patent posts

Filed under: Business, Developer, Web services, Adobe, Google, Microsoft, web 2.0

Eolas v. Everyone you've ever heard of

by Grant Robertson Oct 6th 2009

~~Tireless patent troll~~ Intellectual Property holder Eolas has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against, well.. nearly everyone. The issue at hand deals with two patents in Eolas' possession -- the first of which was the subject of a successful lawsuit against Microsoft back in 2004.

The second patent, what Eolas refers to as "a continuation of the '906 patent" claims to hold as the sole intellectual property of Eolas, "fully-interactive embedded applications [...] through the use of plug-in and AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) web development techniques." The second patent is so far untested in court -- and ostensibly covers more popular websites than you can shake a knock-off Louis Vuitton handbag at.

I haven't had time to delve into the language of the patent, but this reeks of utter nonsense to me so far. In my layman's oppinion, Eolas may have made a crucial mistake however, taking aim at so many large targets at once -- with one untested patent, and another which Microsoft already came rather close to beating.

Take the leap to read the whole ~~extortion demand~~ press release, and see the enormous list of publicly traded web firms included.

Tags: ajax, eolas, patent, plugins, troll, web browser, web dev, WebBrowser, WebDev

Filed under: Office, Microsoft

Microsoft gets to keep selling Word... for now

by Brad Linder Sep 3rd 2009

After receiving a court order to stop selling Microsoft Word due to patent-infringing technology, Microsoft warned that the consequences could be dire if the injunction wasn't stayed. And by dire, I mean, Microsoft might have had to pull Word for a few months while writing new code to get around the problem.

Fortunately (for Microsoft at least, and anyone looking to pick up a copy of Office or Word in the next few months), it won't come to that. Today an appeals court stayed the injunction issued by a federal judge in Texas last month.

That doesn't mean that Microsoft is in the clear. It just means that the company can continue selling its software while the appeals process continues. If Microsoft ultimately loses the case, it's possible the company could still have to pull Word from the market indefinitely. But I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft has a team of monkeys banging away at typewriters to come up with a less patent-infringing version of Word as we speak. That's how software is made, right?

Tags: injunction, iwi, lawsuit, microsoft-office, microsoft-word, patent, xml

Filed under: Google, Search

USPTO neglects to hit the "obvious" button on Google's newest patent

by Grant Robertson Sep 3rd 2009

If you needed just one more scrap of proof that the U.S. patent system is completely and utterly broken, then you might want to click the "I'm feeling lucky" button. I have a sneaking suspicion that the reviewing agents at the USPTO couldn't tell the difference between a "Graphical user interface for a display screen of a communications terminal" and a hole in the ground.

Patent number D533561 was granted to Google on Tuesday, after a 5 and a half year battle. The examiner is also responsible for such deep and philosophical patent examinations as "Foot and toe washer", "Combined ice scraper and brush" and, "H style harness doggie vest."

Depending on the angle at which you hold this patent up to the light, Google may own the ticket for having a search box smack-dab in the middle of a page, or the concept of having two buttons under the search bar. Really, given the state of U.S. patent litigation, what you have here is a license to annoy, molest, harass and waste the legal fund of any company who dare tick off a Google lawyer. If asked for comment, I imagine even the guy who "invented" the combined ice scrapper and brush would think this one is a little over the top. Whatever happened to, "Don't be evil"?

Now, if you'll excuse me; I'm very busy working on my own design for a search box with *three* buttons below. Soon, I will build a third search button powerful enough to enslave you all! Muahahahahaaahahah, cough, ahem.

Tags: do no evil, DoNoEvil, google, nonsense, patent, search

Filed under: Office, Microsoft, Humor

Microsoft warns court of Word-related armageddon

by Lee Mathews Aug 19th 2009

Nevermind 2012, according to Micorosoft there's a good chance that a Texas district court judge's recent decision could very well cause civilization as we know it to crumble in a few short weeks.

It all starts with Microsoft's need to redesign Word to remove the code which violates i4i's XML patent. "The money! The beautiful, beautiful money!" an entirely fictitious spokesperson stated. "There's no way we could ever recoup it. It's not like we're a massively profitable company with overwhelming shares of operating system of office software markets or something."

But there's something much more horrifying to consider here than Microsoft losing a few million dollars. It's just the first domino to fall in the series.

Next comes the cataclysmic damage to vendors like Dell, HP, and Best Buy - all of whom would have to immediately re-tool as a result. That means hours and hours of meetings - which also means lost productivity and increased stress levels.

The associated disruption of sales in an uncertain economy? It's not hard to see where this could end up. Increased joblessness. The new unemployed would no doubt turn on the justice system, and lead to waves of rioting, looting, and lawlessness.

Before you know it, the United States is a desert wasteland and we're all driving around in school buses fighting off zombie attacks. After the US, the world quickly becomes a dull, withered husk.

So please - for the sake of humanity - grant the stay.

