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Patent Trolls Target Small East Texas Companies
An anonymous reader writes "In a sign that patent trolls are getting desperate to keep their cases in East Texas — long known as the friendliest venue for their claims — some have taken to suing tiny, no-name companies that are run by East Texas residents. The hope is that, if at least one defendant is located in East Texas, the judge will keep the entire case there. Nate Neel, a Longview, Texas resident with a small open source software company called CitiWare, was sued by Bedrock Computer Technologies in June despite (he claims) having no customers or other meaningful operations of any kind. In response, Mr. Neel has posted a strongly worded letter to Bedrock's attorneys on his Web site. It will be interesting to see how East Texas judges respond to this abuse of process perpetrated against their own residents."
I'm going to go ahead and point out that repeatedly dropping the F-bomb is not "strongly worded" it is "unprofessional".
Not to mention the lack of spell check.
It sucks what's being done to the guy, but a little professionalism goes a long way.
And like anything else on the internet, his poorly spelled "FUCK YOU" is always going to be associated with his name.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Brings a whole new meaning to the expression 'Eat your own dog food!'. I guess after they have finished consuming their local businesses and the employment rate plummets then maybe the local legislators will think again about supporting this kind of bullshit.
I didn't realize that "I dun have no cuzmers" was a valid defense against patent violations.
That's not all of his argument. Although his letter is unprofessional and poorly organized, he says:
To Sam Baxter - if you wish to acknowledge my email and realize your mistake on claiming CitiWare in your suit on Bedrocks behalf, then remove any claims against CitiWare / CityWare and I can remove this page and any publicity about filling an invalid lawsuit against a company that never used your patent or for that matter even developed any product sold or used (CityWare only used Open Source code under GPL for personal projects or other employers)!
He's probably flabbergasted that they didn't do any development, they just repackaged/administered GPL licensed open source products and now find themselves the target of a lawsuit. And like the article says, they don't care about him or what he says or the validity of targeting him, they care about keeping the case in East Texas District Court.
This guy doesn't need a defense, he just needs to reside in East Texas and he's part of this case no matter how ill placed the blame is.
My work here is dung.
Having just read the patent claims it seems that this patent is on the ability for a linked list to be cleared of expired items. Truly a ground breaking, patent worthy invention!
Well, if he didn't sell anything, or otherwise distribute anything to anyone then there can be no harm to the patent holder. That means that it is not worth their wile for them to sue him.
That which is done from love exists beyond good and evil
Why respond professionally to something that is clearly a scam? He's not the CEO of Google with shareholders to worry about FFS, he's just some guy who had a little company and closed it down and is now doing a day job. So he said "fuck". Well stop the press!
His letter looks like a refugee from Geocities, circa 1998. I say, go with that! Needs more animated GIFs.
What is worth someone's wile or not is really up to them, isn't it?
It's not that he has no customers, it's the fact he closed his branch of the company completely in 2005. FTA :
"According to the complaint, defendants ...CitiWare Technology Solutions... use the method and apparatus falling within the scope of the '120 Patent in the course of their business operations."
Suing CitiWare in Colorado where they are based makes sense, suing them in Texas where that branch of the company hasn't existed for four years is a bit nonsensical except to try and keep it in a region known to be sympathetic to their claims. Which seems more than a bit dirty to me, but then again, they are patent trolls...
"Does anything come from TX that is good and decent?"
Tex-Mex food and Tejanos in general. This problem solves itself once all the white men are run out of Texas, which demographically will be in about 25 years. Eventually they will all be concentrated in Idaho, and we can nuke that from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
funny how things work out, isn't it?
I feel obligated to say that, while I have seen repeated admonitions not to "mess" with that particular state, hating it should be fine.
.there is enough of everything for everyone.
That's a wiley thing to say
Hopefully now that actual citizens of East Texas are being targeted, the citizens will start to vote these types of judges out of office.
> "It will be interesting to see how East Texas judges respond
> to this abuse of process perpetrated against their own residents."
abuse of process? Does such a thing exist in the USA?
Serge
http://plif.courageunfettered.com/archive/wc210.gif
JPEG image, 20x20 pixels. Please cite the HTML page ( The Parking Lot is Full, Dec 04), not the image, next time.
Maybe he's a coyote.
I thought Connecticut was responsible for that one...
