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vandy
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Newegg squishes patent troll.

Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:29 pm

My respect for Newegg went up after reading this:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/how-newegg-crushed-the-shopping-cart-patent-and-saved-online-retail/

I am surprised that so many companies (with the exception of newegg) decided to settle with the patent troll.
I can see how small companies can't afford to fight a drawn out legal battle, but on the second page of the article you can see the list of companies that did settle are huge companies, all well known by the general public and some even household names. Some of the companies listed such as Victoria's Secret, Ebay, Neman Marcus, J Crew.....

Good job newegg!

Patent troll squishing level: Asian.
 
FireGryphon
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Re: Newegg squishes patent troll.

Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:38 pm

Just read that. Perfect example of bravery and discretion winning the day.
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Re: Newegg squishes patent troll.

Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:54 pm

vandy wrote:

Bravo!

vandy wrote:
I am surprised that so many companies (with the exception of newegg) decided to settle with the patent troll.

While large, most of the other companies mentioned are actually smaller when it comes to online sales volume. According to this ranking, Newegg is currently the 13th largest online retailer; most of the other companies mentioned are farther down the list. Newegg may have decided to fight back because they had more to lose over the long run.

Edit:
Lee Cheng (Newegg's head lawyer) wrote:
... It's actually surprising how quickly people forget what Lemelson did. [referring to Jerome Lemelson, an infamous patent troll who used so-called "submarine patents" to make billions in licensing fees.] This activity is very similar. Trolls right now "submarine" as well. They use timing, like he used timing. Then they pop up and say "Hello, surprise! Give us your money or we will shut you down!" Screw them. Seriously, screw them. You can quote me on that.

Quoted because it deserved to be quoted!
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drfish
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Re: Newegg squishes patent troll.

Sun Jan 27, 2013 7:25 pm

"We basically took a look at this situation and said, this is ****..."


Lol, go NewEgg! :D
 
tanker27
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Re: Newegg squishes patent troll.

Sun Jan 27, 2013 7:38 pm

My employer was recently hit by one of the largest patent trolls out there [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_A._Katz] Ronald A. Katz [\url]. He never has produced a tangible product just that he "thought up the technology' to which I throw the BS flag on. I wish my employer would have fought back but didn't. In fact some other big names companies kowtowed to him :-?
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Captain Ned
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Re: Newegg squishes patent troll.

Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:21 pm

tanker27 wrote:
My employer was recently hit by one of the largest patent trolls out there [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_A._Katz] Ronald A. Katz [\url]. He never has produced a tangible product just that he "thought up the technology' to which I throw the BS flag on. I wish my employer would have fought back but didn't. In fact some other big names companies kowtowed to him :-?

There's another one going around trying to squeeze money from banks and credit unions claiming a patent on connecting ATMs to their host banks through the Internet.

http://www.gcglaw.com/resources/financi ... laims.html
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FireGryphon
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Re: Newegg squishes patent troll.

Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:41 pm

Captain Ned wrote:
There's another one going around trying to squeeze money from banks and credit unions claiming a patent on connecting ATMs to their host banks through the Internet.

http://www.gcglaw.com/resources/financi ... laims.html


This is like patenting an off-ramp of a certain shape...
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Re: Newegg squishes patent troll.

Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:51 pm

FireGryphon wrote:
Captain Ned wrote:
There's another one going around trying to squeeze money from banks and credit unions claiming a patent on connecting ATMs to their host banks through the Internet.

http://www.gcglaw.com/resources/financi ... laims.html

This is like patenting an off-ramp of a certain shape...

Or a fixed menu that appears at the top of all pages on a web site. Just like on *this* site.
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