Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 26th Dec 2008 20:00 UTC
Large multinational software companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google, rarely - if ever - initiate patent infringement lawsuits against other software companies, probably because they themselves infringe on lots of patents too. However, they do get sued themselves by smaller companies. Even though the Christian part of the world is all about forgiveness and love and pink ponies during the holidays (or, at least, they ought to be), Apple, Google, and Microsoft have been struck by a patent infringement lawsuit started by Cygnus Systems.
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Member since:2005-06-29
Indeed. Part of the quoted patent seems to describe the "thumbs.db" file used in Windows operating systems from well before 2001 to store thumbnail data. I'm not normally one to be on Microsoft's side, but Ballmer and Co. should be able to crush these trolls like the roaches they are just with that little bit of prior art.
Member since:2006-12-05
Indeed. Part of the quoted patent seems to describe the "thumbs.db" file used in Windows operating systems from well before 2001 to store thumbnail data. I'm not normally one to be on Microsoft's side, but Ballmer and Co. should be able to crush these trolls like the roaches they are just with that little bit of prior art.
*Cringes*
Man... I *HATED* those files... one of the first "features" I disabled on every fresh install of XP, before Windows had a chance to populate any folder I just *viewed* with that junk. That thumbs.db file is about as viral as you can get. :|
Anyway... hopefully this patent troll loses and doesn't get a damn thing.
Member since:2008-12-28
This is getting ridiculous.
What is getting ridiculous? The fact that all these "trolls" are appearing, or the fact that this does not look like a troll at all and still is (I think misleadingly) referred to as a troll?
Look e.g. at Patently-O writer, Dennis Crouch, who puts out a working definition of a patent troll. "The patent troll waits for others to independently develop the patented technology into useful products and to create a market for those products."
By "waits for others..." normally is meant that the troll is a "non-practising entity", i.e it does not use the inventions itself. Often the patent rtoll definition referes also to comanies that purchase patents cheap with the sole purpose of suing for big money.
I cannot see that Cygnus fits into this category at all?
Member since:2007-03-07
If nothing else, this falls under the "trivial and obvious" category. As I said, I was doing this in 1996. It's an incredibly simple and obvious concept, and the code implementation is also simple. This is one of the worst cases of software patent trolling I have ever seen.
Member since:
2006-01-06
This is getting ridiculous.