This guy doesn't need a defense, he just needs to reside in East Texas and he's part of this case no matter how ill placed the blame is.
You stay classy, Texas.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
Should the FSF open an office in East Texas and launch lawsuits for violating the GPL from there?
They are suing him and others. But he is the only one it the courts venue... What they get from suing him is securing a friendly venue. But in Texas, judges are positions voted on. Piss off the residents, and look for a new job.
Those would be troll patents. This is about patent trolls. But English has a patented word order, so if you're not a native speaker this can be forgiven.
I'm very glad when I hear news like this one.
I'm glad because hopefully is this kind of trials that will make people realize how stupid software patents are.
I do hope more of this happen, but I feel sorry for those who are the victims right now.
If is there any kind of consolation, it resides on knowing that you are contributing to the fight against this shit.
To the brothers and sisters who stand and fight, I leave a word:
Don't stand down, don't give up. You are the heroes of the modern age.
The Most Litigating Man in the World:
"I don't always sue people for patent violations, but when I do, I sue in East Texas. Stay classy my friends."
Sent from your iPad.
That's a wiley thing to say
Maybe he's a coyote.
+1 so unfunny it's funny
Yes, and we're still sorry about that.
http://hoaxblog.s3.amazonaws.com/birthplace.jpg
"Get the facts first. You can distort them later." -Mark Twain
"But I don't think of you."
Filing a lawsuit against an individual or small business (ie, any entity that is not a corporation) who has not harmed you is kind of like walking up to a stranger on the street and punching him in the face. You'll probably get away with it a few times, but eventually you'll pick the wrong person and get what's coming to you.
The plaintiffs should be lucky this guy is content to put a 'strongly worded' letter on his website.
This game will waste your life. Don't clicky!
Some interesting comments, I'd be interested in hearing what would you change with patents, or if abandon altogether - what could be used to replace them without causing disruptions for all the small software shops that currently use patents to protect their innovation?
I'm just glad someone made that joke before I did. I sat there for five minutes, just staring at the comments and wondering whether to make a coyote joke or not. Now, my worries are over.
They are suing him and others. But he is the only one it the courts venue... What they get from suing him is securing a friendly venue. But in Texas, judges are positions voted on. Piss off the residents, and look for a new job.
Federal Judges are appointed for life, and can acquire Secret Service protection without too much difficulty.
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
DHCP, new IP address anytime you want.
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
Federal Judges are appointed for life, and can acquire Secret Service protection without too much difficulty.
Umm, I thought it was the US Marshals Service that protected Federal Judges?
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
How is it that assholes like this aren't IP Banned?
Because /. has a moderation system and doesn't banish people or delete posts over content? If it bothers you why not browse at +1 or +2? I haven't seen too many racist trolls that aren't quickly modded -1.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
This problem solves itself once all the white men are run out of Texas, which demographically will be in about 25 years. Eventually they will all be concentrated in Idaho, and we can nuke that from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
I find it hypocritical that you got positive moderation for this when a similar post aimed at a different race would have modded down as the racist garbage that it is.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
I was reading about how Bilski is threatening software patents and how some sides are saying "It ain't over yet!" and are interpreting the interest taken by the supreme court as intent to overturn the Bilski decision. On the other hand, at least one supreme court justice is well aware of the questionable nature of the East Texas court and has expressed dislike for it. From that I can see that perhaps the SCOTUS would like to finally reign in the lower courts and the abuse that is propagated by the East Texas court.
I believe the Bilski decision represents a restoration of sanity to patent law and process as I am sure that others here will agree. When it comes to technology, interoperability and compatibility are absolutely critical to growth and development of new technology as increasingly one thing builds on another very rapidly. To patent software literally and directly imposes roadblocks, or more exactly, private toll blocks on technological progress. One could even argue that without reigning in such practices, the U.S. will be giving up its position of technological superiority because of such abusive greed.
If I owned Hell and Texas, I'd live in Hell and rent out Texas
Truth: If it's not one thing, it's another
Fortunately, I have no shame.
Don't let reality get in the way of cool sounding stories or posts.
This problem solves itself once all the white men are run out of Texas, which demographically will be in about 25 years. Eventually they will all be concentrated in Idaho, and we can nuke that from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
I find it hypocritical that you got positive moderation for this when a similar post aimed at a different race would have modded down as the racist garbage that it is.
It's OK to be racist against white people, where have you been?
