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Hyperlinking From CD: Patented
Acacia tries again....
You may remember Acacia, the company that patented the idea of a Wi-Fi splash page and then demanded $1000 a quarter from WISPs for up to 3500 redirected connections. According to Techdirt they're back, and have patented the idea of hyperlinking from CD. They're using a subsidiary called Disc Link to sue such software companies as Oracle, SAP, Borland, Business Objects, Compuware, Corel, Eastman Kodak and Novell.
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Anonymous88
Premium Member
join:2004-06-01
IA

Anonymous88

Premium Member

Wow

This should be illegal.
laf4
join:2004-09-30
La Verne, CA

laf4

Member

Re: Wow

The hyperlinking from CDs, or frivolous lawsuits?

I don't understand how they intend to prove their case in court, I don't think the companies they chose to sue will take it sitting down.

redxii
Mod
join:2001-02-26
Michigan

redxii

Mod

Re: Wow

Neither: patent trolls.
NoOneButMe
join:2001-08-24
TX

NoOneButMe

Member

Re: Wow

you can thank the DMCA for this one

brooklynman4
join:2004-09-07
Brewster, NY

brooklynman4 to Anonymous88

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to Anonymous88
Hey if anybody hasnt tryed it what they got to lose??

yock
TFTC
Premium Member
join:2000-11-21
Miamisburg, OH

yock

Premium Member

Re: Wow

said by brooklynman4:

Hey if anybody hasnt tryed it what they got to lose??
They can be barred from filing patent infringement suits if their case is found to be frivolous.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: Wow

and I hope they do.

RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY

RARPSL to yock

Member

to yock
said by yock:

said by brooklynman4:

Hey if anybody hasnt tryed it what they got to lose??
They can be barred from filing patent infringement suits if their case is found to be frivolous.
They should also be barred from filing against ANYONE who was using the technology before the time the patent was granted unless the suit is filed within 3 months of the Patent Granting (IOW: No waiting for 2 years after you get the Patent and then trying to Blackmail those who are using the Technology - Either file as soon as there is a Granted Patent or lose your right to sue/license - Also any use before the filing is automatically granted a license for no more than $1/year [ie: Is grandfathered as non-infringing use]).

james16
join:2001-02-26

james16 to brooklynman4

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to brooklynman4
what little dignity they had left perhaps? Seriously, how can these people live with themselves knowing what that actually do for a living.

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6

Premium Member

Re: Wow

said by james16:

Seriously, how can these people live with themselves knowing what that actually do for a living.
They're lawyers. The concept of personal dignity is foreign to them.
67845017 (banned)
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL

1 recommendation

67845017 (banned)

Member

Re: Wow

said by John Galt6:

said by james16:

Seriously, how can these people live with themselves knowing what that actually do for a living.
They're lawyers. The concept of personal dignity is foreign to them.
Or maybe DSLR posters blanketly/blindly criticising people don't understand the concept of making intelligent comments.

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium Member
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA

ColorBASIC

Premium Member

Re: Wow

Pot...meet kettle.
67845017 (banned)
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL

1 recommendation

67845017 (banned)

Member

Re: Wow

said by ColorBASIC:

Pot...meet kettle.
I'm sure your tune would have been different had his comment been directed to your career. Oh well, I suppose if it makes you guys feel bigger and better--regardless of your ignorance--so be it.

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium Member
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA

ColorBASIC

Premium Member

Re: Wow

I'll worry about it when mechanical engineers become notorious scum sucking bottom feeding ambulance chasing racketeers who victimize people for a living.
67845017 (banned)
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL

2 edits

1 recommendation

67845017 (banned)

Member

Re: Wow

said by ColorBASIC:

I'll worry about it when mechanical engineers become notorious scum sucking bottom feeding ambulance chasing racketeers who victimize people for a living.
Interesting. All patent lawyers are engineers and scientists. I'm a EE myself, as well as a person to whom personal dignity is foreign, apparently.

Also, I do gratis real estate closings for friends and neighbors. I also write patent applications and do trademark and copyright work for free for friends and neighbors.

I don't consider that victimizing. But, it sounds like you're Jesus incarnate, so there's no way I can compete.

thender2
Glamour Profession
Premium Member
join:2004-05-16
Staten Island, NY

2 edits

1 recommendation

thender2 to ColorBASIC

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to ColorBASIC
said by ColorBASIC:

I'll worry about it when mechanical engineers become notorious scum sucking bottom feeding ambulance chasing racketeers who victimize people for a living.
I am not a lawyer, but it doesn't take a lawyer to point out how ridiculous that sounds.

