Live data from Hacker News

PatentHackers – A new platform to help companies kill patent trolls

mobiusbobs.com

11–20 of 37 posts

Re: PatentHackers – A new platform to help companies kill patent trolls

#13
post #9

Here's the real question though: does knowing that there exists prior art to a certain patent in question at all change the need to go through a painfully lengthy and exorbitantly expensive legal process to prove that one's innocent? Or does this still require a company to be as well capitalized as Newegg in order to be able to withstand a patent attack, and thus doesn't really matter for the majority of us?

When a patent application is in its larval stage, 6 months after initial publication, at least in the US it can be murdered by prior art submitted by anyone, online, for free. A number of open source hardware and software communities I try to keep up with are now under direct threat of patents, and a centralized place where we could get a simple listing of patent app link, time until vulnerability period is over, and possibly a forum to discuss possible directions of prior art and coordinate submission would be extremely helpful. That way, it's possible to eradicate the assheaded attempts to restrict ideas before they become enforceable by law.

For an already issued patent, I understand it's worth trying to put the trial on hold while it gets re-examined. A reexamination is generally much cheaper than a patent trial.

Re: PatentHackers – A new platform to help companies kill patent trolls

#15
post #12
post #10

I don't get it - why does the page keep calling me Bob?

That made me a bit paranoid at first, since my name is Robert.

Sorry man. Maybe I should fix this later, Bob.

(Ok Robert I will fix this I promise)

Re: PatentHackers – A new platform to help companies kill patent trolls

#16
post #13
post #9

Here's the real question though: does knowing that there exists prior art to a certain patent in question at all change the need to go through a painfully lengthy and exorbitantly expensive legal process to prove that one's innocent? Or does this still require a company to be as well capitalized as Newegg in order to be able to withstand a patent attack, and thus doesn't really matter for the majority of us?

When a patent application is in its larval stage, 6 months after initial publication, at least in the US it can be murdered by prior art submitted by anyone, online, for free. A number of open source hardware and software communities I try to keep up with are now under direct threat of patents, and a centralized place where we could get a simple listing of patent app link, time until vulnerability period is over, and…

In the AIA 2011, there are some new post-grant opposition procedure that speeds up and reduce the legal cost such as PGR, IPR, CBM. Although opposition application is about $30k USD plus some paper work. This is not super cheap, but it is still a lot cheaper than going through discovery and superstar trial lawyers by litigating, which would be in the millions $$.

Re: PatentHackers – A new platform to help companies kill patent trolls

#17
post #10

I don't get it - why does the page keep calling me Bob?

Cuz our company is called "MobiusBobs" Bob is the most commonly used placeholder name in CS...

It would help if you have a short synopsis of what this is - for example if I want to share with others (like an about page). And if I could copy the text, it seems it is coded in a way that text isn't copyable which is lame (in my opinion).

These mistakes are not uncommon. I often get the feeling in those cases that such pedestrian concerns are beneath the coolness of what we are doing. That is the impression I get (even if it is wrong). It feels to me like the Flash enthusiasts 10+ years ago, for example, making lots of restaurant sites that were highly unusable but looked pretty.

I think, making it very easy for people to share info about worthwhile efforts is a good idea.

I do really hope you all can make this a success. It seems to me to be a potentially very worthwhile effort.

Re: PatentHackers – A new platform to help companies kill patent trolls

#18
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That made me a bit paranoid at first, since my name is Robert.

Sorry man. Maybe I should fix this later, Bob. (Ok Robert I will fix this I promise)

There are a few issues with your signup that stopped me from signing up:

- Signup with Facebook is broken (invalid url?) - Private is spelled "privite" (incorrect) - Submitting a signup form missing one input causes it to clear out. - There is no clear indication that fields are mandatory. I guessed that you didn't need my school/job, but it looks like it was necessary. - Why do you need my school/job? - Dropdown boxes cannot be tabbed-between (tab button doesn't work) - When I move my mouse inputs move too.

Re: PatentHackers – A new platform to help companies kill patent trolls

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cuz our company is called "MobiusBobs" Bob is the most commonly used placeholder name in CS...

It would help if you have a short synopsis of what this is - for example if I want to share with others (like an about page). And if I could copy the text, it seems it is coded in a way that text isn't copyable which is lame (in my opinion). These mistakes are not uncommon. I often get the feeling in those cases that such pedestrian concerns are beneath the coolness of what we are doing. That is the impression I get…

Thanks for the encouragement and feedback, we will try to update our site to make it more easily sharable.
Post reply on HN