[via The Register]

Tags: court, i4i, lawsuit, microsoft-word, patent, xml

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Apple

Apple receives patent for the OS X dock

by Brad Linder Oct 8th 2008

Apple has received a patent for the dock utility for launching applications in OS X. Yes, the dock has been around for the better part of a decade, but Apple applied for the patent back in 1999 and didn't receive it until this week. The patent describes an interface for consolidating frequently used items in a "userbar." It also covers the way that items are magnified when you scroll your cursor over them.

In other words, it looks like Apple may be able to go after the makers of ObjectDock, RocketDock, sTabLauncher, Avant Window Navigator, Cairo Dock and others. Sure, those applications may not steal any code from Apple, but they're based on the same concept.

Now, I'm not saying Apple shouldn't have been able to patent the dock concept. I'm not going to take a position on that, one way or the other. But this is the sort of thing that can happen when it takes the US patent system 9 years to rule on a patent application.

[via The Register]

Tags: avant-window-navigator, cairo-dock, dock, objectdock, os-x, os-x-dock, patent, rocketdock, stablauncher

Filed under: Business, Apple

Beyond Nike + iPod: Apple's new fitness project

by Romeo Wahed Mar 28th 2008

Mmm... An apple pie after that workout perhaps?

If you liked the iPod/Nike+ gadget to help you with your runs, you may be excited to know that was merely the beginning of what seems to be a much larger pie Apple has been working on (pun absolutely intended).

AppleInsider appears to have gotten its hands on some patent filings made for what looks like a comprehensive "fitness companion." At this point, it looks like a bunch of iTunes-esque prompts for a "fitness inteview" to help you get a fitness program for your goals, and flow chart type displays of how these programs might look as you are using them.

Considering that it is still in the patent stages, we have no idea if Apple is really going to follow through. But at least we can be hopeful. Whether this will work on current iPod Touch/iPhone technology or on next generation models isn't clear, especially with rumors of new iPods coming on the market later this year.

Or maybe we can just memorize our workouts and write down our progress on paper. Old school, but it works.

[via TechMeme]

Tags: apple, fitness, iphone, ipod, mobile, patent

Filed under: Business, News, Search

Amazon get patent for URL search string

by Brad Linder Oct 23rd 2007

It must be a strange week to be an intellectual property lawyer for Amazon. Days after the US Patent Office threw out a patent for "one-click" checkout button, the USPTO has granted Amazon a patent for something that seems at least as obvious: placing a "search string at the end of a URL without any special formatting."

Wait, that can't possibly mean what we think it means. They have a patent on URLS like "www.a9.com/San Francisco Hotels"? Yup, that's exactly what it means. Amazon claims that what differentiates these URLs from others is the lack of special formatting language like "search?q=."

Now, there are at least two basic problems with this as far as we can tell:

Generally you're only supposed to be able to get a patent for things that aren't obvious.
We're pretty sure there will be a lot of companies who can show "prior art," meaning they had URLs following this format long before Amazon filed for the patent in 2004.

Anyone want to predict how long it will take Amazon to try patenting a system for ordering products online using a keyboard and mouse?
[via Slashdot]

Tags: amazon, character-string, one-click, patent, uspto

Filed under: Internet, News

US Patent Office rejects Amazon one-click patent

by Brad Linder Oct 17th 2007

You're not supposed to be able to patent anything that's obvious. That's a gross oversimplification of complex US patent law, but basically we've always wondered how Amazon got away with patenting a "one-click" shopping button. Sure, nobody else can use the exact same code you did to create a one-click checkout button. But seriously, did the US Patent Office think that the idea to click a "buy now" button was original?

While we just scratched our head and laughed, blogger Peter Calveley went and did something about it. He filed a re-examination request last year. And now that the patent office has taken another look at the one-click patent they've rejected a large number of claims made by Amazon. In other words, while Amazon has a chance to respond, there's a good chance this patent will be revoked.

[via Boing Boing]

Tags: amazon, amazon-one-click, one-click, patent, patent-office, peter-calveley, shopping, us-patent-office

Filed under: Finance, Internet, News, Web services

eBay wins "Buy It Now" patent dispute - for now

by Brad Linder Jul 30th 2007

A few years back auction company eBay had the audacity to add a feature that lets customers buy items for a fixed price without bidding in an auction. You know, pretty much like every other retailer on the web.

But MercExchange filed a lawsuit claiming that eBay's "Buy It Now" feature violated a patent held by the company. The suit's been working its way through the court system for the last six years. On Friday, a federal judge denied a request for a permanent injunction, meaning that eBay can keep using the "Buy it Now" buttons.

But it ain't over til it's over. In 2003 a jury awarded MercExchange more than $25 million in damages, which eBay has not had to fork over because of the pending litigation. Now it's up to the patent office to decide whether eBay if violating MercExchange's patent. You know, for clicking a button to buy stuff.

[via Information Week]

Tags: buy it now, BuyItNow, eBay, lawsuit, patent

Filed under: Audio, Internet, VoIP

Vonage might survive after all: finds patent workarounds

by Brad Linder May 11th 2007

Last month Vonage officials said they weren't sure they could find a way to continue offering VoIP telephone service without using technology that a jury said infringed on patents held by Verizon. But it seems like things are looking up for the troubled company.

