I'm repeating myself, but in every single one of these patent trolling cases:
Name. And. Shame.
Eileen Shapiro. The headline should be: "FindTheBest destroys 'matchmaking' patent, pushes RICO case against patent troll Eileen Shapiro." (I'm assuming she's not the only one involved, but they've got her name in there.)
Don't let these people hide behind the names of their patent companies. Let them become famous for their malicious greediness.
I wish some enterprising young kids in the tech community could work out a technical or collective solution to the problem of patent trolls. They would be asking for punishment, to be sure. But I bet there are some really cool things that can be done here.
* One naive idea: a subscription-based nonprofit that pools legal expenses and member patent portfolios and fights defensive cases on behalf of startups and small businesses. The more such companies that join, the more formidable its portfolio would become.
* Another naive idea: publish information about patent cases underway in areas of the world that fall outside of the jurisdiction of a court imposing an injunction. I'm guessing this would need to be done by a third party so as not to prejudice the case of the business being sued by the troll, but I'm not a lawyer.
> One naive idea: a subscription-based nonprofit that pools legal expenses and member patent portfolios and fights defensive cases on behalf of startups and small businesses. The more such companies that join, the more formidable its portfolio would become.
Patent portfolios don't work against trolls that don't have any business other than patent extortion.
> Another naive idea: publish information about patent cases underway in areas of the world that fall outside of the jurisdiction of a court imposing an injunction.
The court records are already public. It's the cases that settle that you never hear about, because the trolls demand that you sign an NDA. I don't know that publishing in a different country gets you out of the NDA.
What we really need is to start a PAC to abolish software patents and have everyone contribute money to it, and provide them with lots of "ammunition" (i.e. thousands of testimonials from startup founders explaining how the patent system is ruining everything) to bring to Congress to get this fixed. Note that this isn't the EFF -- they do good work, but they're litigators, not lobbyists. This is a situation where what we really need are lobbyists to push to get the law changed, and grass roots lobbying by individuals to the same end.
How would you legally define "software patent"? If you figure it out, please let the Supreme Court, the CAFC and the USPTO know, because currently nobody really knows.
As for "ammunition", look up the Berkeley Patent Survey [1]. The only damning thing you'll find in there, though, is that entrepreneurs in software on average don't think they present a competitive advantage, so "only" 60% of software startups file for patents. And it's typically because investors ask for them.
Edit: I misremembered... It's actually only 25% of all software startups in the survey, but 67% of VC-backed startups.
Software patent: A patent that can be infringed by executing a software program on a general purpose computer.
> It's actually only 25% of all software startups in the survey, but 67% of VC-backed startups.
Which does tell you something, doesn't it? Unless VC-backed startups are an incredibly small percentage of startups, the patents filed by non-VC-backed startups would have to be significantly smaller than 24% (I assume 25% was a typo, see table on page 1277 of the report). Moreover, given the stark contrast in the numbers, query whether the VCs are interested in patents as patents vs. interested in them as a method for weeding out uncommitted startup founders.
But I'm less concerned about the number of patents software startups are applying for. If nobody was applying for software patents at all, obviously the patent system wouldn't be doing any good there, but it wouldn't really be the strongest call for abolishing them -- no harm no foul, right? The problem isn't (just) the lack of usefulness or cost effectiveness of patents to innovators, it's the harm created by mass producing land mines. Because if software startups aren't getting many software patents, but the number of software patents being issued keeps going up, guess who is.
> Software patent: A patent that can be infringed by executing a software program on a general purpose computer.
Ever wonder why all the jurists all over the world have not stumbled upon such a simple and elegant definition? Herein lies just one problem: your definition of software patents may also include:
- Control systems for automotive, industrial and robotic systems.
- Signal processing methods for digital communications, audio processing, speech processing, image processing, video processing, automated control systems, and so on.
- Microcode in processors
- Embedded firmware in appliances and devices.
- Mechanical watch designs. They are simply mechanical implementations of algorithms.
- Digital circuits, chips and hardware that implements any of the above.
The software / hardware equivalence makes simple definitions impossible.
> Which does tell you something, doesn't it?
It could tell me many things, depending on what assumptions I may apply. Let's see how many you disagree with.
- The majority of software startups are not doing anything particularly technically innovative.
- The (vast) majority of the software industry as a whole is not doing anything particularly technically innovative.
- Patents are expensive to apply for and get, something a startup can't often afford.
- Patents don't provide enough protection for software products anyway.