Proxies. Botnets. If you're motivated you can have as many IP addresses as you want.
What provide the motivation? Getting a reaction from people like you. Somewhere, in his mom's basement, there's a guy with his cock out fwapping away to your post.
I hope you're proud of yourself.
If there is any bias in the courts there, it's that they love to see the poor guy win the lottery and the big corp take it on the chin David Vs Goliath style. Being any kind of big or out of state company suing someone in East Texas without a dam good reason will probably not end well for said company. Unless of course there's some money carelessly forgotten somewhere..that's a different story...
If you are gonna quote one of our great unwritten southern laws sir, please be so kind as to quote it correctly. It is "He needed killin" not "he needed killed" and I think we can all agree that sometimes they just need a good killin.
You Yankees can think of it as a like a mercy killin, only for society against the one being killed. And I'm sure we can all agree the courts in East texas are full of bottom feeders that could use some tender lovin mercy.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Sorry about the misquote. I phrased it the way it would've been said where I grew up.
You Yankees
Take it back, Tex. I'm not from the Lone Star State, but there's no need to get nasty about it. Besides, you're acting like I don't think it's a good idea.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Does anything come from TX that is good and decent?
We have Tex-Mex, NASA Mission Control, and part of the bible belt.
All the people there seem to be flag-waving conservative rednecks.
That's just the ones that left or get on the news.
And they foisted GWB on us.
We didn't foist GWB on you, but you weren't supposed to give him back.
I hate Texas.
I hate humans.
Anything can be found funny, from a certain point of view.
The Secret Service protects other government officials (mainly the President, the VP, embassy personnel etc); the federal courts have their own executive, which, yes, is the US Marshals Service.
A good education is a bit like a STD - it makes you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and gives you a desire to spread it.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I thought I remembered the Secret Service protecting a Judge in Chicago because of specific death threats; I assumed that it was because the judge received a specific and credible threat personally rather than routine court security, I easily could be wrong.
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
"Don't Mess with Texas" is trademarked, not patented, by the Texas Department of Transportation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Mess_with_Texas
Thank for reading to the sig. You may stop reading now. It is safe. There is no more content. Why are you still reading?
That's because it would be cheaper to air condition* Hell than Texas.**
*Yes, "air condition" is a verb in Texas
**I've also see the reason listed as "Because Hell isn't as hot and the people there don't lie as much.
Nate Neel, a Longview, Texas resident with a small open source software company called CitiWare, was sued by Bedrock Computer Technologies in June despite (he claims) having no customers or other meaningful operations of any kind.
... makes me wanna puke
It's no wonder he has no customers! Just look at that god-awful poorly designed website that wouldn't even get a passing grade in an HTML 101 course! the colors, the font
... if it wasn't for lawyers.
'Nuff said!
They could remove this post. It's illegal in my country and would grant the poster some months in jail. Isn't it illegal in the USA?
Publik educashun, didn't you lissen? The word slime has a silent e, so you can omit the letter! You wouldn't want to think he was saying slim-ee (spelled slimey, a completely different word which crosses over from a noun to adjective!!)
Hi All,
Yes it's me, Nate Neel.
Sorry for the grammatical errors, those will be fixed soon. I uploaded this from a cell phone to my website in haste.
As far as professionalism goes - WHY! I do not have a company, I have no customers and I have not used any code from someone else - period!
I get a lawsuit because I live in East Texas and at one point tried to start a tech company!
Sorry to all the grammar Nazis and professional experts - I'm just a dude with a job supporting my family! I still have the freedom of speech and ability to express how I feel about an attack on me anyway I see fit.
I've done nothing wrong and I'm still being sued. See how you feel when you get a lawsuit sent to your house that has nothing to do with any facts or truths - You might get a bit upset!
No.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech#United_States
Your northern neighbors up here in Oklahoma have a saying: If you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.
Fortunately for you, the patent was issued a long time ago. Unless you're using "SMS-speak", the patent period will have expired. ... is that a blackberry in your hand? Heave to, and prepare to be litigated!
It may be "unprofessional", but kudos to him for saying what everyone else involved in this is thinking and wishing they could say as well.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
It's not the judges that decide so many of these cases in the Plaintiff's favor, but the East Texas juries that do so. Why? Nobody has really said yet, but I'd be testing the drinking water there for a start.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
If it did then the RIAA would long since be out of the lawsuit business -- and probably bankrupt from the sanctions imposed on them.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
This isn't about stupid software patents (see below). It's about suing the wrong person just because you want somebody in the district where you want your suit heard.
