IP law: undemocratic, totalitarian, and unethical
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 30th Jun 2012 19:34 UTC
Legal Yesterday, we were treated to another preliminary injunction on a product due to patent trolling. Over the past few years, some companies have resorted to patent trolling instead of competing on merit, using frivolous and obvious software and design patents to block competitors - even though this obviously shouldn't be legal. The fact that this is, in fact, legal, is baffling, and up until a few months ago, a regular topic here on OSNews. At some point - I stopped reporting on the matter. The reason for this is simple: I realised that intellectual property law exists outside of regular democratic processes and is, in fact, wholly and utterly totalitarian. What's the point in reporting on something we can't change via legal means?
E-mail Print r 20   · Read More · 91 Comment(s) http://osne.ws/k62
Thread beginning with comment 524706
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
RE[7]: not a ptatent troll
by Thom_Holwerda on Sun 1st Jul 2012 20:22 UTC in reply to "RE[6]: not a ptatent troll"
Thom_Holwerda
Member since:
2005-06-29

It has a pretty specific, non-legal, meaning


It does not, and you give proof of this in your own comment:

Interestingly I googled Apple Patent Troll and the *ONLY* references I found for Apple being a patent troll were sites that were clearly Android biased using it.


Just because you disagree with those sites does not mean you get to ignore the fact that the term is routinely and often used in the way that it's been used here. Language doesn't work that way.

Edited 2012-07-01 20:22 UTC

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE[8]: not a ptatent troll
by darcysmith on Sun 1st Jul 2012 23:23 in reply to "RE[7]: not a ptatent troll"
darcysmith Member since:
2006-04-12

It isn't a matter of my disagreeing with the sites or not. It is a matter of they are the only ones that I have ever seen the words Patent Troll used that way, for any company.

Reply Parent Score: 1

RE[9]: not a ptatent troll
by Bennie on Tue 3rd Jul 2012 04:51 in reply to "RE[8]: not a ptatent troll"
Bennie Member since:
2012-06-14

It's all about a company which is using patents to troll their competitors.
Or do you think these patents, like rounded corners, slide to unlock etc. are in fact such precious inventions they should be patented and used to block sales of competitors products?

Reply Parent Score: 2