(The last two are actually borne out by the study.)
> query whether the VCs are interested in patents vs. interested in them as a method for weeding out uncommitted startup founders.
Why wonder when there are studies on the subject? It's called "signaling". Of course VCs have no interest in IP itself, only what it means for their ROI. But if there's no funding, there's no startup, let alone innovation, so for many founders it's a necessary evil.
> Because if software startups aren't getting many software patents, but the number of software patents being issued keeps going up, guess who is.
Again, why guess when there are studies :-) If you believe James Bessen it's actually manufacturing, industrial and semiconductor firms. (See his "A generation of software patents" paper. Flawed study, IMO, but a useful starting point.) If the answer surprises you, maybe you should consider that "software patents" are not easy to define.
> The software / hardware equivalence makes simple definitions impossible.
The software / hardware equivalence is overstated. You can implement everything in hardware that you can implement in software, but you can't implement everything in software that you can implement in hardware. There is no software alone that you can run on a general purpose computer to cause it to generate thrust, or convert raw steel into an automobile chassis, or help the immune system to fight cancer.
So your argument seems to be that we can't define "software patent" as "patent that software executing on a general purpose computer infringes" because that would include patents over software hard-coded into hardware. But why is that a problem? Firmware is code. Microcode is code. They're supposed to fall into the same category as "software" -- the fact that you can't disambiguate them is a result of them being the same thing. And they are all things that, like other software, can be protected by copyright.
On the other hand, the watch isn't the same thing. The formula that describes the timing of a watch mechanism is not a watch mechanism. A watch simulator is not a watch. Executing a software simulator of a watch mechanism on a general purpose computer without a clock doesn't imbue it with the ability to keep time. You can patent a physical watch without patenting its "algorithm" in much the same way as you can patent a specific nuclear reactor design without patenting E=MC^2, or patent a drug without causing a research paper describing the drug to infringe.
>- The majority of software startups are not doing anything particularly technically innovative.
>- The (vast) majority of the software industry as a whole is not doing anything particularly technically innovative.
The second is a refutation of the first. If you take Microsoft, IBM et al as not doing anything particularly technically innovative, even though they are applying for a large number of patents, "innovation" (in the sense of interesting rather than merely something you can lawyer through the patent office) is clearly not a requirement for obtaining a patent. Which means that a lack of innovation can't adequately explain why startups should be less inclined to file for patents than larger firms which are innovating even less.
>- Patents are expensive to apply for and get, something a startup can't often afford.
>- Patents don't provide enough protection for software products anyway.
It doesn't surprise me that the study found both of these. This is evidence that software patents are ineffective to promote innovation. But again, uselessness without harm is irritating but mostly benign. The real trouble is that software patents are harmful, because they entrench incumbents by creating patent thickets and facilitate the trolling of successful innovators by lawyers and failures.
> But if there's no funding, there's no startup, let alone innovation, so for many founders it's a necessary evil.
That's the point. If we get rid of software patents then VCs would need to find some other signaling mechanism to distinguish between startups, but founders would no longer need to spend scarce resources and time on patent prosecution that could better be spent somewhere more productive.
> There is no software alone that you can run on a general purpose computer to cause it to generate thrust, or convert raw steel into an automobile chassis, or help the immune system to fight cancer.
And what about the algorithms that measure and control the thrust and the robots that make the chassis and compute the folding that leads to drug design? Much more often than you'd think, that is the crucial point of novelty and competitive advantage, and what many patents cover. Software eating the world and all that.
> ... And they are all things that, like other software, can be protected by copyright.
Functional things cannot be covered by copyright. If it's the functionality itself that is novel, no amount of copyright can protect it.
> On the other hand, the watch isn't the same thing. The formula that describes the timing of a watch mechanism is not a watch mechanism. A watch simulator is not a watch.
That wasn't my point. Simulation is not what I mean. A watch mechanism is essentially a series of cascaded counters. X "ticks" of one gear = Y "ticks" of another gear. It's an algorithm: if (m++ == 60) h++; You'll find such physical implementations of algorithms all over the place if you know where to look, especially in automation, from factories to toasters.
> You can patent a physical watch without patenting its "algorithm" ...
