Paul Allen sues Apple, Google, much of tech industry

[Newsjock]

Source: Seattle Times

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen today filed a lawsuit against many of the biggest names in tech, alleging they're infringing on patents obtained by Interval Research, a venture Allen and Xerox veteran David Liddle started in Seattle in 1992.

Interval's research generated about 300 patents, four of which are the basis of the suit. The group operated in Palo Alto, growing to more than 100 researchers, until it was shuttered in 2000.

Named as defendents are Apple, Google, Facebook, eBay, AOL, Netflix, Yahoo, Google's YouTube, OfficeMax, Office Depot and Staples.

If Allen's successful, he could go after additional companies, seeking royalties for Interval patents that touch on much of the current Web experience.

One of the patents in the suit lays claim to the concept of automatically showing related information on a Web site, so people viewing a news story online could be presented with related stories, for instance.

Read more: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/technologybrierdudleysblog/2012740051_paul_allen_sues_apple_google_m.html

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Alternate headline: Paul is bored.

:think:

[BootinUp]

2. Without reading the article, I hope he loses

I don't think showing related information on a web page should be a patentable. Sorry, I just don't, you aren't going to change my mind. (not that anyone cares what I think)

[JDPriestly]

4. So we should blame Paul Allen for all those ugly, distracting ads

on the internet. I hate them. I don't buy products unless they are on my shopping list. I don't have the money to waste on impulse purchases. So keep your ads off my internet. I will not buy your products.

[SpiralHawk]

6. not that anyone cares what SpiralHawk thinks

RELATED INFO:
not that anyone cares what Smitty thinks
not that anyone cares what Suzy thinks
not that anyone cares what Spiro thinks
not that anyone cares what Sandy thinks
not that anyone cares what Schmozo thinks
not that anyone cares what Spunky thinks
not that anyone cares what SpagettiHead thinks
not that anyone cares what Smernock thinks
not that anyone cares what Scuzzball thinks
not that anyone cares what SubEater thinks
not that anyone cares what Smitty thinks
not that anyone cares what Skonkoid thinks

[BootinUp]

17. *chuckle*

:)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. Yeah, there's no way it should be patentable.

It's only a series of tubes.

[tkmorris]

12. I think the point

is that there is nothing particularly innovative about it, at least not in the general sense. Now if it can be shown that Allen et al invented a methodology of doing so that was truly a new approach, and that Google for example mimicked it, they might have a case. I see nothing in a cursory examination that implies this is the case.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. It's implied that Paul Allen et Al. had a patent.

Implying there was something written up and approved of by the U.S. Patent Office. Implying it was probably a little more than just recommending something.

[BootinUp]

18. The U.S. Patent Office is infallible?

I am not sure I understand your point.

[No Elephants]

10. He probably claims a patent in specific computer code that causes

related content to appear, not in the idea that related info should appear. What you can or cannot patent is pretty specific; and you can neither copyright nor patent an idea.

[BootinUp]

19. If that is the case I withdraw my complaint. :-)

[alfredo]

22. As Emily Litella says "Never Mind."

[paulkienitz]

15. At least half of software patents should not be considered patentable

Wasn't there a story a few years ago about somebody managing to get a patent on the wheel, because the patent office does so little checking of patentworthiness?

Wait, that was in Australia, but I doubt the US situation is all that different.

On a related note, there's probably no way TimeWarner could defend their copyright on "Happy Birthday" if someone actually took them to court over it, but nobody has enough reason to justify how much it costs, so they own it until 2030.

[BootinUp]

20. Just reading the news, the impression I get

is that patents on software have been abused to include ideas or art or presentation not just specific methodologies.

[superconnected]

3. So today we've learned Bill Gates and Paul Allen are evil

Bill Gates helping Monsanto take over the continent of Africa.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9027305

And we already knew Steve Jobs is evil from earlier this week
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9006416

So buying an Apple won't help in not supporting this crap. Let's hope Allen loses so all kinds of internet features aren't either going away or turned into a law suit for simply using their idea on our sites.

[greiner3]

5. Paul Allen;

Soon to be the richest person and country, in the world.

[PfcHammer]

8. "Showing related information"

:rofl:

[qb]

9. He needs to sue every book & mag publisher that puts "Further Reading..." after articles.

:sarcasm:

[No Elephants]

11. Please see Reply 10.

[Posteritatis]

14. I love how people wait ten or twenty years before filing these kinds of suits

That sort of thing really should invalidate the patents, since they're demonstrably uninterested in defending them.

[ixion]

16. This is like when Amazon tried to enforce their patent on (what amounted to) a hyperlink

It didn't work out well for them.

[Richard Steele]

21. Paul Allen should suck a candy bar out of my ass and choke on it.

Dude has some seriously fucked-up priorities, in my opinion.

[BlueIdaho]

23. Demands exclusivity of blue screen of death. nt.

[superconnected]

25. He can have that one - only he should have to pay us when it happens.

[hunter]

24. I'm going to patent a program that writes random patents...

It will automatically generate text streams that sound like plausible patents. They'll look something like this:

United States Patent 6034652

An attention manager presents information to a person in the vicinity of a display device in a manner that engages at least the peripheral attention of the person. The information is embodied by one or more sets of content data (e.g., video or audio data). Each set of content data is formulated by a content provider and made available for use by content display systems. Upon appropriate activation, each content display system displays images corresponding to the sets of content data in accordance with predetermined scheduling information. The attention manager makes use of "unused capacity" of the display device and the person's attention, providing information to the person that the person might not otherwise expend adequate energy to obtain. The attention manager also affords an opportunity to content providers to disseminate their information to people that are interested in receiving such information, enabling the content providers to provide better directed information dissemination, as well as providing access to the previously unused attention capacity of those interested people.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6034652.html

Later I'll make money suing people who infringe upon my machine written patents.

[KurtNYC]

26. Well... I'm going to Trademark the term "Patent Troll" and then

tell Paul Allen he can't be one any more.

How sad for Allen to end up as a Patent Troll (tm)

[area51]

27. We all knew this would happen.

If you read here. :evilgrin:

[Odin2005]

28. That scumbucket!