Patents are just used by "patent troll" lawyers, that spend their time just screwing with people (and corporations) by threatening with expensive litigation/law suits.<div><br></div><div>These companies/managers just apply for patents on just about anything, and after looking at this past patent application, I'm quite surprised that IBM hasn't filed a patent application for using the "internet".</div>
<div><br></div><div>This poor country definitely needs some copyright/patent reform. The patent office doesn't do much when it comes to searching for prior art (or previous works) and many patents are just "umbrella patents" that are used in a "shotgun" approach to stifle competition.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Anytime a patent gets approved, it generally turns into expensive litigation for any competing technologies. These "patent trolls" use these silly things as a means to extract large sums of cash (settlements) or even attempt to put competitors out of business (with legal fees/lawsuits). The best possible thing that we can do is make sure that these patents are properly disputed, and that we use whatever legal means are available to ensure that these patents are NOT granted.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Approving these patents is similar to attempting to patent the "internet". Allowing no one to use it. It's silly and absurd, and it stifles development, creativity and innovation.</div>
<div><div><br></div><div>Large companies (like IBM) with deep pockets use these silly patents to just kill off any competition. The problem is that the things discussed in these patents is NOT original, and NOT new.</div>
<div><br></div><div>The point of a patent is an ORIGINAL and NEW idea. These are not ORIGINAL or NEW ideas. </div><div><br></div><div>A few corporate clowns get together and decide to copy what everyone else is doing, and decide that it might give them an advantage to steal other people's ideas and apply for a patent to kill off what everyone else is doing, and has done in the past (and is currently) doing and working on.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Patents are bad for science, technology and innovation. We definitely need patent and copyright reform.</div><div><br></div><div>The problem is with "shotgun" patents (that use open-ended language, and generalizations) so they can use these "shotgun" approach to file lawsuits against anyone they please.</div>
<div><br></div><div>This is what the clowns over at Divx.com have currently been doing. Patent trolls are everywhere. Patent trolls are worse than ambulance chasers. All we can do is use whatever legal means we have available to fight these types of patent applications. If we can get them stopped, and help educate the examining patent officers by providing examples of prior works so that these silly patent applications will get denied. There is nothing original, new or creative in these patent applications. These silly patent trolls use these "shot gun" patent applications with the hopes that some examiner might just approve it, and then these large corporations can use these silly objects as weapons to kill off anyone that tries to develop innovative technologies.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I'm extremely disappointed that IBM would stoop to such a low level. Large corporations seem to do a good job using teams of lawyers to just create these silly "blanket" patents, and "shot gun" approach to patents. </div>
<div><br></div><div>IBM's patent application is NOT for an ORIGINAL or NEW idea or "invention". It's just a weapon to try and stifle innovation and competition in science & technology. It would be similar to Netscape attempting to "patent" a web browser, or "patent" the internet. It might sound absurd, but that is what these corporations (like IBM) try to do with these silly blanket patent applications.</div>
<div><br></div><div>If these patents are not properly disputed/objected/opposed to (once they are published for opposition) then some idiot judge (who knows absolutely nothing about computers/engineering/development) will end up being the one to hear these silly litigation cases in courts that are "friendly" to patent attorneys (i.e. Los Angeles, parts of Texas, etc.) where most of the patent troll attorneys spend their days just sending out blanket legal threats to anyone they can find that is working on or developing anything innovative.</div>
<div><br></div><div>If anyone knows of any patents, contact me off-list. I'd definitely be interested in working with any legal teams to at least help bring ANY of these silly patents on "3D Virtual Worlds" to an end.</div>
<div><br></div><div>These silly legal patents are nothing but nightmares and headaches on the developers and Open Source projects and organizations like OpenSim (or anyone that even attempts to use the technology). </div>
<div><br></div><div>These patents are NOT original or new and these are NOT new "inventions" by IBM or anyone at IBM.</div><div><br></div><div> Mark</div><div><br></div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">
On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 5:55 PM, Mircea Kitsune <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mircea_the_kitsune@hotmail.com">mircea_the_kitsune@hotmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div>
Although I don't know all the details on how this works, I know patents are horrible thing that should not exist, and people use them in ways that should never be allowed. I dearly hope Opensim will never have to face such dangers, and that it will always stay clear of these things. I guess hoping is the best we can do, if nothing can be done to actively secure it.<br>
<br>Anyway Diva, that's a very nice and correct post, and hopefully people will listen do that. But imho, as long as any company has a possibility to harm Opensim, the project is unsafe. I wonder if the laws allow code owners to forbid anyone from placing patents on anything. After all, the code belongs to the devs, and no one should be able to invade it and put "rules" on Opensim without their permission. Of course other libs it uses aren't the case, if I am correct.<br>
<br>> Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 09:15:05 -0800<br>> From: <a href="mailto:diva@metaverseink.com" target="_blank">diva@metaverseink.com</a><br>> To: <a href="mailto:opensim-users@lists.berlios.de" target="_blank">opensim-users@lists.berlios.de</a>; <a href="mailto:opensim-dev@lists.berlios.de" target="_blank">opensim-dev@lists.berlios.de</a><br>
> Subject: [Opensim-dev] personal plea on patents<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>> <br>> In the light of recent events, I want to make this plea explicit and <br>> widely distributed:<br>> <a href="http://www.metaverseink.com/blog/?p=30" target="_blank">http://www.metaverseink.com/blog/?p=30</a><br>
> <br>> No need to panic, the project is not in danger. But it became clear to <br>> me that we need to raise awareness of this issue, so that people in this <br>> community stop and think before they file patents to please investors <br>
> and managers.<br>> _______________________________________________<br>> Opensim-dev mailing list<br>> <a href="mailto:Opensim-dev@lists.berlios.de" target="_blank">Opensim-dev@lists.berlios.de</a><br>> <a href="https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev" target="_blank">https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev</a><br>
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