And that applies to most "software patents" too. Most software patents don't cover the abstract algorithm, they cover the application of that algorithm. Case in point, the patent in TFA: it didn't cover comparing a bunch of numbers to find another number, it covered comparing a bunch of numbers representing preferences to find a match between business entities associated with those preferences. You could very well use the exact same algorithm to find a match between a vacationer and a list of vacation spots and not infringe the patent. I'd say the judge's analysis in rejecting was a bit off: this patent is invalid because it's non-novel, not because it's abstract.
> The second is a refutation of the first.
No, but do you mean to say that the majority of software startups are doing technically innovative work? Heck, look at the much vaunted YC companies. How many are doing something beyond some variation of CRUD?
> If you take Microsoft, IBM et al as not doing anything particularly technically innovative...
I'm sorry, I live outside the HN bubble, so I completely disagree that Microsoft and IBM don't do innovative work. (Well, OK, these days it's mostly IBM Research, in case of IBM. In case of Microsoft, both MSR and MS products introduce inventions and innovations at a pretty fast pace.) Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there.
Sadly, the vast majority of the software industry is not like Microsoft and IBM. The vast, vast majority involves translating pre-existing business logic into code. And most software startups are not much different.
I agree, though, that most patents (not just "software patents"), are not really "interesting", but historically this has always been so. And all the hand-wringing you see here is not new either.
> It doesn't surprise me that the study found both of these. This is evidence that software patents are ineffective to promote innovation.
Well, then maybe we need to make it cheaper to file "software" patents and make them more powerful so they afford some real protection? :-)
>The real trouble is that software patents areharmful, because they entrench incumbents by creating patent thickets and facilitate the trolling of successful innovators by lawyers and failures.
There is no undisputed, convincing empirical evidence that software patents are harmful on average, other than tech media fishing for rage-views. For every paper saying software patents harm entrants, there's one saying the opposite (see "Software Patents, Incumbents and Entry" as an example). There are even studies suggesting that thickets helped innovation by centralizing licensing efforts.
Also: "Innovators". You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you etc. etc.
> If we get rid of software patents then VCs would need to find some other signaling mechanism to distinguish between startups, ...
1. It's not just in software that VCs look for patents. If you read that survey or other studies, or heck, watch Shark Tank, you'll see it's common in most industries.
2. If you drop the empirically unfounded assumption that all patents are bogus, a patent is a proxy for a multitude of signals that VCs find useful.
3. Studies show that startups with patents are more likely to have a successful exit. I don't know what better signal a VC would want to find.
> And what about the algorithms that measure and control the thrust and the robots that make the chassis and compute the folding that leads to drug design?
What about them? They're software. Get a copyright or keep it as a trade secret.
> Functional things cannot be covered by copyright. If it's the functionality itself that is novel, no amount of copyright can protect it.
Which is kind of the point -- it's really the whole problem with software patents. In software there are enormously many widely differing but still sensible ways, i.e. different functions, that all accomplish the same result. Such that in order to have a valuable patent you have to try to patent the idea itself or any computation of the relevant law of mathematics or physics or the intended outcome rather than any particular way to do it, otherwise anyone competent could easily come up with a thousand other ways to do the same thing just as well. So software patents end up being either so abstract that they're abstract ideas or sufficiently specific that anyone can easily avoid them. And companies don't even attempt to get the second kind because it's a waste of money, so instead they spend all their efforts convincing the patent office to improperly issue the first kind.
Function is effectively irrelevant here, only outcome is relevant. If you have code to take input from set X and map to output from set X' then that code is fungible with any other piece of code that produces the same mapping from X to X', regardless of how it does it. The only practical consideration is whether the performance of some particular implementation is inadequate, which is clearly not a significant point of contention in the majority of software patent cases. So instead of patenting the software equivalent of "brake pad compressed against rotating disc by caliper with hydraulic actuator" they patent the software equivalent of "car slows down" and now they want to sue anybody with a vehicle capable of decelerating.
Because in a car it matters whether you have disc brakes or drum brakes because disc brakes stop better and fade slower and they cost a different amount of money and wear at different rates etc. etc., which are very important characteristics when choosing what kind of brakes to design a car with. In a computer it doesn't really matter most of the time whether you use a linked list or an array or a red black tree or a hash table. Some choices will be faster than others or use more or less memory, but that's about it, and for the most part that isn't what the patent system is concerned about. But that's the nature of function in computer science: Different functions can easily produce the same outcome, just with different efficiency. So in order to patent something others can't easily avoid, you have to patent the result rather than the function. Which isn't supposed to be allowed.
