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Google Takes a Small Step in Lodsys Patent-Troll Case

Posted by timothy on from the when-does-the-rubber-band-snap? dept.

The Lodsys saga continues; reader WyzrdX writes with this excerpt from Wired: "Google has intervened in an ongoing intellectual property dispute between smartphone application developers and a patent-holding firm, Wired.com has learned, marking the Mountain View company's first public move to defend Android coders from a patent troll lawsuit that's cast a pall on the community. The company says it filed a request with the United States Patent and Trademark office Friday for reexamination of two patents asserted by East Texas-based patent firm Lodsys. Google's request calls for the USPTO to assess whether or not the patents' claims are valid."

6 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. Drug patents by tepples · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Other than with the expected value of a patent monopoly, how will the maker of a new drug finance FDA-mandated clinical trials? Show a viable alternative to patents for industries that are as heavily regulated for product safety and truth in advertising as the drug industry, and the case against patents will become clearer.

    1. Re:Drug patents by ColdWetDog · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Other than with the expected value of a patent monopoly, how will the maker of a new drug finance FDA-mandated clinical trials? Show a viable alternative to patents for industries that are as heavily regulated for product safety and truth in advertising as the drug industry, and the case against patents will become clearer.

      As much as I think the patent system in the Pharmaceutical industry has been misused (Omeprazole vs. Esomeprazole) comes to mind, at least they are patenting a molecule, or a change in a molecule. A substantial thing. As in something of substance.

      Software patents are all too often patenting vague hand waving processes or ideas. Usually just one brain cell shy of completely obvious. Hot air and lawyer drivel.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  2. Re:Patents by Lysander7 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Except Google doesn't use them offensively to stifle other companies.

  3. Re:Patents by tepples · · Score: 5, Informative

    This after Google themself take a broad patent like this?

    It's not as broad as you might think. The patent applies only to "a broker computer system independent of the shipper and a merchant", not one where the merchant's system directly uses the shipper's web service, and especially not one that uses a table from the warehouse ID and the destination postal code prefix to the expected transit time.

  4. Re:Patents by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There's nothing wrong with patents for things you can hold in your hand, it's the software and business-method patents that never should have been allowed in the first place, and need to go away.

  5. Re:Ice Cream Sandwich by Microlith · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think the next version of Android ... Ice Cream Sandwich is going to be fully vetted for patent claims.

    This is impossible. There is not enough time or money to sift through all of the thousands upon thousands of software patents out there and say "our software does not violate this" to the satisfaction of everyone involved. Even if you do come to that conclusion, the patent holder could disagree and take you to court anyway, where you have to fight until the judge can say "no it doesn't violate the patent."