NTP Keeps On Making The Case For Patent Reform As It Sues More Companies

from the milking-it dept

Fri, Jul 9th 2010 1:02pm — Mike Masnick

NTP, a patent holding firm that is really just a bunch of lawyers with incredibly broad and questionable patents, is at it again. As you probably know, NTP was locked in a long and contentious patent fight with RIM over NTP's claimed patents covering the concept of mobile email. Even as the US Patent Office was telling the world that NTP's patents almost certainly weren't valid, pressure from investors (and the judge in the case who refused to wait for the Patent Office's final rejection of the patents) resulted in RIM settling the case for $612.5 million. For RIM, it became something of a no brainer. Even though its legal position was strong, its investors were killing the company over the uncertainty (there were threats that the judge could issue an injunction shutting down the entire Blackberry network). Settling the case helped RIM's stock price jump up (increasing its market cap more than the cost of the settlement).

But, from a legal perspective, the lawsuit and the end result became the centerpiece of attention for efforts at patent reform. While I still think that the patent reform process in Congress has been misguided and the end result probably a lot more damaging than helpful, many of the politicians involved will point to the RIM-NTP case as evidence of the problems with the patent system. You might think, then, that NTP's investors might sit back and enjoy the spoils of the RIM settlement, but the company quickly went back out and sued all the major mobile operators in the US for violating its patents. However, judges in those other suits said (unlike the judge in the RIM case) that those trials should wait until the Patent Office has made a final decision on the validity of NTP's ridiculously overbroad patents.

However, NTP is not waiting around. It's now suing again. This time, rather than the mobile operators, it's going after device makers and platform vendors, suing Apple, Google, Microsoft, HTC, LG and Motorola. Basically, it appears that NTP has decided that if anyone does email on a phone, they have to pay NTP.

There might not be a better example of how incredibly screwed up the patent system is than this. NTP was involved in an attempt to do mobile email ages ago (and it wasn't the first actually... but NTP paid off some folks who had prior art). The idea itself wasn't new or all that innovative, and the timing was off, so NTP failed. In a functioning free market, that's a good thing. If a company can't execute, it should fail. Unfortunately, thanks to a ridiculously overbroad patent award, NTP has been able to live on as a bunch of lawyers suing any company that does figure out how to execute.

Perhaps the only good thing coming out of this is that it may help draw more attention to just how broken the patent system is.

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Filed Under: email, mobile phones, patent reform, patents
Companies: apple, google, htc, lg, microsoft, motorola, ntp, rim

39 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 1:41pm

Maybe Congress should consider a Compulsory Patent Royalty Rate.
This would fix NTP's problem of having to hire lawyers to do the job of bill collectors.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 1:41pm

Maybe Congress should consider a Compulsory Patent Royalty Rate.
This would fix NTP's problem of having to hire lawyers to do the job of bill collectors.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 1:50pm

its friday, lets fill the site with patent pinatas for the faithful to hit.

no news here, just the same old gripes over and over again.
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coldbrew, 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:01pm

Somehow I missed the specifics in NTP vs RIMM, and I actually thought the patent had merit in the eyes of the courts. None of the other coverage I read today mentioned that, so thanks.

O/T
Masnick: Is there any chance TD could start putting word-slugs and dates in the URLs for each post rather than these number strings? It makes it much easier to tell which post (and from what time frame) you are referencing w/o clicking through? Just thought I'd add a new "gripe" to the non-news-Friday :)
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ScaredOfTheMan, 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:13pm

Where did all the trolls come from
I've noticed a trend here. Every time you post in the last few months, at least a few of the comments (usually Anon Coward) come out with these silly comments, is it a focused effort? Are they all from the same IP Address?
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:15pm

Re: Where did all the trolls come from
the comments arent silly and yes they are from one ip address.

you see, the stories that are here on the front page will be stuck her until monday, because mike hasnt figured out that the internet runs 7 days a week. so rather than cue up stories to roll out over the weekend, he piles up a bunch of stuff (usually techdirt pinatas that the faithful can swing at happily for the weekend) and things are done.