All retail stockpeople destroy merchandise. All audio engineers ruin music with too much compression on the master. All doctors lie to their patients and give them life threatening medication and perform dangerous procedures to make more money, and cops kill innocent citizens because they're black.

Your self-righteous "fuck the corporations and their lawyers and their lawyer corporations!1" attitude may have gotten you 'rebel of the year' award in high school and college, but it's seen through for the crap it is now. Everyone jumps on the bandwagon because it's an easy target, but I'm sure if someone were dissecting what you did for a living they'd find all sorts of disgusting examples. No one likes lawyers until they need one, I suppose. Of course there are bad lawyers, but to say the profession as a whole is as you describe is ignorance down to a wikipedia definition of it.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
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join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to 67845017

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to 67845017
said by 67845017:
said by ColorBASIC:

Pot...meet kettle.
I'm sure your tune would have been different had his comment been directed to your career. Oh well, I suppose if it makes you guys feel bigger and better--regardless of your ignorance--so be it.
i work for UPS and i chuckle right along with people about the destruction of packages. including the age old fragile jokes.

JoeyDee
Premium Member
join:2004-07-23
Las Vegas, NV

JoeyDee to 67845017

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to 67845017
So, goober, what's the name of your firm?
67845017 (banned)
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL

67845017 (banned)

Member

Re: Wow

I'm in-house now.

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6 to 67845017

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to 67845017
said by 67845017:

Or maybe DSLR posters blanketly/blindly criticising people don't understand the concept of making intelligent comments.
Oh, that!

Recoiling in shock and horror...!


nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
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join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen to james16

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to james16
said by james16:

what little dignity they had left perhaps? Seriously, how can these people live with themselves knowing what that actually do for a living.
The same way that the reporters trafficing in misery can run roughshod over victims of tragedy. To some people, all that matters is money.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
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join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK to Anonymous88

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to Anonymous88
The madness never stops, it seems.
cuindy
join:2000-07-21
Aurora, OH

cuindy to Anonymous88

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to Anonymous88
said by Anonymous88:

This should be illegal.
They need to patent being stupid, they will make Billions !

RIPOFF111
@weyerhaeuser.com

RIPOFF111

Anon

Sleezy Tactics wont work.

TWO Word's

PRIOR ART

Sleezy Lawyer run company too I am sure.
jsb825
Premium Member
join:2003-10-08
Exeter, NH

jsb825

Premium Member

Re: Sleezy Tactics wont work.

and run by a B I T C H..

lt_wentoncha
Red6
join:2002-05-12
000000

lt_wentoncha

Member

Goddamn Patent Farms

This shit is ridiculous. First NPT blackmails RIM, now this. Greedy scumbag companies + witless judges and juries are the winningest combination.

clandestin
join:2002-05-02
Montreal, QC

1 edit

clandestin

Member

Funny patent lists...

Very funny.
Did you checked their website (»www.acaciatechnologies.c ··· olio.htm) ?
It's funny to see their patents list: compact disk, data encryption, digital video production, web personalization and so on.

Combat Chuck
Too Many Cannibals
Premium Member
join:2001-11-29
Verona, PA

1 recommendation

Combat Chuck

Premium Member

Re: Funny patent lists...

corrected link
»www.acaciatechnologies.c ··· olio.htm

They should just patent:
Everything - a patented method of doing things that result in outcomes.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
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join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to clandestin

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to clandestin
quote:
MICROMIRROR DIGITAL DISPLAY
This patented technology generally relates to techniques for using micromirrors to display a color image having gray scale gradations and is utilized in large screen televisions and projectors.
found this gem in their list, sounds an awfully close match to something patented by TI ages ago called DLP.

TechyDad
Premium Member
join:2001-07-13
USA

TechyDad to clandestin

Premium Member

to clandestin
Man, you really can patent anything, can you?
COMPACT DISK
The patent, currently being reexamined by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, covers certain systems for recording and playing compact disks containing compressed audio data utilizing certain data-compression methods. The CD player technology, consisting in part of a CD drive that reads MPEG Layer-3 (MP3) compressed digital audio data recorded on a CD, and an integrated circuit chip which decompresses the data and produces a non-compressed audio output, is commonly found in DVD and CD players.
Basically, this is a CD with MP3 files on it and a drive that can read those files.
DOCUMENT GENERATION
This patented technology generally relates to storing data in databases such that it could be used to quickly populate multiple document templates. This technology can be used in medical applications such as Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR), as well as document generation applications in the financial, legal, and insurance industries.
Depending on how widely they interpret this, this could be almost anything. In fact, this could be BBR. After all, I'm sure the system's here store the information (like posts) in a database and then use that data to fill out multiple "templates" (a view of a post, a listing of posts in a thread, etc). Pretty much any database driven website (read: pretty much any website) would infringe on this.

