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Rackspace accused of patent infringement for hosting Github

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Re: Rackspace accused of patent infringement for hosting Github

#141

Post by pdonis »

ktizo wrote: post #88
defen wrote: post #58

I can't view the link because it's expired, so I'll just post my rant here. The entire point of patents, as delineated in the U.S. Constitution, is "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." So patents are a means , of securing an end , which is "the progress of science and useful arts".…

Would the world be a better place if git and github did not exist No, but certain people think they would be richer. Unfortunately the idea of increasing general wealth through the expansion of the commons is one that also makes the same people scared shitless, even if they themselves benefit. If you view the economy as a zero sum game, which might hold true, but only if you include the entire universe in your econom…

> If you view the economy as a zero sum game, which might hold true, but only if you include the entire universe in your economic model

This is the best way of putting this point I have ever seen.

Re: Rackspace accused of patent infringement for hosting Github

#142

Post by maratd »

rapind wrote: post #139
maratd wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Things are already complex enough to the point where even a very good lawyer barely grasps how things work. The latest example is the Redhat scenario. They hit Redhat, Redhat swings pack with a GPL violation. I guarantee you that the GPL never came up in conversation when they were considering suing Redhat. We just need to make things even more complex until lawyers absolutely cannot predict the outcome of litigation…

Complexity is an advantage for the existing elite. The more complex you make patent law, the harder it will be to defend against if you're a small fish with limited resources. IMO complexity through abstraction enables most of the evil in the world.

> Complexity is an advantage for the existing elite.

This is true, but until a point. Eventually if a system becomes complex enough, it must collapse. The elite are still human and they still have limitations. Even now, no lawyer is capable of committing the entire body of law responsible for the patent system to memory, nevermind actually grasping all of it.

> The more complex you make patent law, the harder it will be to defend against

The more complex the system, the more contradictions it contains. The more contradictions for you to exploit.

On the contrary, if we had an extremely simplistic system, the small fish would just be told NO with no recourse. Today, they can find reason after reason to counter-sue, appeal, file forms, etc.

Mind you, I'm only a fan of bureaucracy when I'm trying to destroy a particular system.

Re: Rackspace accused of patent infringement for hosting Github

#143

Post by vibrunazo »

maratd wrote: post #75
luriel wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is anyone actually arguing at this point that our current patent regime is accomplishing this end? All through history patents have always hindered innovation and progress, and there is plenty of research to back this up: http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/general/intellectual/against.h... I think it should be obvious by now for anyone that we are well past the point where the system is fixable, the only solution is to…

Nice sentiment. I share it. It's also a waste of breath. > trolls, oligopolies and lawyers Every member of that group is well funded, highly connected, and very aggressive. They are ready to devote untold resources to crush your sentiment and should that fail, to redirect your reform efforts into a more palatable outcome. Every piece of legislation is a compromise between competing interests and their competing inter…

I agree, historically, big 180 shifts in legislation didn't happen because one interest group had a more.compelling argument. Change happens when the economics shift, such that there is now a stronger economic and political (or sometimes military) power in favor of change.

Forexample, slavery didn't end because one side convinced the other. Slavery ended because capitalism changed the economic power balance such that there was more money siding with the end of slavery.

The same will happen to IP. Patents will only end when there's a clear stronger economic power more interested in the end of patents.

Re: Rackspace accused of patent infringement for hosting Github

#144

Post by ktizo »

pdonis wrote: post #141
ktizo wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would the world be a better place if git and github did not exist No, but certain people think they would be richer. Unfortunately the idea of increasing general wealth through the expansion of the commons is one that also makes the same people scared shitless, even if they themselves benefit. If you view the economy as a zero sum game, which might hold true, but only if you include the entire universe in your econom…

> If you view the economy as a zero sum game, which might hold true, but only if you include the entire universe in your economic model This is the best way of putting this point I have ever seen.

Thank you. :) Was from thinking what "any non-zero-sum game for n players can be reduced to a zero-sum game for n + 1 players" actually meant, when applied to the physical world.

Re: Rackspace accused of patent infringement for hosting Github

#146

Post by mistercow »

batista wrote: post #118
snowwrestler wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Patents cover areas of technology where developing a solution that can be commercialized at scale is much, much more expensive than software. Without patents, how is a pharma company expected to pay the enormous cost of research, development, and FDA approval of new drugs? Let's not let obvious flaws in software IP protection condemn the concept of patents in general.

> Without patents, how is a pharma company expected to pay the enormous cost of research, development, and FDA approval of new drugs? How about taxes? Drugs that are useful for millions of people can be subsidized --internationally even. It will make the system even less commercialized (i.e prone to go for quick bucks and BS drugs instead of proper medicine). Most of the more expensive drugs are of marginal utility a…

This is exactly right. The problem with the "patents foster innovation" argument is that they don't direct the research money into the areas where they're most needed. Then, because patents initiate a race to recoup research costs before the patent expires, a tremendous amount of money that could be going to research for new drugs instead gets poured into marketing.

That last fact is particularly disturbing when you consider that many doctor end up learning most of what they know about new drugs entering the market from the marketing literature sent to them by pharmaceutical companies. That literature is regulated, and in most cases accurate, but it is also biased.

Re: Rackspace accused of patent infringement for hosting Github

#148

Post by cafebabe »

api wrote: post #38
wbond wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The titles of the patents: 5978791: Data Processing System Using Substantially Unique Identifiers to Identify Data Items, Whereby Data Items Have the Same Identifiers. 6415280: Identifying and Requesting Data in Network Using Identifiers Which Are Based On Contents of Data. 6928442: Enforcement and Policing of Licensed Content Using Content-based Identifiers. 7802310: Controlling Access to Data in a Data Processing S…

It would appear, based on many incidents underway at the moment, that the software patent apocalypse is beginning. All software infringes something, so it should get interesting. Hopefully the absurdity will stink so badly that even the U.S. congress will do something.

The obvious solution: Get you business out of those countries with expensive litigations (or a patent system). I think, it will become a competition issue like we have with tax heavens.

Re: Rackspace accused of patent infringement for hosting Github

#149

Post by AgentConundrum »

schmichael wrote: post #131
noonespecial wrote: post #115

11. Venue is proper in the Eastern District of Texas under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391 and1400(b). PersonalWeb is a limited liability company incorporated in Smith County, Texaswith its principal place of business in Tyler, Texas. A substantial part of the events giving riseto the asserted claims occurred in this judicial district, Defendant transact business in this judicial district, and the patents were infringed in this ju…

Not a fan of net neutrality I take it? As much as I hate patent trolling, I'd hate politics and ridiculous laws to restrict the free flow of information more instead of less.

The suggestion was for companies to forego doing business with certain people as a risk management tactic.

It's akin to Amazon pulling their affiliate program from California to avoid sales tax. I don't see how net neutrality factors in here.

Re: Rackspace accused of patent infringement for hosting Github

#150

Post by andybak »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #89

Luckily I own the patent on the business model of suing for infringing overly broad software patents. I want 10 billion from the folks suing Rackspace for patent infringement, for infringing my patent, of suing for patent infringement.

Old Slashdot joke. Sorry.
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