he has a double urge this week to post a lot, because he needs about 7 more posts to push that embarrassing story about kenya off the front page. we wont want to talk about forgetting to mention someone is from the pirate party. the sooner that one sails off of page 1, the happier mike will be.
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Ccomp5950 (profile), 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:16pm

Re:
don't you have a bridge to sit under?
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:22pm

Re: Re:
sorry,but your momma moved in and kicked me out.
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jjmsan (profile), 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:25pm

Re: Re: Re:
Thus improving the real estate prices for the whole neighborhood.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:27pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Turn around, FTW!
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jjmsan (profile), 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:30pm

Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
You are right, they are not silly comments. They are badly punctuated, ill thought out, attention seeking, uneducated,and boring, but they are not silly.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:37pm

Re: Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
Your comment that his comments are not silly is silly....and now I have a headache....
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:46pm

Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
[Citation Please]
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bob, 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:53pm

Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
You know this, how?
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 2:57pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
being friday, nothing is silly. except for the silly things.
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coldbrew, 9 Jul 2010 @ 3:03pm

Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
Seriously though, you are always one of the first to comment. It's like you are obsessed, and you believe that by making some poorly formated, usually tangential, and always contrarian comment, you will somehow change the minds of some of us.

Masnick's posts usually demonstrate the logic being used and point to 3rd party sources to back up the claims being made. If you are so certain of your position(s), you should simply start your own blog where you can set the record straight. If using Wordpress or Blogger (both free) is too much, at least try to substantiate your argument to some extent.

he needs about 7 more posts to push that embarrassing story about kenya [sic] off the front page.

See? How the hell do you know? Why would he publish if he were embarrassed? You don't make any sense. If there aren't 7 more posts before the weekend will you retract your accusation? Have you ever been wrong in your entire life?
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 3:06pm

Re:
And the TAM show continues to entertain. Please don't stop, I'd be bored without you.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 3:13pm

Re:
It's Friday which means you have nothing better to contribute.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 3:18pm

Re: Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
It's Friday, he's on crack. What do you expect.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 3:57pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
OD, eventually.
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abc gum, 9 Jul 2010 @ 5:14pm

Re:
"Somehow I missed the specifics in NTP vs RIMM"

Where've you been - freeze dried or on Mars ?

"I actually thought the patent had merit in the eyes of the courts"

Courts do not have eyes, justice is supposed to be blind.

NTP are leeches upon society. It would be nice if they could be removed.
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abc gum, 9 Jul 2010 @ 5:18pm

Re: Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
I think the lowercase coward is a washed up lobbist/marketing whore who is clinging to the last threads of a worthless career that brought no satisfaction or sense of accomplishment.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 6:27pm

Re:
If it isn't news, perhaps you should tell the hundreds of other sites, including mainstream media outlets, to stop writing about NTP's patent trolling.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 6:29pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
Actually, it's probably more likely that TAM is some sort of failed inventor/musician/artist/etc. who is upset that the government won't provide enough copyright welfare for him.
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angry dude, 9 Jul 2010 @ 7:10pm

gosh, masnik at it again
clicked on techdirt, got some on me...
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2010 @ 7:32pm

Re: gosh, masnik at it again
Before publishing yet another tirade such as the article here, if one does want to figure out where things stand with these various patents held by NTP it would help to actually read the published opinions to date.

Final decisions rendered by the BPAI (some affirm, some reverse, etc.) can be found at:

http://des.uspto.gov/Foia/DispatchBPAIServlet?Objtype=inv&SearchId=NTP&SearchRng=decD t&txtInput_StartDate=&txtInput_EndDate=&docTextSearch=&page=60

Obviously, the next step is a trip over to the CAFC by both the USPTO and the BPAI. Given the complex set of facts that underlie all of the decisions by the BPAI, I daresay that the final determination regarding the validity of these patents is well into the future.