During a quarterly earnings call, Vonage CEO Jeffrey Citron said the company would be ready to roll out a workaround for two of the patents its said to be violating soon. They're still working on a way to get around a third patent which applies to wireless transmission of phone calls.

There's no word on exactly what these workarounds will entail. Vonage is seeking an appeal in its case against Verizon, but a federal judge had already ordered the company to stop signing up new customers. That order has been stayed, but it seems like a generally good idea for Vonage to explore alternative technologies whether they're successful on appeal or not.

Tags: lawsuit, legal, patent, patents, verizon, vonage

Filed under: News, VoIP

Vonage seeks new trial against Verizon

by Brad Linder May 2nd 2007

So a court decides that your entire business model is based on a technology that infringes on another company's patents. What do you do?

Well, if your Vonage and the other company is Verizon, apparently you seek a retrial. It's not unusual for defendants to seek a retrial in addition to appealing. Usually there's not much chance of getting the new trial, but this time Vonage is hoping a recent Supreme Court ruling regarding obvious patents will help the company make its case.

Vonage has asked the Appeals Court considering its case to halt the appeals process and send the case back to a lower court for a new trial. Vonage's lawyers are arguing that the jury in the first trial were weighing the evidence based on a rigid definition of patent law. Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling means that the definition may have been too rigid.

While the courts have allowed Vonage to continue operations during the appeals process, the company hasn't had much good news in recent months. A retrial could rescue Vonage from the brink of death.

Tags: lawsuit, patent, supreme court, SupremeCourt, vonage verizon, VonageVerizon

Filed under: Business, Developer, News, Web services

Supreme Court offers a tad bit of patent relief

by Grant Robertson Apr 30th 2007

Ask any tech company and they'll tell you, skull-whacking obvious patents are a giant pain in the posterior. Patents were designed to give real innovators an opportunity to profit from their inventions, but have in recent years become a profit center for many patent portfolio holding robber barons hell-bent on profiting from the work of others.

Not so fast there patent Pete.. The Supremes stood in chorus today and belted out a tune to many a tech startup's ear. In today's ruling, the court said that tests used by the Federal Circuit court of Appeals -- the bench responsible for straightening out patent messes -- aren't strong enough. Putting a stronger emphasis on the test of whether a "person having ordinary skill in the art" would find the patented idea an obvious leap or an extraordinary one. It's hard to say yet how much of an impact this ruling will have on the tech sector but, it's certainly a step in the right direction.

We think it's high time for a patent party in the streets. Who's got the booze?

Tags: court ruling, CourtRuling, patent, patent maddness, PatentMaddness, supreme court, SupremeCourt

Filed under: Internet, VoIP

Vonage V. Verizon update: Vonage gets to add new subscribers

by Brad Linder Apr 24th 2007

It looks like a federal appeals court has issued a permanent stay on a lower court ruling banning Vonage from signing up new customers.

Earlier this year a jury found that Vonage's internet telephony service violates patents held by Verizon, kicking off a whole slew of legal troubles for Vonage.

Today's ruling came just two hours after the appeals court heard arguments from the two sides.

The stay only applies while Vonage is appealing the initial ruling. If Vonage loses the appeal, the company could be finished. That said, Vonage stock jumped closed to 50% today on the first good news the company's had in months.

Tags: legal, patent, telephone, telephony, verizon, vonage

Filed under: Internet

Hyperlinks from CD to the web might be patent violations

by Brad Linder Apr 18th 2007

So you know how new computer hardware sometimes doesn't even come with a printed manual anymore, because the whole thing is on a CD, or even the web? Yeah, that last part's getting called into question.

Disc Link, a subsidiary of Acacia Technologies Group (an organization that basically buys up patents so that it can sue anyone who violates them), claims that it's patent number 6,314,574 covers hyperlinks from documents stored on a CD that send users to sites on the web.

Last week, Disc Link filed suit against Borland, Business Objects, Compuware, Corel, Eastman Kodak, Novell, Oracle, and SAP, claiming they all violate its patent.

[via Techdirt]

Tags: acacia, cd-rom, disc link, DiscLink, hyperlink, patent

Filed under: Internet, VoIP

Vonage sees no workaround to Verizon's VoIP patent

by Brad Linder Apr 17th 2007

Remember how Vonage said it would try to find a way to continue providing internet telephone service to customers without violating Verizon's patent? Yeah, that might not work.

Last month, a federal jury found that Vonage's VoIP technology violated patents held by Verizon. A judge ordered Vonage to stop signing up new customers, but that order was stayed pending appeal.

Now it looks like all of Vonage's eggs are in that appeals basket. Because the company says Verizon's patent is so broad that it might not be possible to pass phone calls between the internet and telephone lines without violating (or licensing) Verizon's intellectual property.

On Friday, Vonage filed documents that suggest it would take months to set up a technical workaround -- if one could even be found. The company predicts (probably correctly) that its current customers would not stick around waiting for such a workaround to be found.

[via Techdirt]

Tags: lawsuit, patent, verizon, vonage

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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