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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

#41

Post by sp332 »

pierrefar wrote: post #39
sp332 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Allen has already got his money from Microsoft :-)

MS is sitting on a few tens of billions of dollars in cash. How cynical do you need to be to think this pile is off limits for patent trolls?

This isn't a random patent troll, this is Paul Allen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Allen , co-founder of Microsoft.

If you're still feeling cynical, you can think of it this way: MS has enough dirt on Allen from his years there to bring him down if he threatens them :-)

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#42

Post by jacquesm »

Reputations take a lifetime to build and can be destroyed in a heartbeat. Paul Allen did a fantastic job of building his reputation, and barring a hidden agenda has done an equally impressive job of destroying it, not just with this 'retry' (abort or ignore?) but already with the first incarnation of it.

I'm hoping that there is a hidden side to this but I'm having a hard time dreaming up a scenario where this is not a 'win' for Paul Allen either way in retrospect ("I've done this to destroy the patent system" or "I just made a bunch of money"). Maybe he should state his goal? The worst case outcome for the rest of the world is that he wins this stupid suit, the best case outcome for the world is that he really is a greedy patent troll and triggers patent reform.

If he's doing it with that purpose then I'm all for it but since there is a chance that he will make a great deal of money from this I highly doubt it.

It's funny because over the years I lost patience with Microsoft, Gates and Ballmer with Paul Allen being the last hold-out in terms of being respectable. It's a pity to see that soiled in this way, apparently there is no such thing as 'enough' and abusing the system is just A-Ok.

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#43

Post by jacquesm »

ez77 wrote: post #29
dansingerman wrote: post #27

I really hope what he is doing is deliberately launching a ridiculous large scale patent suit designed to fail on a massive scale that will undermine all future software patent suits, and therefore the whole software patent system. If he is he's a hero. If not he's a dick.

I had a similar reaction. The good news is that, regardless of his true intentions , enough high-profile ridiculous suits like this will be the most powerful catalyst for severe reform.

> enough high-profile ridiculous suits like this will be the most powerful catalyst for severe reform.

The problem here is that as long as these suits are lost there is plenty of force behind those that say that 'the system works', so only if Paul Allen would actually win this suit would there be an incentive for such reform. There is no real penalty to bringing a suit like this (other than making a bunch of lawyers richer, but when you need 9 zeros before the comma to express your wealth that's no big deal).

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#44

Post by pierrefar »

sp332 wrote: post #41
pierrefar wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MS is sitting on a few tens of billions of dollars in cash. How cynical do you need to be to think this pile is off limits for patent trolls?

This isn't a random patent troll, this is Paul Allen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Allen , co-founder of Microsoft. If you're still feeling cynical, you can think of it this way: MS has enough dirt on Allen from his years there to bring him down if he threatens them :-)

I know who's involved. Your point about dirt is very valid - I didn't think of it because a patent troll crosses a line after which he doesn't value friends.

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#45

Post by CamperBob »

Devilboy wrote: post #9
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!

Patent Armageddon already happened, back in the days when radio technology was being developed at a pace that makes the software industry's progress look slow and boring.

The lawyers won, as usual. They'll win this time, too.

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#47

Post by patrickaljord »

EGreg wrote: post #18

Paul Allen is taking advantage of the law. There is nothing really wrong with that. If you think the law is wrong, then let's work to try to change it. I personally find these intellectual property monopolies to be more menace than good. Especially the 17-year-long patents for SOFTWARE!

> Paul Allen is taking advantage of the law. There is nothing really wrong with that.

Why? If a law is wrong, unfair or immoral, taking advantage of it is not right, it is actually wrong. That being said, it is legal, but being legal does not always imply rightness.

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#48

Post by EGreg »

patrickaljord wrote: post #47
EGreg wrote: post #18

Paul Allen is taking advantage of the law. There is nothing really wrong with that. If you think the law is wrong, then let's work to try to change it. I personally find these intellectual property monopolies to be more menace than good. Especially the 17-year-long patents for SOFTWARE!

> Paul Allen is taking advantage of the law. There is nothing really wrong with that. Why? If a law is wrong, unfair or immoral, taking advantage of it is not right, it is actually wrong. That being said, it is legal, but being legal does not always imply rightness.

Who says a law is wrong, unfair or immoral? Certainly not the legislators. Even if it is, taking advantage of the law might still not be unfair or immoral. If anything, it will highlight that the law needs to be changed.

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#49

Post by alextgordon »

Patents are essentially a licence to write new laws. A list of millions of banned actions. The only difference is the people who write these new laws aren't elected, and the laws expire after 20 years. There is no way to tell if something is banned or not, except by getting sued.

I don't know how anyone thinks this is a good idea.

Re: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen tries again with patent megasuit

#50

Post by mdda »

blhack wrote: post #17
tkeller wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's kind of my point. The title means nothing. The abstract means almost nothing. The figures mean almost nothing. Have a look here for a brief guide to reading a patent, written for nonlawyers. http://www.danshapiro.com/blog/2010/09/how-to-read-a-patent-...

Do you think this sort of thing (that programmers would have to concern themselves with reading patents beyond their description) is acceptable?

Lawyers are just programming in a language that looks like English.
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