 MoracCat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ
kudos:1
 ·Comcast
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Re: Holding companies are the problem.... said by stufried:The interesting thing is that most of us would agree on who a patent troll is if we posted the facts of a case.
I'm not sure about that. For example, every time a story comes up about TiVo suing a company, I inevitably see a bunch of responses that TiVo is a patent troll, despite the fact that TiVo manufacturers and sells products based on their patents.
To some people any company that sues over software patents is a patent troll.
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 Oh_NoTrogglus normalus
join:2011-05-21
Chicago, IL | That is true.
This bill wont fix the real problem allowing companies to patent vague ideas and concepts with no working product or allowing them to patent an idea that the computer world already does and knows about.
Tivo invented nothing. They made a product off prior ideas that were common knowledge, but were just the first person who filed paperwork as they had the money to do so.
Tivo makes a product, but they are also a patent troll using patents they never should have received to stop competition.
Just because you manufacture the product does not mean you are not a patent troll.
Microsoft, samsung, apple all patent troll (partly because they need to be able to retaliate against each other.) |
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 GooberPremium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
kudos:5 | You people are nuts. I'll leave you all to blather on about things of which you have no clue. |
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MoracCat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ
kudos:1 | reply to Oh_No
dupe post dupe post |
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MoracCat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ
kudos:1 | reply to Oh_No
Re: Holding companies are the problem.... And you just proved my point. |
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Oh_NoTrogglus normalus
join:2011-05-21
Chicago, IL | said by Morac:And you just proved my point.
Not 100% as many technology companies have legit patents and they need to protect.
But there are trolls that patent ideas they did not invent.
As I said the companies are forced to play the patent troll games so they patent everything even when they know they did not invent it.
The main problem is someone who knows nothing about current technology and what is out there is approving patents that should not exist.
So basically a company can search sourceforge, internet forums, and small time companies who dont have money to fight lawsuits and patent their ideas with no working product. Then they use that patent to fight their competitors. |
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KearnstdElf WizardPremium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | reply to Morac
said by Morac:said by stufried:The interesting thing is that most of us would agree on who a patent troll is if we posted the facts of a case.
I'm not sure about that. For example, every time a story comes up about TiVo suing a company, I inevitably see a bunch of responses that TiVo is a patent troll, despite the fact that TiVo manufacturers and sells products based on their patents. To some people any company that sues over software patents is a patent troll. The problem is should Tivo be allowed to fully own some of their features or just the specific software code that makes them happen. This is where the software patent issues come into play, If someone codes their own DVR should they have to pay a license fee for someone else's code that does the same thing but with a different internal process.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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MoracCat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ
kudos:1 Reviews:
·Comcast
| said by Kearnstd:The problem is should Tivo be allowed to fully own some of their features or just the specific software code that makes them happen. This is where the software patent issues come into play, If someone codes their own DVR should they have to pay a license fee for someone else's code that does the same thing but with a different internal process.
That's how patents work. You can't patent ideas, only processes. Anyone is free to work around a patented process by coming up with a different process to accomplish the same thing.
The problem is when the patented processes are so ridiculous simplistic such that there is no way around said patent. Patents like those are supposed to be rejected as "obvious". Amazon's one click purchase patent comes to mind in this case.
TiVo's major patent (the timewarp one) does have a specifically process of separating the video and audio into separate files and time tagging both files to make seeking in them easier. Whether that could be considered "obvious" back in 1999 when it was filed is up to interpretation.
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