Intellectual Ventures Tied To 1,300 Shell Companies

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Intellectual Ventures Tied To 1,300 Shell Companies

Posted by timothy on Sunday August 12, 2012 @08:40AM from the such-pretty-shells dept.

dgharmon writes "New research (PDF) shows that Intellectual Ventures is tied to at least 1,300 shell companies whose sole purpose is to coerce real companies into buying patent license that they don't want or need. Those who resist the 'patent trolls' are dragged into nightmarish lawsuits."

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FTFA by Daetrin · 2012-08-12 08:47 · Score: 4, Funny

Patent trolling took off after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office began issuing a flood of questionable âoebusiness methodâ patents related to things like software and, believe it or not, a crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich. In 2006, lawyers used such a patent to threaten Research in Motion with an injunction against the BlackBerry and extract a $612 million payout.
Well that's clearly why the BlackBerry has been having trouble in the market, RIM spent too much of their product development time working on sandwiches, and patent infringing sandwiches at that.

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1. Re:FTFA by game+kid · 2012-08-12 08:50 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I agree. They should've used ice cream instead of peanut butter and jelly, before Google could've caught on to that idea.
  
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What happened to the days of hitmen? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-12 08:51 · Score: 3, Funny

This is one person who actually does deserve to die. Painfully.
You know there is an obvious failure in society when shit people like him can get away with doing so much damage to thousands, possibly even millions of people through the effort that actual decent people were putting in to help the poor.
Funny how regulators and law get involved when a company is copying other people, but when it is a BLATANTLY obvious troll like this, HE GETS AWAY WITH IT. IN A COURTROOM. WHY?! ARE THESE PEOPLE STUPID? Every single one of those judges should be locked up for being clinically unstable.
1. Re:What happened to the days of hitmen? by postbigbang · 2012-08-12 08:55 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Dude, put down the whiskey now, and stay out of Colorado, k?
  
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that's 1300x the job creation! by Trepidity · 2012-08-12 08:56 · Score: 4, Funny

Intellectual Ventures are true American heroes!

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Re:Ah yes, the American dream... by phantomfive · 2012-08-12 09:20 · Score: 4, Funny

It is strange but many IT entrepreneurs in France don't see the silicon valley as a dreamland.
Ah yes, France, the Mecca of fine IT judgement.

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"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Shell companies by machine321 · 2012-08-12 09:39 · Score: 4, Funny

Summary is wrong, it's actually 1300 Exxon-Mobile companies,.
Re:hey now by Opportunist · 2012-08-12 12:40 · Score: 3, Funny

I'm more leaning towards mincing corporations to feed the hungry.

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We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.