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Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

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Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#5

Post by tkeller »

blhack wrote: post #2

These are some of the most absurdly vague patents I've ever heard. Very, very bad form.

Have you actually read them? Read the claims? They're software patents, so plenty of folk will hate them just based on that... but they really are not poorly drafted patents.

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#6

Post by coderdude »

>>Also, Mueller said, "[s]hould Google be served an injunction as a result of Interval's suit, owners of Android phones would experience a very significant degradation of the user experience."

Well that sucks. It would be terrible if I had my phone's services greatly impaired so this guy can go through his little patent suit.

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#7

Post by berntb »

Anyone really believes this is not coordinated with Microsoft?

So the next phase will be when e.g. Wozniak put up a software patent company and sues Microsoft, Google and Nokia? And then some investors in Google will finance a patent troll company which...

Patent Armageddon, here we come. :-(

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#9

Post by Devilboy »

berntb wrote: post #7

Anyone really believes this is not coordinated with Microsoft? So the next phase will be when e.g. Wozniak put up a software patent company and sues Microsoft, Google and Nokia? And then some investors in Google will finance a patent troll company which... Patent Armageddon, here we come. :-(

Patent Armageddon is a GOOD thing!

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#10

Post by blhack »

tkeller wrote: post #5
blhack wrote: post #2

These are some of the most absurdly vague patents I've ever heard. Very, very bad form.

Have you actually read them? Read the claims? They're software patents, so plenty of folk will hate them just based on that... but they really are not poorly drafted patents.

No. As I am not a patent attorney and do not speak legalese, I had to concern myself with the abstract descriptions only. Have you? These appear to cover what is essentially the * symbol appearing over your "notifications" icon after a timeout on facebook, or the (1) appearing on twitter if you leave it idle for long enough and a new tweet appears in your stream.

Do you think that this is unique enough an idea that others should have to pay Paul Allen's company for the rights to use it? This was something that I was going to implement on thingist. Should I not do this because I would be infringing on a legitimate (legitimate in the spirit of patent law) bit of intellectual property?

This is why patent trolling is so damaging to the community. I'm not a lawyer, I have no idea. The best I can do is read the abstract of a patent (if I can even find it) and try not to step on anybody's toes. For somebody like me, a lowly 23 year old kid making side projects in his spare time and day-dreaming about someday moving to San Francisco and getting to hang out at the cool kids table, this stuff is terrifying. Paul Allen, a multi-billionaire with a fleet of private jets and private yachts and private submarines and private multi-million-dollar-per-year-retainer lawyers might SUE ME.

SO I have a couple of choices. I can implement what seems like a completely obvious feature and risk being sued by the largest Goliath in the industry, or I can follow the written law and not.

What should I do? What would you do?

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