And the last one is the best:
PRODUCT ACTIVATION
These patented technologies generally relate to accessing data through the submission of a product identification and computer specific information to a remote station. The remote station sends an encrypted key that is stored on the computer and provides access to the data. This technology can be used by software and other products to help deter the distribution of illegal copies. Other aspects of the technologies generally relate to accessing clear data, and encrypted data via an identification label. Once decrypted, the clear and decrypted data are combined to activate software programs, and other files.
Look out Microsoft, Acacia has patented Product Activation! Hey, this might be good. Microsoft versus Acacia. If Microsoft loses, perhaps Product Activation will go away (though they would likely just tweak it a bit). If Acacia loses, people can cheer on while Microsoft bankrupts Acacia. (Hey, we can dream either way, can we? )

backfeed
is giving feedback
join:2002-12-16
Peru, IN

backfeed

Member

Re: Funny patent lists...

I am surprised they do not claim to have patented the Internet itself. We would have to pay a small fee every time we click a link....Gosh....I hope they don't read this and get any ideas.....

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK

Premium Member

Re: Funny patent lists...

"A system by which electronic devices and machines can be connected together for communications purposes, either via wire, or, wireless links"


TxRoadDawg
We're Gonna Ride Forever
join:2001-08-17
Warner Robins, GA

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to backfeed
said by backfeed:

I am surprised they do not claim to have patented the Internet itself. We would have to pay a small fee every time we click a link....Gosh....I hope they don't read this and get any ideas.....
Been there, done that, atleast British Telecom tried to suing Prodigy over using a hyperlink to navigate the pages. THANKFULLY one judge that wasnt a moron chucked the suit out of court and ruled the patents void
Kearnstd
Space Elf
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join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to clandestin

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to clandestin
what im really amazed is they havent patented "a method for removing solid human waste from a building, interfaced with in a sitting position"(aka the Toilet and Sewer system)
avpman
join:2001-03-28
Tampa, FL

1 recommendation

avpman

Member

I wonder if....

Hmmm. Maybe I can patent the correct way of holding one's penis to properly aim at a urinal.

•••••

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen

Premium Member

They Created "file://"?

I mean, a CD is just a data storage device - equivalent in form and function to any other random access device such as a hard drive. The "file://" access method was one of the core access methods to HTML. I just don't see how they can patent something that was part of the core functionality of the original, open HTML specification (unless their end-game is to try to assert a patent on HTML!).
jims2321
join:2000-04-05
Suwanee, GA

jims2321

Member

They are so much a greasy spot

Well, I will give them create for stupidity. Once Oracle gets done picking their bank clean, maybe the others like these sleazy balls with wise up.

Jim

viperpa33s
Why Me?
Premium Member
join:2002-12-20
Bradenton, FL

viperpa33s

Premium Member

Can we say SCO

Some of the big companies that Acacia is suing can put Acacia out of business. Just look what happened when SCO tried to take on IBM. SCO was almost put out of business because of the lengthy lawsuits

DataDoc
My avatar looks like me, if I was 2D.
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join:2000-05-14
Hedgesville, WV
·StarLink
·HughesNet

DataDoc

Premium Member

Re: Can we say SCO

said by viperpa33s:

Some of the big companies that Acacia is suing can put Acacia out of business. Just look what happened when SCO tried to take on IBM. SCO was almost put out of business because of the lengthy lawsuits
Sometimes it's good to be the King.

spewak
R.I.P Dadkins
Premium Member
join:2001-08-07
Elk Grove, CA

spewak to viperpa33s

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to viperpa33s
My thoughts exactly. If Acacia doesn't get pounded into the ground first like they deserve, they will surely lose it on the money side.

wmcbrine
join:2002-12-30
Laurel, MD

wmcbrine

Member

Prior Art

I think I have CD-ROMs with hyperlinks going back to at least 1995. The patent appears to have been filed in 1998.
MrBentor
join:2003-02-18
Seattle, WA

MrBentor

Member

Re: Prior Art

I can do better - I've seen CD's havening them in 1992...

ff1324
Everybody Goes Home
Premium Member
join:2002-08-24
On Four Day

ff1324

Premium Member

Re: Prior Art

I had a HyperCard stack burned on a Macintosh CD in the early 90s. God only knows where it is now.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

wildcards

I should try to patent the idea of "identity" and "profiles" on a "large widely distributed network", AKA, the concept of users and forums and identifying things (using nouns, which can be searched for matching nouns), im sure no patent examiner will know what I talking about, so they will just approve it. Then lawyers will figure out it means "* does * to *" and im set for life.

