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Company Claims Ownership of Digital Messaging

Posted by samzenpus on from the first-of-the-first! dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Kootol, yet another patent troll, is going after everyone who makes messaging software for violating their soon-to-be-granted patent, which claims they invented one- and two-way messaging in 2005. From the article: 'Kootol, founded in 2010, says it has a patent license agreement with Yogesh Rathod for control of U.S. Patent Application 11/995,343. Rathod, in fact, is a co-founder of Kootol with his brother Vijay Rathod. According to Kootol, the patent application “covers core messaging, publication and real time searching technology.” Interestingly, the patent in question hasn’t actually been awarded to Kootol or Rathod yet. Rather, The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued “A Notice of Allowance.” That’s the term for when the USPTO says that an applicant is entitled to a patent under the law, but must pay an issue fee (and potentially publication fee) first, within three months.'"

6 of 325 comments (clear)

  1. Software patent implosion by Twinbee · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Good, the more ridiculous the patents get, the quicker something will be done to fix the mess. Personally, I'd like to see this patent granted, and dozens of companies ordered to pay lots of damages to the angelic company that is Kootol. ....if only to see the backlash from a thousand juggernauts against the current patent system ;)

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    1. Re:Software patent implosion by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Good, the more ridiculous the patents get, the quicker something will be done to fix the mess. Personally, I'd like to see this patent granted, and dozens of companies ordered to pay lots of damages to the angelic company that is Kootol. ....if only to see the backlash from a thousand juggernauts against the current patent system ;)

      Unfortunately, it's not likely to work out that way. Kootol will no doubt be crushed, but the giant companies they're suing will most likely pay off Congress to "reform" the patent system in a way that makes it more difficult for small patent trolls to operate while still allowing the giants to go after small developers (and not-so-small, as in Microsoft's ongoing war against Linux.) Don't ask me what the specific wording will be; I don't claim to know, but they've got armies of lawyers to write the language to achieve the desired result.

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      The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
  2. Really? by Renraku · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I'm pretty sure I was using instant messaging programs well before 2005. I remember having used them since I discovered computers in the late 80s.

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    Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
  3. I think I've seen this before by glebovitz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This looks very similar to the Andrew Messaging System that became the CMU campus wide mail system circa 1985.

  4. Re:Patent system is broken! by sribe · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What good software engineer is going to become an examiner for the USPTO compared to the benefits they could receive elsewhere.

    Also, please remember that for about the first decade after they decided to start granting software patents, they did not allow the hiring of software engineers (ie those with CS degrees) as examiners.

  5. Re:Prior Art? by Z00L00K · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If only USPTO was responsible for sharing the costs of a failed patent they wouldn't allow them so easy.

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    If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.