As for people understanding now the problems here with software patents, most people wouldn't know what a linked-list is if it bit them in the butt and picked their pocket. This adds nothing to their understanding of the issue.
As for this patent itself, sounds like:
10 TRAVERSE TO NEXT NODE
20 IF EXPIRED THEN REMOVE NODE
30 IF NOT LAST NODE THEN GOTO 10
40 END
I doubt that it was explained to the Patent Office in such simple terms, but even if it was I doubt that they actually understood it.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Scratch that. I much more prefer the traditional Mexican that you find in California and Arizona to that TexMex mashup.
Maybe we should let Texas secede from the Union just to lose East Texas courts.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
No that would not be a good defense on its own, but they are not selling or even distributing the code as far as I can tell. The summary seems to be incorrect in calling them a "software company", as from what I gather they were more of a webhosting company. If patent lawsuits can include what amounts to end-users that could in no way have known they were using something that was patented, then the patent system has moved from merely totally fucked to being an outright travesty. Say, for example, that Microsoft Windows violates a patent, should the patent holders be able to sue every user of Microsoft Windows?
Said, "It's just like dice but it's got more sides And it tells me who lives and who dies"
Copy-pasta trolling is guaranteed right in the U.S.
Seriously though, while I find that post atrocious, outlawing free speech would be far worse. Your right to not be offended does not outweigh my right to speak my mind.
Said, "It's just like dice but it's got more sides And it tells me who lives and who dies"
While the first part is true, it's not a legal reason to sue someone.
What provide the motivation? Getting a reaction from people like you. Somewhere, in his mom's basement, there's a guy with his cock out fwapping away to your post.
I hope you're proud of yourself.
You know, that would be an awesome .sig.
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
We've got the worlds highest unemployment, the worst "educashion", and it's always hotter than hell.
We all sit around and watch FOX NEWS.
We drive like maniacs in 8 ton trucks.
We eat salsa for breakfast, beans for lunch, and tequila for dinner.
Our favorite hobbies are huntin', yellin', and starin'.
Lastly, 15% of all military recruits are from Texas... that should scare the bejesus out of anybody.
.
Seriously, just stay away. So just forget you ever heard about Texas. I hear there's plenty of room in Rhode Island. Alaska is really cozy. How about Wyoming? California has wonderful fruit this time of year.
.
And you can be reassured that by "Staying the Hell out of Texas" (tm), that we can continue to provide you with oil, salsa, Shiner Bock, Dell Computers, Steak & BBQ, American & SouthWest Airlines, and $150 billion in exports.
.
Note: temporary visas are provided to visit the National Shrine of the Alamo for "well qualified" customers.
I said no... but I missed and it came out yes.
Not all of us are loons. I know this will come as a shock, but some of us are not Republicans, we don't watch Bill O'Reilly, and we were just as embarrassed about Bush Jr. as everyone else.
Besides, everything in your comment could be said about any state. Look in the news on any given day and see the lunacy, crime, and ridiculous things going on all over the country.
Or do you just want a punching bag and Texas is your current choice?
Sweeping generalizations and ignorant commentary only make you look just as bad as those you would condemn.
East Texas is one of the most staunchly conservative areas of the west. There is no way to get a balanced jury pool to even have a chance on any social or tech issue there that is not the status quo ( which in Texas is conservative ) or big business. This is the reason I believe juries should be selected nationwide and be done via teleconferencing software. That is a jury of my 'peers'.
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
You're one of the Dixie Chicks aren't you.
EDT has been fairly hostile to plaintiffs from 2007 on.
Change We Can Believe In.
Oh, wait.
512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
Like many English terms, the pronunciation differs from the obvious solution derived from a phonetic approach. It's actually pronounced "ayrcondishunin".
512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
Epic Win
512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
No shame but a good karma boost. Nice move! Wiley indeed!
It may be difficult to defend against a patent lawsuit in East Texas, but consider this: If you defeat a Patent Troll in its lair, you get treasure types O,P,Q,X and 1d4+1 emeralds.
Take off every Sig. For great justice.
