I'm all on minecraft's side.. but dude the title was biased. You mentioned 'obscure' in the title instead of detailing why it was so within the article itself. That in itself puts the other side in a negative light before the reader gets all the info.
I'm no expert on patents and patent trolls.. So I'll wait until more news comes in before freaking out. Knowing how the last lawsuit went though it'll be a couple of months to years before it's sorted.
So,they are suing Mojang just so they can have more money?What a bunch of greedy bastards,I mean it.What did Mojang infringe exactly?Dumb ****s
If I was you I'd read the post to see
As I know most of you hate them already heres more reason why to
Quote from Wikipedia
Uniloc has sued 73 companies over violating its patent. 25 of those companies have settled according to Uniloc. [7]
Uniloc sued Microsoft in 2003 for violating its patent relating to technology designed to deter software piracy. In 2006, US District Judge William Smithruled in favour of Microsoft, but an appeals court overturned his decision, saying there was a "genuine issue of material fact" and that he should not have ruled on the case without hearing from a jury.[8] On April 8, 2009 a Rhode Island jury found Microsoft had violated the patent and told Microsoft to pay Uniloc $388 million in damages.[9] After this success, Uniloc filed new patent infringement suits against Sony America, McAfee, Activision, Quark, Borland Software and Aspyr Media.[10]
The decision against Microsoft was subsequently overturned on September 29, 2009 when Judge Smith "vacated" the jury's verdict and ruled in favour of Microsoft again, saying the jury "lacked a grasp of the issues before it and reached a finding without a legally sufficient basis".[11]Uniloc appealed the judge's decision, alleging bias and in 2011 the guilty verdict was reinstated against Microsoft. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said that instead of using the usual "25 per cent rule", the damage awards for infringement would need to be recalculated.[12]
in tl;dr form Uniloc sue every company for their patent and has won 1/3 of all cases (out of 73)
When Uniloc sued Microsoft, Microsoft first won, Uniloc appealed and won, then Another appeal made Microsoft win and then again Uniloc appealed and won.
In other words, Uniloc is needing some lunch money.
Well, I read over the lawsuit, added everything up, and this is what I believe - This "Uniloc" company have either got this wrong, are just bastards who want money, or are seriously pissed that a game is using an idea that they came up with to protect a very expensive game with thousands of players, that JUST SO HAPPENS to have similarities to something they made. This is completely unfair, and I believe that any impartial judge will not find any fault on the part of Mojang - If anything, there is the possibility that Uniloc will be forced to pay Mojang for taking them to court over a false accusation, and then causing all this fuss, wasting the time of a Judge, a Jury and game developers with work to do. This should, hopefully, go somewhat the same way as the Bethesda vs Mojang case did. Here's hoping Notch and Mojang pull through.
"Mojang is directly infringing one or more claims of the ’067 patent in this judicial
district and elsewhere in Texas, including at least claim 107, without the consent or authorization
of Uniloc, by or through making, using, offering for sale, selling and/or importing Android based
applications for use on cellular phones and/or tablet devices that require communication with a
server to perform a license check to prevent the unauthorized use of said application, including,
but not limited to, Mindcraft. "
So you can't torrent "Mindcraft" on the android in texas. Seems legit.
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In reality, there's no such thing as a "patent troll"...it's just the way patent laws work. I work for a company that was recently awarded a patent just as obscure as this one, but what the news reports don't tell the public is that it was applied for in 2002, when the technology really didn't exist (has to do with smart phones...think on that one). It's very possible that Uniloc applied for this patent long ago, and was just now awarded. Patents are backdated to the application date.
The next problem with patent laws is that in order to keep the patent, you must enforce it. If another company is in any way/shape/form using a technology described in your patent (no matter how obscure) they must purchase a license from the patent holder. Again, another problem with patent laws is that you cant just mail up a company and say "hey, we have a patent on this now, you need to buy a license". No, you are required to file an official suit in court, per patent law. Since law suits and court documentation are public, the media likes to spin things out of control, and leave out important information, like the original application date.
