Is Paul Allen's Patent Madness Really An Attempt To Show The Madness Of Patents?

from the seems-unlikely dept

Mon, Aug 30th 2010 3:16pm — Mike Masnick

Last week, in writing about Paul Allen's decision to sue (nearly) every big tech company south of Seattle (notably absent: Microsoft and Amazon), I had seen a few people suggest that maybe Allen was doing this to prove how ridiculous the patent system is. Larry Downes is now exploring that option in a blog post on his site:

Maybe Allen is not the world's most famous patent troll. Maybe he's out to become the world's most famous patent reformer. Maybe he doesn't want so much to win as to publicize how dangerous his patents are.

Perhaps in asserting these patents, with their potential to unsettle so much of what is taken as settled business practices in the digital economy, he hopes to force leading tech companies and Congress to acknowledge that the system is broken and fix it. If he wins, or even if he just wears down the other side, perhaps he'll demand not financial tribute but actual reform of a system that gives patent holders like him the power to disrupt digital life.

I don't buy it. There are, obviously, lots of ways to go about pushing for patent reform, but dragging a bunch of companies and yourself through the court system seems like one of the least effective ways to go about doing so. Even if it does call attention to ridiculous patents and how they're used to punish companies who actually innovate, the message is so likely to be lost that I would imagine the chance for any such strategy to succeed is outweighed by the far greater likelihood that the strategy will backfire and actually be seen as a reason to support patents.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: patent reform, patents, paul allen
Companies: interval

23 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

AdamR (profile), 30 Aug 2010 @ 2:38pm

" Maybe he's out to become the world's most famous patent reformer. Maybe he doesn't want so much to win as to publicize how dangerous his patents are."

And I have this nice looking rustic bridge with spectacular views of Manhattan and Brooklyn I'm looking to sell cheap!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- DigThatFunk(Scottie V) (profile), 30 Aug 2010 @ 8:46pm
  
  Re:
  And here, I've been searching for JUST such a thing! How much?!?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
cc (profile), 30 Aug 2010 @ 3:31pm

The same argument could be made for Oracle using its Java patents to sue Google for Android. Now, a good conspiracy theorist would see the timing of the two as too good to be a coincidence -- maybe they are working together to get rid of software patents!

I personally think that's BS and there's just a lot of unnecessary lawyering going on in the world.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Jose_X, 2 Sep 2010 @ 1:10pm
  
  Re:
  It now seems almost obvious to me that the opportunist "Microsoft" (aka a group of related savvy businessmen) is trying to leverage trolling, which hurts producers, as much as possible against their competitors. If trolling gets a bad name and is abolished, Microsoft and friends would have gotten the last and largest drinks (get it while the going's good). Afterward, they can forget about their Achilles heal, patent trolls, and they would be in a great position since they produce so many patents and have so much weight to throw around when calling companies up to discuss cross-licensing. Time is of essence also because of the SCOTUS factor and because of the pressure (to their wonderfully yielding monopolistic proprietary software businesses) from open source and supporting companies.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
fluor2 (profile), 30 Aug 2010 @ 3:40pm

Just a warning to Apple and the others
As WinPhone arrives, Microsoft must send this warning as they all meet in the big patent battle in 2040 where they finally decide who actually owns the rights to sue.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- eclecticdave (profile), 31 Aug 2010 @ 5:31am
  
  Re: Just a warning to Apple and the others
  Oh, you were *so close* to a Highlander metaphor there...
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Zacqary Adam Green (profile), 30 Aug 2010 @ 3:49pm

But wait! Hanlon's razor would suggest that he is, in fact, interested in patent reform, but has no idea how stupid this strategy is!

But then Occam's razor suggests that such an explanation is far too complex, so maybe he's just a patent troll.

But then we're assuming malice, which comes into conflict with Hanlon's razor.

My head hurts. Probably because it's full of razors.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2010 @ 3:55pm

Possible but improbable.

Paul Allen is not that guy.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2010 @ 4:04pm

Then again maybe you have discovered the source of SCo's support.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
william (profile), 30 Aug 2010 @ 4:07pm

so far, none of the "better ways" seems to be working at all.

Businesses are not human entities. They don't reason. They don't respond to reason.

The way to cause reform is to hurt Businesses hard enough that they would seek out alternative or reforms.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Peter, 30 Aug 2010 @ 4:14pm

Uh no...
If he was going for patent reform he would not have refrained from suing his friends at Microsoft and Amazon. That is what you do when you are actually going for the dollars, but don't want to harm your buddies/stock holdings.

This is simply a cash grab by an a business dilettante who has failed at nearly everything since leaving Microsoft.

He has lost a pile of cash. This looks like a straight forward cash grab.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Karl (profile), 30 Aug 2010 @ 4:18pm

Uh huh.
Following this logic, ASCAP is the best friend Creative Commons ever had.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
anger-management dude, 30 Aug 2010 @ 4:51pm

Smear Campaign
Allen should sue these despicable low-life punks for libel.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2010 @ 5:00pm

"I would imagine the chance for any such strategy to succeed is outweighed by the far greater likelihood that the strategy will backfire and actually be seen as a reason to support patents. "

How so? How can the strategy possibly encourage anyone, besides the lawyers and patent trolls, to support patents?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2010 @ 6:09pm

If you want patent reform, Sue the government for infringement. :)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
out_of_the_blue, 30 Aug 2010 @ 6:33pm

Downes's idiocy is an attempt to outlaw idiots.
It's amazing the convoluted reasoning that goes into denying the obvious: Paul Allen is a patent troll, plain and simple.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
cpp, 30 Aug 2010 @ 8:33pm

yeah
Sue congressmen for stealing the "web site for political use" invention, senators for swiping your Email in the course of communicating with someone surfing your site".. just sue everyone who matters. The only reason we have the atrocity that we do, is because no one knows the extent to which the system is broken. I'm always met with surprise when I explain what's been patented. Most people still think a patent represents an invention... a quick trip to Google and they usually just drop jaw. So, the one thing that we, the reformists have failed to do, is make the business community at large aware of the gross injustice of the patent system as it stands today. If that's his strategy, it's brilliant. If it's not, hes a fool.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2010 @ 10:14pm
  
  Re: yeah
  I'm gonna sue Al Gore because when he innovated the Internet he stole my invention and then he plagiarized it when he claimed that he invented it without giving me credit.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Esahc (profile), 31 Aug 2010 @ 12:41am

I want to believe . . .

but I just can't.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
staff, 31 Aug 2010 @ 6:47am

it�s still a pig
Just because they call it �reform� doesn�t mean it is. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it�s still a pig.

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.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Mike Masnick (profile), 31 Aug 2010 @ 11:07am
  
  Re: it�s still a pig
  Just because they call it �reform� doesn�t mean it is. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it�s still a pig.
  
  This is indeed true. And despite the multiple times you accuse us of supporting the current reform bill, we have explained to you that we don't support it.
  
  But, simple question: are you claiming that *any* reforms at all are fraud? Are you really suggesting the system is perfect as it?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 2 Sep 2010 @ 10:57am
  
  Re: it�s still a pig
  It is somewhat amusing that the shill who supposedly supports creativity and innovation (but in reality does not) cannot do anything more than repeat the same nonsense over and over.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2010 @ 9:34pm

It could be not his intended goals, but unintentional results. One gotta remember that companies think with their pockets, and if there's enough money being poured down the lawyers to keep all this madness in control...

Honestly, let the patent nuclear armageddon come. Maybe that will finally make everyone who says "patents = innovation" shut up.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]