The importance of the US Patent Office’s “inter partes review” (IPR) process was highlighted in dramatic fashion yesterday. Patent appeals judges threw out a patent [PDF] that was used to sue more than 80 companies in the fitness, wearables, and… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘Patent Trolls’
Startup Won’t Give In to Motivational Health Messaging’s $35,000 Patent Demand
Trying to succeed as a startup is hard enough. Getting a frivolous patent infringement demand letter in the mail can make it a whole lot harder. The experience of San Francisco-based Motiv is the latest example of how patent trolls… Read More ›
EFF to Court: Don’t Let Trolls Get Away With Asserting Stupid Software Patents
If trolls don’t face consequences for asserting invalid software patents, then they will continue to shake down productive companies. That is why EFF has filed an amicus brief [PDF] urging the court to uphold fee awards against patent trolls (and… Read More ›
Stupid Patent of the Month: Motivational Health Messaging LLC Gets a Patent on Sending Uplifting Texts
Have you ever sent a motivational text to a friend? If you have, perhaps you tailored your message to an activity or location by saying “Good luck in the race!” or “Have fun in New York!” Now, imagine doing this… Read More ›
Stupid Patent of the Month: Bad Patent Goes Down Using Procedures at Patent Office Threatened by Supreme Court Case
At the height of the first dot-com bubble, many patent applications were filed that took common ideas and put them on the Internet. This month’s stupid patent, U.S. Patent No. 6,738,155 (“the ’155 patent”), is a good example of that… Read More ›
EFF Files Brief in Support of Ability to Challenge Bad Patents at the Patent Office
The Patent Office doesn’t always do the best job. That’s how Personal Audio managed to get a patent on podcasting, even though other people were podcasting years before Personal Audio first applied for a patent. As we’ve detailed on many… Read More ›
A troubling new tactic to keep bad patents from being tossed out
On September 8, 2017, the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company Allergan announced that it “sold” its patents relating to its eye drops “Restasis” to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe. But this was not a usual “sale.” The Tribe doesn’t appear to… Read More ›
Appeals Court Limits Ability of Patent Trolls to File Suit in Far-Flung Districts
In a closely watched case, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued an order that should see many more patent cases leaving the Eastern District of Texas. The order in In re Cray, together with the Supreme… Read More ›
With EFF’s Help, Small Business Stands Up To Patent Troll Electronic Communication Technologies, LLC
Since 1992, Fairytale Brownies has sold delicious brownies based on a secret family recipe. It’s a small business founded by two childhood friends who were quick to see the potential of the Internet and registered the domain www.brownies.com in 1995…. Read More ›
EFF Asks Court to Strike Down Unconstitutional Restraint on Our Speech
EFF has asked a federal court to rule in its favor in a lawsuit we filed against an Australian company that sought to use foreign law to censor us from expressing our opinion about its patent. While the company, Global… Read More ›