If these patents were as easy and obvious as so many here seem inclined to opine upon, then perhaps reading the decisions will serve to demonstrate that things are seldom what they seem, particularly when it comes to analyses of inventions pursuant to 102, 103 and 112.
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Josef, 10 Jul 2010 @ 1:47am

I was wondering....
Now that NTP is going after anyone who facilitates mobile data (email), it's certain that their patent will be reviewed and a determination on it's validity will be made.

If the patent is valid then there will probably be a HUGE payout for NTP, but I was wondering what happens if the patent is invalid. Will RIM be able to go after NTP for damages?
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The Dixter, 10 Jul 2010 @ 2:54am

Dell, IBM, and HP Are Next
This is truly obtuse. A mobile device consists of a "modem" which transmits and receives data, and a "processor" which provides applications for the user. Sound familiar?

It's a PC, basically. And all of your laptops are more mobile than ever. And they all do email.

No joke guys. A smart phone is the same. Linux (Android) and FreeBSD (iPhone) are real operating systems just like Windows. And the architecture is little different from a Built-In Wifi, or Built-In Cellular Connection on your cute little netbook.

Make no mistake. If Motorola, HTC, and others are stupid enough to tolerate this behavior, NTP will rule the world. These idiots plan to sue us all; we need some massive lawsuits against NTP for harassment.
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abc gum, 10 Jul 2010 @ 8:38am

Re: Re: gosh, masnik at it again
Rather than go on and on about a particular patent case, why not rationalize the existence of software patents ?
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TtfnJohn (profile), 10 Jul 2010 @ 9:17am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
Then he should move to Canada and apply for a Canada Council grant. See? Easy!
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TtfnJohn (profile), 10 Jul 2010 @ 9:21am

Re: Dell, IBM, and HP Are Next
Why bother with PCs when mainframes are still out there? And they do email,too!

Whoops, won't work cause they did email before PC's crawled out of Altair.
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Hephaestus (profile), 10 Jul 2010 @ 1:46pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Walter Tango Foxtrot ???
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Derek Kerton (profile), 10 Jul 2010 @ 2:31pm

Re: Re: Where did all the trolls come from
"the sooner that one sails off of page 1, the happier mike will be."

Yeah! If only there were a way that Masnick, owner of the site, editor, main writer, CEO of Floor64, could remove a story from the site, then he would surely do it...But, obviously he cannot, thus we shall mock him with the certainty that he is embarrassed but impotent to hide his shame.

On a scale of 0-100 I rate your logic as: tofu.
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Derek Kerton (profile), 10 Jul 2010 @ 2:32pm

Re: I was wondering....
Part of that settlement was that RIM would not.
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Gene Cavanaugh (profile), 10 Jul 2010 @ 10:06pm

NTP patents
Right on, Mike! Even though I am a "patent" (IP) attorney, I agree with you completely. I think the patent system is badly broken; though it would be a good thing, if done as the founding fathers intended (in fact, that is why it is enabled in the Constitution; the founding fathers knew what had happened without it).
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2010 @ 5:54am

Re:
TAM Wormtongue speak with forked tongue!
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Narcuru (profile), 12 Jul 2010 @ 12:29pm

Re: Techdirt Urls
Actually they do put the dates in the urls, they are just in an odd manner. Take today's url: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100709/11531110156.shtml the first set of numbers are the date: 2010 07 09 (year month day). I do however agree with you in adding "word slugs" (I didnt know this was an actual term?) instead of the number counter (the second string of numbers) would be beneficial.
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staff, 12 Jul 2010 @ 1:14pm

Patent reform is a fraud
"NTP, a patent holding firm that is really just a bunch of lawyers with incredibly broad and questionable patents..."

definition of "questionable patents":
patents owned by firms other than the ones that pay you to write these lies.

Patent reform is a fraud on America. It is patently un-American.
Please see http://truereform.piausa.org/ for a different/opposing view on patent reform.
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staff, 12 Jul 2010 @ 1:39pm

big company bail out
Patent Reform...it's the new big company bail out

Patent reform is a fraud on America. It is patently un-American.
Please see http://truereform.piausa.org/ for a different/opposing view on patent reform.
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