Back in early 2013, the podcasting community was freaking out. A patent troll called Personal Audio LLC had sued comedian Adam Carolla and was threatening a bunch of smaller podcasters. Personal Audio claimed that the podcasters infringed U.S. Patent 8,112,504,… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘Patents’
Supreme Court Upholds Patent Office Power to Invalidate Bad Patents
In one of the most important patent decisions in years, the Supreme Court has upheld the power of the Patent Office to review and cancel issued patents. This power to take a “second look” is important because, compared to courts, administrative… Read More ›
Patent Office Throws Out GEMSA’s Stupid Patent on a GUI For Storage
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has issued a ruling [PDF] invalidating claims from US Patent No. 6,690,400, which had been the subject of the June 2016 entry in our Stupid Patent of the Month blog series. The patent owner, Global Equity Management… Read More ›
New Hampshire Court: First Amendment Protects Criticism of “Patent Troll”
A New Hampshire state court has dismissed a defamation suit filed by a patent owner unhappy that it had been called a “patent troll.” The court ruled [PDF] that the phrase “patent troll” and other rhetorical characterizations are not the… Read More ›
EFF to Supreme Court: Don’t Turn US Patents Into Worldwide Patents
The general rule in patent law is that each country has its own patent system. If you want damages for sales in the United States, you need a U.S. patent. If you want damages for sales in New Zealand, you… Read More ›
EFF Asks Federal Circuit Not to Make It Harder To Challenge Software Patents
In its landmark Alice v. CLS Bank decision, the Supreme Court returned some much-needed balance to the patent system. The court invalidated an abstract software patent, essentially ruling that adding “on a computer” to an abstract idea does not make… Read More ›
The Federal Circuit Should Not Allow Patents on Inventions that Should Belong to the Public
One of the most fundamental aspects of patent law is that patents should only be awarded for new inventions. That is, not only does someone have to invent something new to them in order to receive a patent, is must… Read More ›
IPR Process Saves 80 Companies From Paying For a Sports-Motion Patent
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 ›
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 ›
The State of the Union: What Wasn’t Said
President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address last night was remarkable for two reasons: for what he said, and for what he didn’t say. The president took enormous pride last night in claiming to have helped “extinguish ISIS… Read More ›