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Patent Troll Goes After Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, IBM, Others

Posted by Soulskill on from the go-big-or-go-home dept.

zaba writes "A company named PersonalWeb Technologies has decided to sue a host of heavy players in the tech industry, including Apple, Facebook, IBM, Microsoft and Yahoo! for patents it holds related to data processing. They have a previous suit against other big names like Amazon, Google and HP. Anyone care to guess where the company is based or where the suits were filed?" The company is also targeting GitHub, but seems to have accidentally sued Rackspace — GitHub's host — instead. Rackspace has responded, saying, "It’s apparent that the people filing the suit don’t understand the technology or the products enough to realize that Rackspace Cloud Servers and GitHub are completely different products from different companies."

14 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. Enough Already by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I used to think of patent trolls as no name companies that pop up just to make a quick and sleazy buck. Now I think of all of the big names like Apple and Samsung too. At this point, I say bring it on. Let all companies be destroyed in the name of "intellectual property rights" and lets start over. I'd rather we die a quick death than drag it out forever.

    1. Re:Enough Already by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The problem is, with the current system, it is more reasonable to the bottom line to pay X in settlement costs vs paying your own lawyers for Y time

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
  2. List of their patents by nagasrinivas · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.personalweb.com/Technology.html
    Enjoy!

    1. Re:List of their patents by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 5, Informative

      5,978,791 - Data processing system using substantially unique identifiers to identify data items, whereby identical data items have the same identifiers -UUID
      6,415,280 - Identifying and requesting data in network using identifiers which are based on contents of data - CRC Hash
      6,928,442 - Enforcement and policing of licensed content using content-based identifiers - See WinAmp and Windows Media player
      and so on...

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    2. Re:List of their patents by doomtiki · · Score: 5, Funny
      You know it is a legitimate technology firm when their website says:

      We are located in East Texas, and we are developing innovative technologies and products.

      There seem to be a lot of "innovative" firms located in East Texas.

    3. Re:List of their patents by CheeseyDJ · · Score: 4, Funny

      5,978,791 - Data processing system using substantially unique identifiers to identify data items, whereby identical data items have the same identifiers

      "Substantially unique" - I love that.

      I wasn't aware there were varying degrees of "unique". Maybe there's a scale:

      • Not unique
      • Slightly unique
      • Moderately unique
      • Substantially unique
      • Very unique
      • Completely Unique

      The best part is that this potentially allows for many moderately unique patents, each patenting varying degrees of uniqueness.

  3. High School Kids? by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Most of their technical staff looks to be about 15 or 16...

    http://www.personalweb.com/About.html

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:High School Kids? by viperidaenz · · Score: 5, Funny

      They're probably the kids of the lawyers who run the company.

    2. Re:High School Kids? by Psychotria · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yes, but what does age have to do with it? This guy, for example, is obviously a leader in his field.

      Darren Hampton: Quality Assurance Coordinator

      Darren Hampton is an eclectic fellow. Despite being risk averse, he often puts himself in a great deal of minor peril. He is PersonalWeb's Quality Assurance Coordinator, but normally lacks the qualities of a coordinated individual.

      The guy bursts into laughter at the slightest provocation, which leads to a very bruised noggin as he loses control of his flailing cranial structure. The danger he poses to himself is insurmountable as he cannot find a way to escape his own person or the hilarious occurrences that seem to develop daily.

      Besides laughing at things that really have no comical value, he has been known to partake in the listening of mind-blowing techno. He especially likes the parts where it goes “wob wob wob.” He also has a deep addiction to Team Fortress 2 and will likely never free himself of the game. The one thing he hates is stepping on Legos without shoes... and jerks.

      If that's not a glowing review of talent and competence, I don't know what is.

      Oh, and Clarissa Andrews likes dying her hair!

  4. Their first patent... by viperidaenz · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5,978,791.PN.&OS=PN/5,978,791&RS=PN/5,978,791 They better go and sue Oracle. This describes the function of java.util.Hashtable.... hangon, that's been around since 1996 and the patent was filled in 1997.

  5. East Texas by Fnord666 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    With any luck this will backfire since a key judge that made East Texas such a hotspot for patent infringement lawsuits retired from the US District Court last year.

    This article does a pretty good job of looking at the situation in East Texas with regards to patent trials. It is an interesting read. It will be eye opening to some and a confirmation to others.

    --
    'The tyrant will always find pretext for his tyranny.' - Aesop's Fables
  6. Texas Sucks by CuteSteveJobs · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > It’s apparent that the people filing the suit don’t understand the technology or the products enough to realize that Rackspace Cloud Servers and GitHub are completely different products from different companies."

    The problem is that if you are sued for patent infringement - regardless of the merits of the case - you are up for $2M in lawyers fees and court costs to defend it. Recently a judge speaking out against trolls said $3M - $5M. If you're a small company or worse - a lone developer - that will send you bankrupt. The suit will most likely be filed in a troll-friendly court district such as the East District of Texas as this case was. The judges in E.D. Texas there are notoriously pro-troll and won't dismiss even the most stupid of cases. http://www.technologyreview.com/news/405259/a-haven-for-patent-pirates/

    Trolling causes a lot of damage for innovators elsewhere in the US, but it is huge source of revenue for E.D. Texas. Congressmen from these other districts need to gang up against the Texas trolls and Congressmen: http://www.house.gov/representatives/#state_tn

  7. Re:Why? by Patent+Lover · · Score: 4, Informative

    They have a "rocket docket" which processes patent suits more quickly than other district courts and an attorney licensed to practice in any state can practice before the court.

  8. I'm involved in this - providing prior art by viewtouch · · Score: 4, Informative

    A lawyer with a law firm defending one of these companies contacted me and visited me last week to review prior art which I have, with the hope that I can assist them and their client in invalidating one or more of these patents. Tomorrow I will be delivering running a copy of my software to the firm to allow them to closely examine it. Most of the companies which have been threatened with patent infringement lawsuits have caved in and agreed to pay the patent holders (Priceline founder Jay Walker and others) rather than attempt to defend themselves in court, however. We'll see how it plays out.