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Eolas To Sue Apple, Google, and 21 Others

Posted by kdawson on from the foaming-cleanser dept.

vinodis and several other readers sent along the news that Eolas is suing 23 companies including Apple and Google for patent infringement. The company won $585M from Microsoft in a drawn-out, 9-year battle that the companies settled in 2007; in the course of it the USPTO upheld the "906" patent several times. Now, Eolas is also in possession of a newly-issued patent that they claim covers the use of any browser plugin with AJAX. Let's see how far this lawsuit gets before the Supreme Court plays its wildcard in the Bilski case, which we have been discussing for a while now.

16 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. Dear, Microsoft by just+someone · · Score: 1, Funny

    Indemnity, please.

  2. Re:Can someone please explain? by Man+On+Pink+Corner · · Score: 5, Funny

    It means that, once again, the USPTO's employee drug-testing policy has failed us all.

  3. !eulas by snl2587 · · Score: 4, Funny

    For a second I read that as "EULAs To Sue Apple, Google, and 21 Others"...oh, the irony.

    1. Re:!eulas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I read it as Legolas To Sue Apple, Google and 21 Others :\

  4. Hit Squad by sycodon · · Score: 4, Funny

    For much less than 500 million, you can probably get a very discreet and effective hit squad to take out the entire management of Eolas and the attorneys too.

    They would probably do the attorneys for free.

    --
    When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    1. Re:Hit Squad by greg1104 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wiping out a patent troll only after they've extorted money from Microsoft: priceless

    2. Re:Hit Squad by Linker3000 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm sorry, but that infringes on my patent #401005666 "A method for eliminating third party organisations or persons engaged in activities likely to affect the capital value of a business"

      --
      AT&ROFLMAO
  5. Re:Do not feed trolls! by Bazman · · Score: 3, Funny

    Rule 34 on the judges? No thanks.

  6. I used to work for patent lawyers by Weaselmancer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yup, it's true. I did IT work for a group of them back when I was in college. I was "team one", and they had some other guys who were "team two". We helped them in shifts.

    One day I got a phone call.

    It was one of the lawyers. He couldn't log on. "The box under my computer is missing."

    Ah, I think. Those wily rascals in Team 2 snagged his UPS or his power strip and didn't replace it. No biggie. I'll buy a power strip and scoot on over.

    I look under his desk.

    His PC is missing.

    The cords to his monitor, mouse, and keyboard were dangling in space and he sat there typing away wondering why he couldn't "log on".

    I apologize for the nightmares, heebie-jeebies, and general loss of sleep you'll have from my story. Yes folks, these are the people in charge of our livelihood.

    We're screwed.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
    1. Re:I used to work for patent lawyers by Ecuador · · Score: 3, Funny

      We had some patent lawyers working for us. They were charging $600/h (with impressive and detailed invoices e.g. "Reading your MM/DD email: 15m") for their lawyer's time, and $200/h for their assistants/paralegals/i don't know how non-associate types who do the chores are called. Anyway, while the former where ridiculously expensive per hour, it was the $200/h guys that were even more annoying, as they were charging several hours for simple tasks. The most vivid example:
      My boss sends them a 100 page document in pdf that they needed to sign on the last page and return via email fast, to make a deadline that was about 2 h away. The 2h were almost up and there still was no email. So, my boss calls them and it went like this:

      -Sorry, but the document was too many pages so it took us a lot of time to scan it, we are now finishing up...
      -But... um... I sent you a pdf document, you already had a file...
      -Well, we had to sign it so we had to print it and scan it, duh
      -But... um... you only needed to scan the last page and replace the last page of the pdf, why the whole document???
      -(with genuine interest) Reeeaaally? You can do that? We definitely have to look into that! Anyway, just a few pages left now, we'll email soon - don't worry.

      There you go, $400 to sign a document.

      --
      Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
  7. Re:And then by amicusNYCL · · Score: 3, Funny

    Dude, seriously? "Abble?"

    --
    "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
  8. Re:How about Visual Studio by BlackSnake112 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm just assuming that the developers who use MS products, would get some type of protection... Isn't that what MS has always said.

    Like keyboard and mouse condoms? Or does a full body condom arrive in the mail with every visual studio purchase?

  9. Silver is expensive by TiggertheMad · · Score: 5, Funny

    They would probably do the attorneys for free.

    This is a common misconception. Actually they charge extra, because of all the hawthorn bullets and garlic they have to use.

    --

    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
  10. Re:And then by tsm_sf · · Score: 4, Funny

    Lay off him, man. Would you make fun of someone with a speech impediment? A typing impediment is much worse.

    --
    Literalism isn't a form of humor, it's you being irritating.
  11. Re:And then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I think they meant VbblG

  12. Re:Fuck Eolas by Nerdfest · · Score: 2, Funny

    "But officer, I was going for funny, not accurate. Yes, sir, I understand .. here's my geek card"