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Online Auction Industry In A State Of Limbo

theodp writes "It seems the online auction industry is in a state of limbo after last week's ruling that eBay violated patents belonging to MercExchange. MercExchange said it will file an injunction against eBay to keep them from using the technology, eBay said it will file motions to overturn the verdict, and MercExchange is ultimately looking to sell its entire portfolio of auction-related patents. Names being bandied about as possible acquirers include Amazon, Yahoo and eBay itself. Whoever holds the patents may require other sites to pay them licensing royalties."

9 of 329 comments (clear)

  1. fp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    fp

  2. Old Ike in a State of Limbo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    When I think of dirty old men, I think of Ike Thomas and when I think about Ike I get a hard-on that won't quit.

    Sixty years ago, I worked in what was once my Grandfather's Greenhouses. Gramps had died a year earlier and Grandma, now in her seventies had been forced to sell to the competition. I got a job with the new owners and mostly worked the range by myself. That summer, they hired a man to help me get the benches ready for the fall planting.

    Ike always looked like he was three days from a shave and his whiskers were dirty white, shaded by the brim of his battered felt fedora.

    He did not chew tobacco but the corners of his mouth turned down in a way that, at any moment, I expected a trickle of thin, brown juice to creep down his chin. His bushy, brown eyebrows shaded pale, gray eyes.

    The old-timer extended his hand, lifted his leg like a dog about to mark a bush and let go the loudest fart I ever heard. The old fellow then winked at me, "Ike Thomas is the name and playing pecker's my game."

    I thought he said, "Checkers." I was nineteen, green as grass. I said, "I was never much good at that game."

    "Now me," said Ike, "I just love jumping men . . ."

    "I'll bet you do."

    ". . . and grabbing on to their peckers," said Ike.

    "I though we were talking about . . ."

    "You like jumping old men's peckers?"

    I shook my head.

    "I reckon we'll have to remedy that." Ike lifted his right leg and let go another tremendous fart. "He said, "We best be getting to work."

    That summer of 1941 was a more innocent time. I learned most of the sex I knew from those little eight pager cartoon booklets of comic-page characters going at it. Young men read them in the privacy of an outside john, played with themselves, by themselves and didn't brag about it. Sometimes, we got off with a trusted friend and helped each other out.

    Under the greenhouse glass, the temperature some times climbed over the hundred degree mark. I had worked stripped to the waist since April and was as brown as a berry. On only his second day on the job and in the middle of August, Ike wore old fashioned overalls. Those and socks in his high-top work shoes was every stitch he wore. When he bent forward, the bib front billowed out and I could see the white curly hairs on his chest and belly.

    "Me? I just love to eat pussy!" Ike licked his lips from corner to corner then sticking his tongue out far enough that the tip could touch the end of his nose. He said, A man's not a man till he knows first hand, the flavor of a lady's pussy."

    "People do that?"

    He winked. "Of course the taste of a hard cock ain't to be sneezed at neither. Now you answer me, yes or no. Does a man's cock taste salty or not?"

    "I never . . ."

    "Well, old Ike's willing to let you find out."

    "No way."

    "Just teasing," said Ike. "But don't give me no sass or I'll show you my ass." He winked. "Might show it to you anyway, if you was to ask."

    "Why would I do that?"

    "Curiosity, maybe. I'm guessing you never had a good piece of man ass."

    "I'm no queer."

    "Now don't be getting judgmental. Enjoying what's at hand ain't being queer. It's taking pleasure where you find it with anybody willing." Ike slipped a hand into the side slit of his overalls and I could tell he was fondling and straightening out his cock. "Now I admit I got me a hole that satisfied a few guys."

    I swallowed, hard.

    Ike winked. "Care to be asshole buddies?"

    ***

    We worked steadily until noon. Ike drew a worn pocket watch from the bib pocket of his loose overalls and croaked, "Bean time. But first its time to reel out our limber hoses and make with the golden arches before lunch."

    I followed Ike to the end of the greenhouse where he stopped at the outside wall of the potting shed. He opened his fly, fished inside, and finger-hooked a soft white penis with a pouting foreskin puckered half an inch past the hidden head.

  3. Which is better: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    a) Auctioning things online

    OR...

    b) Sex with a mare?

  4. Re:Is this why... by cmason32 · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Your anecdotal experience may intriguing, but it is really no basis for making such a broad judgment.

    My goal isn't to change the perception of lawyers. But, if people want to really address why our legal system is in its current state, more than blaming the lawyers will have to take place.

  5. softwar nazi industrIE in a state of befuddlemeNT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    doesn't mean you won't still have to pay your payper liesense hostage agreedmeNT, unless you decide not to.

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8& oe =UTF-8&q=microsoft+%22bill+weisgerber%22+&btnG=Goo gle+Search

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8& oe =UTF-8&q=microsoft+%22sanjay+ahuja%22+&btnG=Google +Search

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8& oe =UTF-8&q=microsoft+%22attacks+linux+gnu%22+&btnG=G oogle+Search

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8& oe =UTF-8&q=microsoft+%22sabotages+java%22+&btnG=Goog le+Search

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8& oe =UTF-8&q=microsoft+%22illegal+behaviorr%22+&btnG=G oogle+Search

    fauxking Godless phonIE softwar gangster cowards they are. reminds US of the early corepirate nazi storm poopers.

    consult with yOUR creator. vote with yOUR wallet. these fuddite nazis will only bring on another hollowcost.

    as for va lairIE's pateNTdead PostBlock(tm) devise; as sucks almost as badly as the felon touting it was designed to support. much bettor to be in 'limbo' .conpaired to where sum of y'all mindless monIEsucks may wind up.

    wonder what a used up whoredoggIE with a bad case of windose goes for nowadaze? options? cash? ego?

  6. Quick CmdrTaco! by BlightThePower · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    ..Patent "(i)Making inane comments having not RTFA" and "(ii)Repeating the same old jokes" and "(iii)Crazed Linux advocacy/kneejerk MS-bashing" or we've all had it!

    (Won't mind if you don't bother with the one for "posting duplicate articles" though).
    --
    Plays violent online games as: Nerfherder76
  7. Just A solution to the problem... by trezor · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    This might be flamebait, I dunno. But let's these mothers for Terrorism. No seriously.

    These days it seems obvious that reason and evidence is not required, as long as president Bush announces that someone is indeed terrorists.

    And these mothers are terrorising American economy, no doubt. Let's see how much they can do about their patents in Cuba (where basic human rights seems to be ignored)!

    --
    Not Buzzword 2.0 compliant. Please speak english.
  8. bi it now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Wow you can take your girlfriend to a website and make her want to get it on with other girls?!

    What is the URL?

  9. that would be Line-uhks by DrSkwid · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I call him Line-uss

    I'll call it Line-uhks

    I'm for sure as hell not going to stand in a room and call it
    Linnuks

    I'm glad FreeBSD has no such problems, no wait, what about GNU/FreeBSD doh!

    --
    There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter