Early Mobile Internet Company That Failed To Adapt Becomes Patent Troll

from the failed-companies-litigate dept

Wed, Apr 18th 2012 7:55pm — Mike Masnick

We've seen it all too often: some companies are perhaps ahead of their time, and they fail in the marketplace, so they turn into patent trolls, making sure everyone who succeeds has to pay up. It's difficult to see how that promotes innovation in any way, as it appears to be rewarding failure in the marketplace, while punishing success. Either way, the latest company to go down this sad route is the former Openwave, which has sold off its remaining businesses, with the intent of being a full time patent troll, under the name Unwired Planet (the company's original name back in 1996 before it became Openwave -- one of a series of names it had, including Software.com, Phone.com and Libris).

Some of you may remember Openwave as a company that helped get WAP browsers on lots of phones, and sold services and WAP gateways back in the early days of the mobile internet. Of course, Openwave then failed to innovate, failed to keep up with the changing market, and became pretty obsolete. But rather than just go out of business, it's gone full-on patent troll. Amusingly, the company is pitching this as "a major milestone." Yes, it's a "milestone" that instead of just failing and shutting down, you're now going to shake down other more innovative companies.

CEO Mike Mulica said in the company's announcement that the sale to Marlin marked a "major milestone" in its new corporate strategy. Mulica has been a major driver of the patent initiative since he took his post last October.

"As we complete the sale of our product businesses, we will continue to focus on a multi-pronged strategy to realize the value of our unique patent portfolio," Mulica said.

The company already started down this road last year by suing both Apple and RIM -- but it sounds like such activities are going to expand.

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Filed Under: troll, wap, wireless internet
Companies: apple, openwave, rim, unwired planet

10 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 18 Apr 2012 @ 9:31pm

"major milestone"
they misspelled millstone
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Ed C., 18 Apr 2012 @ 9:35pm

The new Imaginary Product strategy
Who needs an innovative product to create a profitable business, or even employees, when you can just sue others who do for patent infringement!
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Pixelation, 18 Apr 2012 @ 11:01pm

"we will continue to focus on a multi-pronged strategy"

Think, pitchfork.
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Paul Cz, 19 Apr 2012 @ 2:06am

Millstone
I think they got it right the first time.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Apr 2012 @ 3:44am

Screw innovation, the extortion business is far more profitable!
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TtfnJohn (profile), 19 Apr 2012 @ 8:17am

It's getting very crowded under that old patent troll bridge, isn't it? Between the cobwebs and moss, not to mention the rapidly filling outhouses the smell must be wonderful, too. Of course, trolls actually are nourished by bad smells so that doesn't bother them one little bit.
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Baldaur Regis (profile), 19 Apr 2012 @ 8:51am

Re:
...trolls actually are nourished by bad smells...and the tears of small children - or is that ogres? I forget...

In the press release announcing Mulica's elevation to CEO, this gem popped out:
Openwave Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: OPWV) is a global software innovator and the inventor of the mobile internet.
Wow. This one little company invented the entire mobile internet. They deserve everything that's coming to them: Death by a million LOLs.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Apr 2012 @ 6:40pm

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MR, 23 Apr 2012 @ 6:40am

hey mike ... your article garnered little success here. can i copy your article, add 1 extra paragraph and sell it to the new york times. if i did, would you have the right to sue me for plagiarizing your work. thats exactly what these companies are doing to opwv work.

ps. over 20 years ago, apple and steve jobs was in the same position opwv is in now
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patent litigation, 27 Apr 2012 @ 5:17am

npes
Although I recognize the inefficiency problem that the patent troll business model creates within the economy, nevertheless the NPE model is profitable, effective, and a legal exercise of IP rights. The problem is a systemic one; when NPEs win, on average, two to three times the damage awards that practicing entities reap from patent litigation, you can't blame them for suing as much as possible. It seems to me that one of the best ways to combat the NPE problem is to disincentivize them by reducing their potential winnings from enforcement action. So far, however, only a few courts seem to have taken the reasonable-royalty approach.
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