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OLPC Lawsuit-Bringer Has Past Fraud Conviction
d0ida writes "The Boston Globe has up an article about LANCOR's lawsuit over the design of the OLPC's keyboard. 'Negroponte said the lawsuit is without merit, because OLPC uses a keyboard programming technique developed in 1996, long before the Nigerian patent was filed. The founder of Lagos Analysis Corp., Ade Oyegbola, was convicted of bank fraud in Boston in 1990 and served a year in prison. Oyegbola insists his Nigerian patent is legitimate and said he plans to file a copyright-infringement lawsuit against OLPC in an American court.'"
The link to "uses a keyboard programming technique developed in 1996" links to the TFA, which says no more about it than the link text. If you're going to title a link as that, then it should lead to the technique in question...
If someone is violating your PATENT, the first thing you should do is file a COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT lawsuit! Makes perfect sense!
It doesn't matter. Every time someone files a lawsuit, a lawyer gets his wings.
What?
I get that a US patent can be litigated in any district the alleged infringer trades in (thus the reason for the eastern district of Texas). But a patent from Nigeria? Shouldn't this be tried, um, in Nigeria or the WTC?
Nigeria Registered Design Patent # RD8489Design patents are dumb. If you're gonna run a scam, why not go whole hog and assert a utility patent?
Also, Nigeria has a Patent Office? (I can see it now: "A method and device to facilitate the international transfer of funds from internet enabled persons")
riaWow, with that patent, they could sue RIAA while they're at it...
(although I could still be dreaming, did I wake up this morning?)
Unfortunately, the bank has temporarily frozen his bank accounts, but if someone could send him $5000 to cover the fees and fines...
[I couldn't resist.]
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
What most people seem to forget about, we're here talking about a design patent. Now IANAL, however I have learned a little (really a little) about patents.
There are a few issues here, that do not make sense. This is about a Nigerian patent, and patents are regional. A Nigerian patent is not valid in the US and the other way around. Within each country one has to apply for a separate patent. I wonder how they think they can sue over a Nigerian patent in a US court. They should sue in a Nigerian court instead.
Furthermore as it is a Nigerian patent, it will not influence the alleged patented product sold outside of Nigeria. Again, US courts do not come into the picture.
And then it is a design patent. This is not an invention as such, and quite close to copyright. I have to say I forgot how a design patent works exactly, but if it looks different, even though it works following the same technical principle, then it is no problem. Machines are typical objects that are patented for design.
This whole story sounds like a big mess of FUD to me, from someone who has done presumably great work to develop some input method for the Nigerian language, and now tries to cash in on that via dubious methods. I really hope the OLPC team is not held up too much by this, and that if there is a court case filed, that the courts simply do not accept it.
http://radian.org/notebook/first-deployment
Ivan Krstic just posed from Uruguay, where the the first production deployment of the XO just happened. This is what the Globe should be reporting on, not a frivolous lawsuit!
I find it interesting that this lawsuit is happening just before the first production launch and as Peru signs a deal for 260K machines! To bad that is not being picked up by major media.
Nope, it is an original.
:-)
I keep a stock of those for AntiSPAM testing and this one ended up being on the top of the folder. It is a fairly unusual sample which I have kept for testing since 2001.
Want me to sell it to you? Bargain basement price with the headers and mail system logs? Unique example of early 21st century Nigerian literature. Good bargain all around
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
http://www.sigsegv.cx/
Sure he can sue OLPC in an American court but we should require a large sum of good faith money first sent via Western Union. And if he wins, OLPC should pay him some insane amount above the judgment using a check and ask for the difference back in cash or via Western Union.
EvilCON - Made Famous by
Dear RIAA, if you go to this link, Mr. Oyegbola is offering an MP3 of Lamont Dozier's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamont_Doziermusic out of his family's website without any royalties involved: http://www.oyegbola.com/Music/LamontDozier.mp3
Note, also that you can serve your summons to: Ade G. Oyegbola, 1 Timber Lane, Natick, MA 01760
"The Boston Globe has up an article about LANCOR's lawsuit over the design of the OLPC's keyboard. 'Negroponte said the lawsuit is without merit, because OLPC uses a keyboard programming technique developed in 1996, long before the Nigerian patent was filed. The founder of Lagos Analysis Corp., Ade Oyegbola, was convicted of bank fraud in Boston in 1990 and served a year in prison. Oyegbola insists his Nigerian patent is legitimate and said he plans to file a copyright-infringement lawsuit against OLPC in an American court.'" From wikipedia on argumentum ad hominem: "...consists of replying to an argument or factual claim by attacking or appealing to a characteristic or belief of the person making the argument or claim, rather than by addressing the substance of the argument or producing evidence against the claim. The process of proving or disproving the claim is thereby subverted, and the argumentum ad hominem works to change the subject." o wait, this is t3h int3rtub35 wh4t wuz i thinkin.... logic is t3h 5ux0r5.
Also, Nigeria has a Patent Office? In fact I got an email from them asking me for bank details so they could transfer $7,000,000 in unclaimed royalties. Ooops... I wasn't supposed to tell anyone.
Oyegbola Lawyer: Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, OLPC's attorney would certainly want you to believe that his work is based on something developed over ten years ago. And they make a good case. Hell, I almost felt pity myself! But, ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, I have one final thing I want you to consider. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chewbacca. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk. But Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now think about it; that does not make sense!
OLPC Lawyer: Damn it!
OLPC: What?
OLPC Lawyer: He's using the Chewbacca defense!
Oyegbola Lawyer: Why would a Wookiee, an eight-foot tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of two-foot tall Ewoks? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with this case? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with this case! It does not make sense! Look at me. I'm a lawyer defending a copyright case, and I'm talkin' about Chewbacca! Does that make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not making any sense! None of this makes sense! And so you have to remember, when you're in that jury room deliberatin' and conjugatin' the Emancipation Proclamation, [approaches and softens] does it make sense? No! Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does not make sense! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests.
But of course, it was intended. More I read about this issue, it is well orchestrated PR shit to steal spotlight of OLPC actual release and success.
user@ubuntubox:~$ stfu This server is going down for shutdown NOW!
If you want to patent something illegal, it's always best actually to patent having the illegal thing done to you, so the victim (rather than the perpetrator) is liable for royalties. For example, "method for avoiding potentially-fatal wounding and equitably distributing wealth by giving or loaning a mobile telephone and a debit card, and disclosing the Personal Identification Number associated with the latter" rather than "Method for carrying out PINpoint robbery". After all, villains usually get away -- but victims usually tell the police everything that happened to them. And a constable's notes can be subpoenaed in another court if they contain evidence relevant to the case.
Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
My name is Ade Oyegbola and I'm a wealthy buisnessman and criminal.
Please send me your bank account information.
God spoke to me.
Maybe it's just me, but it seems like the parent didn't have this link. It seems to clarify Oyegbola's position, which are not those I'd have believed from reading previous comments alone. (Hey - it was such a bad day, I tried to RTFM, couldn't, and tracked it down. So, I'm not ragging on anyone for their comments, I'm just saying about how I things came across, today.)
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/11/28/laptops_for_kids_group_sued_over_keyboard_design/
Anyway, it's an interesting article. I'd be curious about how much of it is actually true, but it is interesting.
Pathological kinda promises Path + Logical - but instead, you get stuck with pathetic.