Again, no such thing as "patent trolls", they are required by law to file suits to enforce their patent, otherwise they'll lose it.
And this is why the justice system is so messed up.
Justice is not blind, it is colorblind to all colors except green. And to everyone calling uniloc shitheads and whatnot, it's the way things (unfortunately) work. Uniloc probably gets all its income from suing. The CEO wanted an extra 1.5 mil bonus, so he decided to sue a crapload of companies.
And this is why the justice system is so messed up.
Justice is not blind, it is colorblind to all colors except green. And to everyone calling uniloc shitheads and whatnot, it's the way things (unfortunately) work. Uniloc probably gets all its income from suing. The CEO wanted an extra 1.5 mil bonus, so he decided to sue a crapload of companies.
Uniloc is suing everyone, just because they strengthened their game's security?!
Hey Ric! Why don't you go get hit by a Space Shuttle?
Why would you tell Ric Richardson to go get hit by a space shuttle when he isnt suing, plus he is an inventor. If you were an inventor, you wouldn't want your stuff blatantly stolen. He is coming from a perspective you cannot understand. While I don't agree with the reason why uniloc is suing, I don't think Ric should be regarded with such disdain because he is saying that you have the right to sue someone who is using your patent. It's just the way things work. Don't be such a **** to people.
When you give someone a way to protect their ideas and don't make clear rules on how to use it, and then give a punishment to infringements of said method as payment to the original person/organization, they're going to think that the payment is a reward/incentive for money-making, exploit that and bend the rules a little bit.
I'm sure copyright has similar issues, as they both protect something, but not nearly as bad as these, for copyright protects actual works, not ways to do things. I know the patent and copyright systems were made to protect works and to encourage making of works, but now it's doing exactly what it tried to avoid.
Also: Mindcraft? Majong? I'm sure those'll probably be ignored as clerical errors and not be found as legitimate issues. I still find it hilarious that Uniloc didn't proofread, though. XP
Anyway:
A system and method are provided for preventing unauthorized access to electronic data stored on an electronic device.
Trying to monopolize the firewall just isn't going to do it. I'm going to both laugh and cry if these guys actually win the suit.
Again, the whole problem with software patents:
In modern usage, the term patent usually refers to the right granted to anyone who invents any new, useful, and non-obvious process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter.
Software patent does not have a universally accepted definition.
U.S. patent law consistently excludes "abstract ideas", and further case law has established that software is not excluded in the use because it is abstract but as far as it is abstract, a rule that is admittedly still not very clear.
~Wikipedia
1. The patent system itself makes sense, but as soon as you throw a computer into the mix, nothing works. Nothing makes sense.
2. This is just plain obvious. The first quote as stated in the patent basically defined firewall, and they WON against MICROSOFT because of it!?! WTF?
These guys (hopefully) shouldn't stand a chance against Mojang. If Mojang managed to tie with Bethesda in that lawsuit, they shouldn't have much trouble with these trolls.
Just my opinion on the matter. Feel free to disagree, but I'm with Mojang, despite Uniloc having some victories under their belt.
Look at Ric's Uncyclopedia page.
On a serious note, this idiot will get nothing from the companies he's suing currently, and he'll go out of buisness when they sue him for abuse of process, among other things. Nobody can afford to lose against Mojang, EA, and Square Enix at the same time and then get sued by them. Nobody can.
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What does the US government have to do with the Internet?
And how do any of those bills allow the US government to sue a company for use of the internet to check a patent?
I'm no expert on patents and patent trolls.. So I'll wait until more news comes in before freaking out. Knowing how the last lawsuit went though it'll be a couple of months to years before it's sorted.
If I was you I'd read the post to see
As I know most of you hate them already heres more reason why to
Quote from Wikipedia
in tl;dr form Uniloc sue every company for their patent and has won 1/3 of all cases (out of 73)
When Uniloc sued Microsoft, Microsoft first won, Uniloc appealed and won, then Another appeal made Microsoft win and then again Uniloc appealed and won.