> A watch mechanism is essentially a series of cascaded counters. X "ticks" of one gear = Y "ticks" of another gear. It's an algorithm: if (m++ == 60) h++; You'll find such physical implementations of algorithms all over the place if you know where to look, especially in automation, from factories to toasters.
But you aren't patenting the algorithm, you're patenting the mechanism. This is made clear by the fact that no software or arrangement of transistors or equivalent logic gates can possibly be made that would infringe the patent claims on the watch mechanism. Because you aren't patenting the outcome ("keeps time"), you're patenting the mechanism. Every watch since the beginning of time (so to speak) has operated with the algorithm "if (m++ == 60) h++;" and yet novel watch mechanisms continue to be patented on a regular basis, because they patent something other than the algorithm.
> Most software patents don't cover the abstract algorithm, they cover the application of that algorithm.
I don't think that's right in this case. Unless by "application" you mean some artificial and irrelevant limitation like the one you're pointing out with business entities vs. vacationers. Allowing that to make something unpatentable into something patentable is how we get into this mess. It's like the classic "that thing we all know about, but on the internet" patent. It would be like allowing Jules Verne to patent "rocket for traveling to the moon" the day after Sputnik launched and proved rockets could make it into orbit, providing no additional utility or novelty other than the arbitrary limitation that it must be used to travel to the moon. How is that worthy of a patent?
What you should need for a patent is some actual implementation of the abstract idea. An "application" of "rocket for traveling to the moon" is the Lunar Module, not a claim of launching any unspecified rocket in the general direction of the moon. Which is all adding some frivolous field of use limitation to a mathematical algorithm is doing.
> No, but do you mean to say that the majority of software startups are doing technically innovative work? Heck, look at the much vaunted YC companies. How many are doing something beyond some variation of CRUD?
I think some of them are. Most of them probably aren't. The obvious problem is that VCs are throwing money around and it attracts people who are more interested in getting rich so they can retire rather than building something epic. But you can identify small companies that are doing good creative work, e.g. Whisper Systems.
> I'm sorry, I live outside the HN bubble, so I completely disagree that Microsoft and IBM don't do innovative work.
Oh sure, if you measure the amount of research they do in absolute terms then it's a lot because they're such large entities. But in terms of a percentage of their revenue? Or their ratio of engineer hours spent doing actual research vs. engineer and lawyer hours spent on patent prosecution?
> The vast, vast majority involves translating pre-existing business logic into code. And most software startups are not much different.
We get all the rage against "do X on a computer" patents, but as it turns out, even if "do X on a computer" is bleeding obvious and shouldn't be patentable, it can also be highly profitable because the pre-computer solution was "do X manually."
But I'm not sure this is much different from other industries. Drug companies regularly announce minor (but newly patented) improvements to their previous drugs just as the previous versions fall out of patent. Medical device companies spend an enormous amount of time and money to get very conservative designs approved by the FDA. The ability of Tesla to combine a Lotus with a thousand laptop batteries and produce an electric car is not nothing, but it's more a testament to the massive failure of their predecessors to do it first. And why is it that I have the same speed ethernet interface in my PC today as a 400MHz PowerMac G4 had in 2000?
> Well, then maybe we need to make it cheaper to file "software" patents and make them more powerful so they afford some real protection? :-)
You're going to make the trolling problem a lot worse then, what about that?
> For every paper saying software patents harm entrants, there's one saying the opposite
Then clearly half of them are wrong.
>There are even studies suggesting that thickets helped innovation by centralizing licensing efforts.
If there were no software patents then there would be no need or benefit in centralized licensing. Moreover, centralized licensing is very similar to a lack of patents (i.e. results in more competition than a single incumbent with a concrete patent monopoly), but notably differs by creating a wealth transfer from newcomers to incumbents, which would tend to result in less innovation by discouraging challengers and protecting incumbents, leading to less competition and consequently less competitive pressure to innovate.
> It's not just in software that VCs look for patents. [etc.]
The point is, maintaining the existence of software patents in order to retain them as a signal to VCs is the tail wagging the dog.
Can't we just return to the point when software which was copyrighted could not also be patented? This double-dipping is unique to the software industry, and has proven to be harmful to innovation.
> What we really need is to start a PAC to abolish software patents and have everyone contribute money to it
Can we really outspend IBM and Microsoft? I saw something on hacker news last week that said a relatively minor patent reform bill died in the house thanks to those two companies (and 3M and many others but mainly IBM and Microsoft). Name. and shame.
