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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!
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.
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.
> "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
Maybe he's a coyote.
-1, Did Not Do The Research
Federal judges are appointed for life, not elected.
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.
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.
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!
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
The Parking Lot is Full, Dec 04
There are like, 54 different comics on that page. Which one is the relevant one?
That's why I said "Dec 04" in my citation.
Why should a website be so poorly structured as to not have any direct links to single comics?
Likely because people have been embedding single comics in forum posts and running up the (self-)publisher's bandwidth bill.
Small software shops did just fine before this patent mess.
They will do do better. They won't have to worry about XOR, linked list or VFAT patents anymore.
The idea that the "little guy" needs patents is so bogus and thoroughly disproven that anyone that dares bring up the idea should walk around with a paper grocery sack on their head.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!)
You're one of the Dixie Chicks aren't you.
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.