In other words, Uniloc is needing some lunch money.
district and elsewhere in Texas, including at least claim 107, without the consent or authorization
of Uniloc, by or through making, using, offering for sale, selling and/or importing Android based
applications for use on cellular phones and/or tablet devices that require communication with a
server to perform a license check to prevent the unauthorized use of said application, including,
but not limited to, Mindcraft. "
So you can't torrent "Mindcraft" on the android in texas. Seems legit.
The next problem with patent laws is that in order to keep the patent, you must enforce it. If another company is in any way/shape/form using a technology described in your patent (no matter how obscure) they must purchase a license from the patent holder. Again, another problem with patent laws is that you cant just mail up a company and say "hey, we have a patent on this now, you need to buy a license". No, you are required to file an official suit in court, per patent law. Since law suits and court documentation are public, the media likes to spin things out of control, and leave out important information, like the original application date.
Again, no such thing as "patent trolls", they are required by law to file suits to enforce their patent, otherwise they'll lose it.
Don't feed this troll, let it rot in a pit.
Justice is not blind, it is colorblind to all colors except green. And to everyone calling uniloc shitheads and whatnot, it's the way things (unfortunately) work. Uniloc probably gets all its income from suing. The CEO wanted an extra 1.5 mil bonus, so he decided to sue a crapload of companies.
Patents are worldwide, not just in one country. Except in Japan, where there's fake apple stores all over the place and no one gets sued.
Justice is not blind, it is colorblind to all colors except green. And to everyone calling uniloc shitheads and whatnot, it's the way things (unfortunately) work. Uniloc probably gets all its income from suing. The CEO wanted an extra 1.5 mil bonus, so he decided to sue a crapload of companies.
Why would you tell Ric Richardson to go get hit by a space shuttle when he isnt suing, plus he is an inventor. If you were an inventor, you wouldn't want your stuff blatantly stolen. He is coming from a perspective you cannot understand. While I don't agree with the reason why uniloc is suing, I don't think Ric should be regarded with such disdain because he is saying that you have the right to sue someone who is using your patent. It's just the way things work. Don't be such a **** to people.
When you give someone a way to protect their ideas and don't make clear rules on how to use it, and then give a punishment to infringements of said method as payment to the original person/organization, they're going to think that the payment is a reward/incentive for money-making, exploit that and bend the rules a little bit.
I'm sure copyright has similar issues, as they both protect something, but not nearly as bad as these, for copyright protects actual works, not ways to do things. I know the patent and copyright systems were made to protect works and to encourage making of works, but now it's doing exactly what it tried to avoid.
Also: Mindcraft? Majong? I'm sure those'll probably be ignored as clerical errors and not be found as legitimate issues. I still find it hilarious that Uniloc didn't proofread, though. XP
Anyway:
Trying to monopolize the firewall just isn't going to do it. I'm going to both laugh and cry if these guys actually win the suit.
Again, the whole problem with software patents:
1. The patent system itself makes sense, but as soon as you throw a computer into the mix, nothing works. Nothing makes sense.
2. This is just plain obvious. The first quote as stated in the patent basically defined firewall, and they WON against MICROSOFT because of it!?! WTF?
These guys (hopefully) shouldn't stand a chance against Mojang. If Mojang managed to tie with Bethesda in that lawsuit, they shouldn't have much trouble with these trolls.
Just my opinion on the matter. Feel free to disagree, but I'm with Mojang, despite Uniloc having some victories under their belt.
On a serious note, this idiot will get nothing from the companies he's suing currently, and he'll go out of buisness when they sue him for abuse of process, among other things. Nobody can afford to lose against Mojang, EA, and Square Enix at the same time and then get sued by them. Nobody can.
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they didn't even spell Minecraft right.
sounds like bs to me.