

Stopping the patent troll scam - btcoal
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/judicial/168087-stopping-the-patent-troll-scam

======
kwantam
I don't know if the writer of this article is ignorant or cynical (leaning
towards the latter), but spinning section 18 as fair takes a healthy dose of
one or both. Section 18, at its root, is another attempt to invalidate a
handful of patents owned by DataTreasury because their existence is expensive
for a few financial institutions.

"Patent reform," in this case, means "pay us^H^H^H^H^H^Hdonate a lot of money
and we'll pass a special law to try and invalidate an inconvenient patent."

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DataTreasury#Ballard_patents>

Note: I'm not arguing one way or another about the validity of these patents.
Even if they're invalid, passing a law specifically targeting them and
claiming that it's somehow a fair attempt at patent reform is insanity.

------
jayzee
In a perverse way I think that all the recent patent law-suits and general
trolling is a good thing. The more egregious the behavior and the law-suits
(lodsys, IV etc) the more attention it will get from the media till finally we
will do something about it. I hope that the trolls unchecked greed will be
their undoing.

~~~
jeremyarussell
The thing with greed is it never collapses on itself, it gathers and gathers
like some sort of black hole until a single entity has all the money. See
greed is something that drives someone to gain one of the few things that can
allow them to continue their paths unchecked. My point being that I doubt
hoping they just undo themselves is going to do anything, the defendants
winning against odds and setting new patent precedents, and the people of
these united states however, can do something. We need a way to justify what's
really a patent infringement. I haven't the least bit idea on where to start,
but I think that's the area to start in.

~~~
btcoal
A good place to start: [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-
comput...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-
science/6-901-inventions-and-patents-fall-2005/readings/)

------
norswap
"Fair-minded Americans agree that intellectual property rights must be
enforced if the nation’s unique brand of entrepreneurial capitalism is to
thrive in an increasingly competitive 21st century."

Stating that your opinion is that of "fair-minded americans", now that's what
I call objective journalism.

~~~
lmkg
> _Tiger Joyce is president of the American Tort Reform Association, based in
> Washington, D.C._

It's not journalism at all, it's an op-ed piece.

------
praptak
Nice article, but I don't believe in a congress that runs on lobbyists' money
will solve the patent troll problem. Even with the section 18 it's too little,
too late.

