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Cisco Lawyer Outs Self As "Patent Troll Tracker"
DustyShadow writes "Slashdot previously discussed the $10,000 bounty (since raised to $15,000) that was put on the identity of the Patent Troll Tracker author by a law firm that represents patent holding 'shell' companies. After he received a threatening email last week, the author identified himself as Richard Frenkel, a director in Cisco Systems' intellectual property group. According to law.com, many patent litigators have followed the Troll Tracker closely and are worried that it may now be discontinued. According to the lawyer who offered the bounty, it has not been claimed."
Does he get it if he outed himself?
The Mothership
I can only hope that this doesn't ruin the guy's career at Cisco. His actions have probably helped many businesses and products but I have to wonder if he may have violated the terms of his employment. I hope not, at any rate.
Regards, Ian
Gee, to me the obvious way to fight the sort of bullying that the offerer of the first bounty is to counter bully by offering a bounty on evidence of unethical activities by the guy that would get him disbarred or a bounty on prior art for patents specifically held by his company, and make the bounty good only as long as the first bounty is valid.
If the patent trolls thought they could get away with dipping the dollar notes in poison (similar to what was done to Donald Woods' children), I'm sure they'd have no problem with paying him. Although they're stupid enough to destroy the patent system, I doubt they're that stupid. On the other hand, I could see them paying the reward to Cisco to dump the guy. Employment in the US is "by will" and there are no IT unions, so the employee has no protection against malicious termination of employment. (The patent trolls could, quite legally, make it extremely difficult for him to ever be hired again.)
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Patent Troll Tracker said: ...the number of claims being examined has quintupled in recent years, while the average years of service of the examiner core has been decreasing.
Clearly the US government and US taxpayers can no longer afford the patent system as it stands today. It must be changed, simplified, and streamlined to a level of activity that the taxpayer can afford, and is willing to pay for.
The reward was $15K (up from $10K). Somehow I don't think Cisco (annual revenue: about $35B) is going to dump a $250K/year patent lawyer, and then pay $500K to get a replacement hired and up to speed, AND piss off the rest of their staff, for $15K. They're more likely to give the guy a $15K bonus for supporting their position with the blog.
From the previous discussion on this subject on Slashdot:
"Hmm -- that's a somewhat different scenario. See, I've spent the last five years at a startup (also in Austin) making highly specialized software that does some really darned nifty things within our vertical -- and among our company's assets are some patents. They certainly make it easier for us to get investment money -- so why do I think they're a bad idea?"
I think it would also have been easier for you to get investment money if there were no software patents so your investors would know you didn't infringe.
Bert
(Patent agent who thinks software shouldn't be patentable)
goes unpunished...
http://www.CelloFourteGroupie.net
I think theese patent trolls are doing us a great service. Its just a matter of time before one of them get greedy and steps in the wrong wasps nest. If anything it shows with utter clarity that the EU should in no way allow software patents. The problems by far outweights the benefits since the patents are seldom used to produce something, they are just ownership of pretty obvious ideas. Most patents for software is just about doing something really old, but on a computer.
I say the more patent trolls the better, let them ruin a broken system. The more companies that get burnt the more they will lobby for reform. Since the US is pretty much run by big companies thats the only way the politicians will do something.
HTTP/1.1 400
Moreover, his actions were very likely in Cisco's interests, and directly related to his job duties at Cisco. Cisco is not a patent troll afaik, they are more likely to be the victim of frequent patent trolling by companies wanting to profit from their products.
:-)
Cisco probably patents a lot of stuff, but like most big patent holders, they presumably use them defensively.
Feel free to do my research for me, but I say the above with a fair amount of confidence.
It's rare that you're presented with a knob whose only two positions are Make History and Flee Your Glorious Destiny.
. . . but a lot of laws will eventually be passed because of their actions . . .
Now if only a few hundred more people would "confess" to being the Tracker, we could be back where we started. :)
No I'm the Troll Tracker and so is my wife.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
As an good EVE Online player knows, the optimal strategy when faced with a sizable bounty on your head is simply to create a new alt character on a trial account (if you aren't one of those crazy people with multiple accounts already), then log in both, fly the bounty out into space and then kill yourself with the alt to collect it.
In real life, I guess the equivalent would be to find another instance of your DNA (family) or someone you trust otherwise (friends) and have them drop a "drama bomb" and out you.
Once it's over, at least take their money!
Make me the Patent Troll Tracker next week.
There won't be a need for a third tracker.
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
I am the troll tracker. Cisco lawyer is a friend of mine who agreed to take all the bullets for me for a while.
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