> subscription-based nonprofit that pools legal expenses and member patent portfolios and fights defensive cases on behalf of startups and small businesses.
You might find this interesting: John Walker, one of the Autodesk founders, tried to popularize the same idea in the early 90s:
Unfortunately, too many companies didn't want to give up the option to sue and the rise of the limited-liability shell company made it pointless as there's no point in counter-suing a company with no assets which will fold if any counterattack succeeds.
the rise of the limited-liability shell company made it pointless as there's no point in counter-suing a company with no assets which will fold if any counterattack succeeds.
Wouldn't that get rid of the troll? Also, would it be possible to seek legal expenses from the shell corporation's creditors?
That depends: in some cases it appears that they've tried things as blazen as having a shell company which licenses the rights to sue for a patent but doesn't actually own it. If the shell goes bankrupt, the only “asset” is that right to sue, not the actual patent, and the people involved are free to simply try again later.
If you haven't looked at this before, This American Life had a two part series with a good general examination of the system – spurred by a troll running around suing everyone who podcasts:
> Also, would it be possible to seek legal expenses from the shell corporation's creditors?
That's a really important question. The assumption has been no but there have been attempts to try RICO cases[1] and it sounds like the entire legal climate is getting more sympathetic to the idea that what we're seeing is extortion, pure and simple. Most of the legislation floating around Congress at least made some attempt to deal with this part of the problem but, of course, none of that counts until something is actually close to passing.
I agree with naming and shaming the trolls, but I also believe in naming and shaming the people who approve these patents.
Every time I look up one of USPTO workers involved, their online profiles (FB, etc.) show how utterly unqualified they are to be involved in the patent process.
Every time I look up one of USPTO workers involved, their online profiles (FB, etc.) show how utterly unqualified they are to be involved in the patent process.
Doesn't that reflect more on whoever hired them?
I've also heard that the patent office doesn't care about the quality of patents so much as (1) processing applications cheaply and (2) not getting sued for denying questionable applications. Which again would reflect on the top-level people rather than on the individual patent examiners constrained by those policies.
According to her Businessweek profile [1], she's the President of The Hillcrest Group, Inc. Anyone have any idea what the hell this company does? I can't find anything on Google.
I'm guessing the kind of people who would become patent trolls are unlikely to be deterred significantly by seeing their names in print. I don't think they're particularly proud of their reputation to begin with if they resort to this way of making money.
In Shapiro's case I don't think that's necessarily true. "She’s a former MIT professor, a venture consultant for the Hillcrest Group, and a published author for the Harvard Business Review." (http://pandodaily.com/2013/07/26/how-to-slaughter-a-patent-t...)
Not enough people care about this issue that your strategy would work. Plus the fact that they probably earn huge amounts of money that, to them, would more than compensate for their bad reputation.
Fighting and winning court cases seems like a much more productive strategy, though it is not something we can all engage in.
Also, as a matter of principle I don't think HNs title policy should be violated in order to spread a political message, no matter how much I agree with that message.
Eileen, who has published books among other things, now has to explain to anyone who googles her why the first result is an article calling her a troll. That's not just embarrassing, it's financially damaging.
> "There is no inventive idea here," she wrote in her order.
> "Having two or more parties input preference data is not inventive.
> Matchmakers have been doing this for millennia... It is merely a
> mathematical manifestation of the underlying process behind matchmaking:
> determining good matches."
A judge that uses the "computer algorithms == maths", and uses it to shut down a shitty patent? Awesome! I wish there were more judges like Judge Denise Colt. Well done.
If only USPTO would include such logic in their patent reviews before passing those patents.
A good portion of such patents could've been banned with the new bill against patent trolls, if only companies like Microsoft and IBM wouldn't have lobbied so hard against such reform.
alextingle 29 minutes ago | link
How does this comment further the discussion?
I'm pointing out the title doesn't match reality. The patent is "destroyed", not the company. There's nothing to suggest the company is in trouble. How significant is this patent being smacked down in court? How many patents does the company have? Is this the only one? Do they have 50?
Maybe you could contribute some answers and further the discussion?
From US District Judge Denise Cote: "Taking basic practices in human commerce and culture and adding "do it on a computer" language ... would lead to the absurd result of allowing the patenting [of] the computerized use of even the most basic abstract ideas."
I am so cheering on FTB and salivating for a sweet, sweet verdict against the patent troll. Seeing someone like Eileen Shapiro named and shamed plus forced to pay $200k court costs would be the most wonderful Christmas gift ever!
