[QUOTE]President Obama today dived into some of the topics covered by his State of the Union in a Google+ Hangout - taking aim at patent trolls and encouraging high schools to embrace a more high-tech curriculum, among other things.
Obama appeared from Roosevelt Room in the White House's West Wing to talk with several Americans via Google's group video-chat service.
That group included Adafruit founder Limor Fried, who questioned the president about what he could do to stop patent trolls and whether there should be a limit on how long people could own them. Obama pointed to patent reform legislation Congress passed several
years ago, but acknowledged that it hasn't "captured all the problems" and said the bill "only went about halfway to where we need to go."
"[Patent trolls] are a classic example. They don't actually produce anything themselves," Obama said. "They're just trying to essentially leverage and hijack somebody else's idea and see if they can extort some money out of them."[/QUOTE]
[URL]http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2415469,00.asp[/URL]
It'd be nice if they could just be banned outright.
[QUOTE=Butthurter;39598906]im more amazed by the fact that people are actually using the term patent trolls[/QUOTE]
The fact such term exists, and how widely it's used, just shows how big of a problem it really is.
Brobama
patents are great for most, but they need to be under more scrutiny before passing.
ie. Apple's patents.
[QUOTE=areolop;39599071]patents are great for most, but they need to be under more scrutiny before passing.
ie. Apple's patents.[/QUOTE]
All patents need that, but Apple is a special case where it's a good idea to doublecheck.
Along with Oracle.
[QUOTE=Butthurter;39598906]im more amazed by the fact that people are actually using the term patent trolls[/QUOTE]
It comes from the same root as trolling on the internet.
Trolling (fishing) = carpet fishing. Pretty much the root of the definition in this case.
Trolling (internet) = originally used to troll for new users so they can be identified easily.
Trolling (patents) = getting patents and copy protections and all that on massive swathes of ideas or concepts to get money.
[QUOTE=Butthurter;39598906]im more amazed by the fact that people are actually using the term patent trolls[/QUOTE]
I don't think he actually used the term, hence the "[Patent trolls]" in the quote, doesn't that usually mean they actually said something longer but whoever wrote the article summarized it into that?
Couldn't you just stop someone patenting something they didn't invent?
[QUOTE=01271;39599345]It comes from the same root as trolling on the internet.
Trolling (fishing) = carpet fishing. Pretty much the root of the definition in this case.
Trolling (internet) = originally used to troll for new users so they can be identified easily.
Trolling (patents) = getting patents and copy protections and all that on massive swathes of ideas or concepts to get money.[/QUOTE]
Trolling (aviation) - Flying low to get something to shoot at you so you know where the enemy is.
Blatant patent trolling should be a federal / heavy crime or some shit.
[QUOTE=Occlusion;39599388]Couldn't you just stop someone patenting something they didn't invent?[/QUOTE] Wouldn't that completely destroy how some people do business?
I.E, invent something, patent it, get companies interested in it, sell the patent rights to them for dollas
Patents are a valuable and essential part of protecting innovators, you can't do away with them. Even with these patent trolls, there is more good being done than harm.
That being said, however, there must be some sort of regulation against corporations that serve no purpose other than to extract money from other companies through near-universal patents.
Ban rectangle patents
Patent trolls have been the elephant in the room for quite some time. I hope he does take action against them.
[QUOTE=01271;39599345]It comes from the same root as trolling on the internet.
Trolling (fishing) = carpet fishing. Pretty much the root of the definition in this case.
Trolling (internet) = originally used to troll for new users so they can be identified easily.
Trolling (patents) = getting patents and copy protections and all that on massive swathes of ideas or concepts to get money.[/QUOTE]
It actually comes from Middle English. To troll would mean to go out, or to take a s[b]troll[/b]. A more common term in fishing is [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_trawler]trawl[/url], which is obviously based on the word troll.
And what makes this interesting to me is that it doesn't have anything to do with the old Norse [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll]troll[/url].
[editline]oh hamburgers[/editline]
Oh, and another thing to put it to rest, the term "patent troll" has been around since the 1990's.
[quote="When Intel Doesn't Sue," Forbes, March 29, 1993]Wang says that he worries more about these fanciful suits from out of left field than about suits by companies like Intel. As for the Japanese, now depicted as the new [b]patent trolls[/b], Wang believes that for political and cultural reasons they are taking a merely defensive stance.[/quote]
[url=http://www.wordspy.com/words/patenttroll.asp]Source[/url], under "Notes."
How about making it illegal to keep patents without using them. If you have a patent that you aren't gonna use in a product, you sell it or void it or get fined.
Imagined 'Bama slamdunking over some dudes waving patentforms
[QUOTE=Occlusion;39599388]Couldn't you just stop someone patenting something [b]they [U]didn't[/U] invent?[/b][/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;39599425]Wouldn't that completely destroy how some people do business?
I.E, [B]invent something[/B], patent it, get companies interested in it, sell the patent rights to them for dollas[/QUOTE]
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