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EBay Fined $29.5M in Patent Case
pigreco314 writes "As reported by Washington Post and many others a federal judge Wednesday ordered online auction house eBay to pay $29.5 million to a Virginia inventor (former CIA engineer) who accused the company of stealing his ideas." This case has been going going on for awhile, but this looks to have some finality. Patenting "Buy it Now" is almost as stupid as One Click Shopping.
The lawyers are going to make money, both parties are considering an appeal.
-EB
Do you ever walk alone like a drifter in the dark?
E-Bay will now be charging a 15,000% "We Got Sued" tax on all completed bids over the price of $0.01
Defender of Microsoft and Communism!!!
...until someone sues this old coot for infringing on their patented idea to sue companies for patent infringement of frivilous patents.
Wooo man will the judges have fun with that one.
Posting as directed.
i can just imagine what it would have been like in the past if the patent office was what it is like now...
horsenbuggy: your car uses four wheels!
ford: oops
$29.5M found in favor of horsenbuggy.
"Patenting "Buy it Now" is almost as stupid as One Click Shopping." Patenting something that gets you 30 mil can't be too stupid!!! M.D. Inc.
You agree to the terms of this post and
shall pay the patent holder a sum not less
than U.S. $1,000,000,000 as settlement for
violating my patent for WWW-mediated discussions.
Thank you,
W00t
he has a verified paypal account!
Intelligent Life on Earth
- You click it and it charges your credit card on a random date and sends you the merchandise whenever the seller feels like it!
Or maybe not. Sshhhhh... no stealing .... sshhhh
I've decided to file a patent for "using a numeric error code to indicate a failed transaction in the HTTP protocol." That way, I can nail every web server in the world for a $10 licensing fee and get outrageously rich! Muahahahah!
"He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. " -- John Calvin, commenting on Genesis 1
Just chew on some aluminum foil - that temporarily short-circuits the transmitter.
Note that I said temporarily. In order to keep them from hearing you all the time, you've got to chew on the foil all the time.
That, or rip all your teeth out with a rusty set of vicegrips or light an M80 and stick it in your mouth.
Cruising the internet on my TI-99/4A @ a whopping 300 baud!
I hear that you can avoid litigation yourself by leasing his IP for $699 for small auction sites, $1499 for sites utilizing 20 servers or more.
Let us introduce you to Senator Hollings, D-Disney.
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
I guess in the context of an auction it could be novel, but it still seems odd.
Indeed. Given the amount of transactions that involve computers today, I don't see how things like this can continue to be "novel". Maybe I can just apply random modifiers and try and patent them under the same giuse:
- Conducting an auction using a computer
- Conducting an auction over the phone
- Conducting an auction while wearing pants
Having said that, I know some people who'd be more than willing to work around the last one.
former CIA engineer
Of course it's a dumb patent.
My auction site uses something called "Snatch-It", which is essentially "BuyItNow".
Hope I don't get fined $30,000,000 for it. Especially since I don't make a dime.
And if so, could it be construed as a conflict of interest? Perhaps they could have settled out of court with the "buy it now" option?
The jury said that eBay's "Buy It Now" option, which allows auction surfers to do the same thing, infringed on Woolston's patent.
No worries. Since there is no single instance in time, how can one claim to have a patent to buy something "now"?
Hey! I already patented the idea of sticking an M80 in my mouth!
See you in court, buddy!
Lately democracy seems to be based on the skybox, the Happy Meal box, the X-box, and the idiot box.
(Warning: NSFW)
Too... contextually... relevant.
-Hentai [in vita non pacem est]
Actually, I thought the trend started earlier in Diamond v. Chakrabarty when the SCOTUS uttered the most stupid phrase "Anything under the sun made by man" is patentable. And the way it's looking, imho, is being useful or promoting the arts and sciences has nothing to do with obtaining a patent anymore.
I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie