" RAM.

Static RAM, or SRAM, is RAM that stores state in a register-like structure (usually cross-coupled inverters). It's "static" in that it doesn't need to be refreshed -- as long as the supply voltage is maintained, the bits stored in an SRAM will remain intact.

I agree that this patent lawsuit is bullshit, and I really hate to derail the conversation, but I'm surprised by Nathan's misunderstanding here, given that SparkFun makes embedded boards that use all kinds of memory. SRAM/DRAM isn't unusual terminology. The distinction doesn't even matter in the context of this line in the lawsuit, but if you're going to make a point of nitpicking about something, you should really make sure that you're actually right about it first...

The lifetime value of having a patent is much higher than the lifetime value of any specific patent. That's because the scam works whether the patent is valuable or not. Invalidating a patent costs them the time it takes to get a new one.

1. This is called a patent pool. It's very common.

2. You can't sue a parent troll for patent infringement, since they don't have any technology business. They are only "companies" on paper.