John Galt6
Forward, March
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join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6

Premium Member

Re: wildcards

said by patcat88:

I should try to patent the idea of "identity" and "profiles" on a "large widely distributed network", AKA, the concept of users and forums and identifying things (using nouns, which can be searched for matching nouns), im sure no patent examiner will know what I talking about, so they will just approve it. Then lawyers will figure out it means "* does * to *" and im set for life.
Make that rubber stamp work for YOU...!



BarneyBadAss
Badasses Fight For Freedom
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
00001

BarneyBadAss

Premium Member

and this is?

"new and Novel" how?

Any half wit can do this... what's the technical difference between a CD / DVD and almost any other storage media?

I suspect this will be easily challenged and the patents will be withdrawn.

I have several patents and have been up and down all sides of this.

jgkolt
Premium Member
join:2004-02-21
Avon, OH

jgkolt

Premium Member

patent laws

This is a perfect example on abuse of patents and how that system should be reviewed so maybe my kid some day will not have to face the same problems, at least on this front.
flushls
join:2004-11-02
Joyce, WA

flushls

Member

I'm Patenting Frivilous Lawsuits

I am going to demand a cut from every Plaintiff that loses

woohooo

They sent forth there fearcest lawyers chanting "sue them:sue them" "the far side"

Flushls :.)>

Sabre
Di relung hatiku bernyanyi bidadari
join:2005-05-17

Sabre

Member

Re: I'm Patenting Frivilous Lawsuits

How about a patent on a unified method for requesting redress on violation of intellectual property through a generally accepted body of rules assigned by a neutral arbiter?

I say we patent lawsuits and then sue the patent lawyers who get frivolous about these things.

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium Member
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA

1 edit

ColorBASIC

Premium Member

Scum bag racketeering lawyers

There is no shortage of these bottom feeders. The Acacia racketeers should be prosecuted under RICO for willfully patenting what is obviously prior art then attempting to extort money. 10 years in a Federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison would do the trick.

Similar scum sucking extortionist lawyer schemes got so bad here in California that voters had to pass Proposition 64. It looks like we need Federal legislation that would force these worthless waste of skin lawyers to get real jobs.

bigunk
Gort, Klattu Birada Nikto
join:2001-02-10
USA

bigunk

Member

Re: Scum bag racketeering lawyers

I remember doing some work for a company they either owned or bought. Or maybe they sued them and were handed the company as payment. In any case, all was working well until the Acacia Research goons came along. Company went tits up in no time flat. Typical lawyers. Just like politicians. Always fixing something 'till it's broke.

treetop1000
join:2003-11-07
Lexington, KY

treetop1000

Member

I'm sorry,

but this looks a lot like racketeering to me.
I really like the list of Acacia patents that they say they "own".
Especially the compact disc
(Philips is a foreign company!)
and the remote television camera/control.
If I remember correctly NASA did that in 1969.
From the MOON
Can you say prior art?
Sure you can.
Try it.
It looks like it has everything to do with the specific wording of patents, and how we can use unusually vague ideas to steal true IP from rightful owners.
There is no prize for missing it by even ONE mispelled word.
If you invent something new and apply for a patent, in that patent application you should describe it in the best language possible, covering every aspect that you can.
Lawyers get paid for doing incredibly tedious wording in contractual negotiations, and if they by chance screw it up, that lets this kind of foolishness get started.
And really, there is no better way to make money.
Just sit back and read the documents, catch the mistakes (and hope the original IP owner doesn't) and then resubmit for a new patent based on whatever error the original patent missed.
Then you can collect from the original IP owner when he agrees to settle out of court (it is much less expensive to the original IP owner that way)
It's legal tomfoolery.
It's really wasting our legal systems time and above all, it's wasting taxpayers money, all for the sake of a chance "win" on someone else's dime.
It's the same kind of tactic currently in use by the RIAA/MPAA, namely sue the hell out of them first, then collect paycheck when they settle to avoid a lengthy court trial.
That's -all- this is.
A money grab.

2kmaro
Think

join:2000-07-11
Oklahoma City, OK

2kmaro

Re: I'm sorry,

Ok - now take all of that, add a pinch of lunacy, a dash of larceny, write it all up and send it to the U.S. Patent Office which apparently is still doing math with an abacus (great tool, by the way, just slow) and writing on parchment with iron-tinted inks. Don't forget that these folks are just filing for the patents - it's not like the Patent Office HAS to grant one. Apparently the understanding of "how things work" at the Patent Office is pretty well non existant. We need to sit the whole bunch of them down in front of The Discovery Channel for a couple of weeks, feed them an hourly diet of Wikipedia, and introduce them to everyone's best friend: Google.