I've always found it akin to pit-bulls. There are some that are nice, but a goodly number of them are dangerous even when they're yours, and more-so when they're somebody elses.
That being said, I've met some truly respectable lawyers. When I did have to pursue a company on an injury claim, I had initially consulted a lawyer and he even prepared some initial paperwork. During the interum my rather strongly worded "start answering my calls or you will be sued" letter reached the company, which they were required to forward to their insurance corp. The insurance corp actually treated me like a human, so I left off suing. The lawyer was very understanding of this, and even declined payment for the work he had done.
I ended up settling up with the insurance corp on my own. For the record on that too, a lot of Insurance Corps are rather hostile when dealing with claims, but this one was very good from start to finish.
I'd rather have not had the broken bones that resulted in the whole thing, but overall I found their offer and their response to my counters reasonable and personable in terms of what monetary compensation can do for such things (and they also had the problem/negligence which resulted in my injury fixed rather quickly).
So while the typical lawyer or big corp, insurance corp, etc is often portayed as money-grubbing sharks, not all of them are so.
Hey now, no need to insult me by callin me a Texan. That is just...wrong. I'm an Arkie, thank you very much. Complete with the small town that looks like something from the 19th century, with a roaring 20s movie theater and average age of buildings is over a century.
So I'm sorry if I mistook you for a Yankee, but there is no need to insult a man by callin him a Texan. Using the word killed instead of killing sounded more like Boston than Baton Rouge, thats all. And I think we can all agree that East Texas is just full of lawyers that could use a an application of that particular statute. Hell just think about how many tax dollars would be saved each year if East Texas wasn't full of patent trolls!
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
But to put it bluntly: They're Texans, and it's part their jobs on the hill to do something about E.D. Texas's problems. Their inaction is approval of this court.
Dear Bedrock et al...
In response to your recent communication, demanding treble damages for illegal use of your Intellectual 'Property...
Upon review of our ledger, we have determined that our profit on this product amounted to negative $5000.
That is $ -5000.00 Dollars in US currency.
We therefore accept your kind offer, and look forward to timely receipt of your payment to us for $15,000 US.
We normally accept payment only by PayPal or Google Checkout, but in this instance we will waive that requirement, to allow payment by Cashiers Check, Money Order, or Western Union.
Please make payable to...
FU Bedrock
LongView, East Texas
Thank you for your prompt attention too this matter!
(I grew up in Springfield, MO, about 35 miles north of your northern border.)
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
"Say, for example, that Microsoft Windows violates a patent, should the patent holders be able to sue every user of Microsoft Windows?" Apparently, now the answer is yes. Didn't used to be but now it is, in east TX anyway.
I feel sad for you that you don't live in a country that respects free speech.
You will find that, with the exception of the USA, all developed countries forbid hate speech and incitement to violent crime. In my country that law has only ever been enforced once, though, as far as I can remember. Apart from that, I can say pretty much anything I want.
You will find that, with the exception of the USA, all developed countries forbid hate speech and incitement to violent crime
Right, so they don't have free speech. Thank you for agreeing with me.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
The original point, which was that the East Texas legislators need to fix their laws that allow this to happen, is still ludicrous. No Texas legislator, at the state or federal level, can change how federal jury selection works. If you want them to change how venue shopping works, that's been a problem for a long time that does from time to time get legislative attention.
No, I don't agree with you.
You either have free speech or you don't. If some Government agent is telling you that you can't say something because it's offensive towards some group of people then that's not free speech.
One of the things I value about my country is that we'll let anybody speak their mind. Europeans evidently regard that as too much freedom. That's their loss, I think.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
you can't say something because it's offensive towards some group of people
We can say offensive stuff at will. What's illegal is incitement to hatred and violence against a group and also incitement to commit crimes. It's not a lot different from the US, and it's very seldom enforced, because it opens a few cans of worms.
You have to understand that we had Fascism and Nazism destroying our whole continent. These are infections that must be closely contained or can become septicemia. You never had such problems over there.
Europeans evidently regard that as too much freedom.
And Australians, Canadians, etc. etc. Don't blame it on Europe. You are the exception, not us.
Anyway, this is a pissing contest. I like our way and also your way. I don't like the way of China or Iran. Freedom is a great thing.
Freedom is a great thing.
Too bad you don't have it.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Nice fantasy. In reality, the threat of rule 11b sanctions would prevent that behavior.