So what? Right now the USPTO is approving hundreds of other useless patents of marginal value and expects the courts to figure out their validity. Without reform these wins are just morale boosters and nothing else.
Morale boosters are potentially helpful, though. If the perception shifts from "hopeless" to "fighting chance", and we start seeing more trolls defeated in court, the story can be framed much more usefully. Right now it's "businesses are being shaken down for violating frivolous patents". That's not great because it's too easy to argue against superficially. All the trolls have to say is "If these patents are so frivolous, why do so many businesses agree to settle out of court?" There's a good answer to that question, but now you're having a debate, so you've already lost.
But if the story is "the courts are clogged with frivolous patent suits because the USPTO isn't doing its damned job", there is no debate.
People don't like to think. They want someone else to do the thinking for them. If a debate has no tribal affiliation, the two sides both seem to have an argument, and there's no authoritative answer, people throw up their hands and say "well, it's complicated". Change the story so that the courts can be that authority, and people will just take their answer as read.
So the issue stops being "are patent trolls a problem?" and becomes "how do we fix patent trolling?"
Makes me wonder if said troll slipped up when targeting FindTheBest. I'm assuming a troll wants to go after someone who is big enough to pay some money but not so big that they can afford to fight.
FindTheBest's founder was formerly founder/CEO of DoubleClick. I'm not sure going after someone with a VC background and a 10-figure exit to Google was very wise.
> Even this "efficient" win cost FTB
about $200,000 in legal fees, said
Seigle; that's four times more than
the $50,000 payout that Lumen View
was asking for.
It's important to see the long-term strategy behind software-patents.
Currently we are in phase 1, the "Wild West". Anyone is free to grab some land and claim ownership. Gradually more civilized procedures will be developed to acquire (intellectual) property. But make no mistake. Software patents are in the interest of the dominating classes in the US and will be established. Two convincing arguments: Software patents
1. create revenue for the patent holders.
2. can be used to deter foreign competitors or at least to 'tax' them with patent fees.
tl;dr: unfortunately poor prospects for the anti-patent league.
Unfortunately they still paid a big price in legal fees. Can anyone tell me what the downsides are to a loser-pays-the-fees system? I heard it's used in the UK but not in the US. What gives?
iii) the settlement is more than the damages you are awarded by the court
This is to make sure that people try to settle things before going to court.
And I'm not sure how it would work for a non-practising entity. A company that has no assets apart from the patent that they're suing for would have no money to pay fees if they lose.
Sorry, I was imprecise. I understand that it is possible to collect damages from controlling shareholders of corporations; for instance, in any tort case; in several states, unpaid wages also incur liability on company owners, as they did in Vuylsteke. I was asking specifically about your liability insurance argument.
You mean that insurance can count in determining adequate capitalization?
The cases I can find that are most on point is Walkovszky v. Carlton, where a claim of underinsurance was directly at issue (unsuccessful because the insurance that was carried met an explicit statutory requirement) and Autrey v. 22 Texas Services Inc. (on a summary judgement motion finding there are facts in dispute, so not squarely ruled on).
A couple of relevant papers that discuss insurance throughout:
"Merely directing a computer to perform a function does not transform the computer into a specialized computer. Such a principle would lead to the absurd result of allowing the patenting [of] the computerized use of even the most basic abstract ideas."
What a sensible judge they had. Perhaps noting that the rest of the world most certainly does not allow patents of quite this type might focus a few minds. This parasitic business opportunity (trolling) might be costing US its innovation lead...
It may be naiive optimism, but I hope the RICO suit has some success. A thin veneer of legalism in an obviously bogus patent shouldn't be enough to make one immune entirely from racketeering charges.
By way of comparison, if I threatened to file bogus nuisance suits hoping for quick settlements for anything other than patent infringement, I very well could be held liable (and disbarred) under all manner of existing precedents.
> From the judges order: Nothing in the ‘073 patent evinces an inventive idea beyond the idea of the patent holder to be the first to patent the computerization of a fundamental process that has occurred all through human history."
It strikes me that a large number of patents would evaporate if this standard were more universally applied.
Name. And. Shame.
Eileen Shapiro. The headline should be: "FindTheBest destroys 'matchmaking' patent, pushes RICO case against patent troll Eileen Shapiro." (I'm assuming she's not the only one involved, but they've got her name in there.)
Don't let these people hide behind the names of their patent companies. Let them become famous for their malicious greediness.