More idiotic patent/copyright trolls

[Trooper110]

http://www.infoworld.com/article/09/...into_US_1.html

Honestly, the entire patent and/or copyright system needs a MAJOR overhaul, as demonstrated by all this stuff lately, including the whole music industry. I hope that this is one thing the Obama administration will look in to.

[Murder Simulator]

I get the feeling the people at the top who file these things are really out of touch.

It's so easy for them to get a patent on the most arcane bit of fluff, something we humans commonly have been using for ages. They'll call it a new Technology, as though it wasn't made off the back of some prior art, and suddenly they get retro access to all kinds of royalty fees.

It's clearly abuse of the patent system.

[mapes]

Whats worse this is exactly opposite to Jefferson wanted out of a patent system. The patent system is supposed to grant a limited government granted monopoly some a certain amount of time and then expire. The patent system is supposed to spur on innovation and instead its being used as a toll bridge in technology. It really pisses me off. Trademark law is also abused in heinous ways....

[Hammy]

This is what happens when people start looking for money in a tight economy.

[Evil_T0NY {CLR}]

I heard some bullcrap where big companies are threatening to sue people like you and me.


This one instance where apparently, if you purchase a domain name that's a little too "Similar" to a big name company....say....like ebay

Apparently someone got a website called. pursuebay.com or something like that

Since it had the word "ebay" in it....ebay sent that person a letter to take it down, otherwise he'd be taken to court.

I think this one guy I knew it was a letter from classmate.com

I think his site was "classmate-forums.com" and he got a letter saying to take it down.

One time a father made a "Gears of War" character for his son on his B-day....on a lathe or something.....thing was he posted it on a blog (a pic of it) and he got a letter in the mail telling him to not do it anymor or something

He only made ONE item and it was just for his kid.

I'd tell them to pound dirt and say, "Sue me for what??"

[mapes]

I heard some bullcrap where big companies are threatening to sue people like you and me.


This one instance where apparently, if you purchase a domain name that's a little too "Similar" to a big name company....say....like ebay

Apparently someone got a website called. pursuebay.com or something like that

Since it had the word "ebay" in it....ebay sent that person a letter to take it down, otherwise he'd be taken to court.

I think this one guy I knew it was a letter from classmate.com

I think his site was "classmate-forums.com" and he got a letter saying to take it down.

One time a father made a "Gears of War" character for his son on his B-day....on a lathe or something.....thing was he posted it on a blog (a pic of it) and he got a letter in the mail telling him to not do it anymor or something

He only made ONE item and it was just for his kid.

I'd tell them to pound dirt and say, "Sue me for what??"

Yeah thats trademark law. Companies think that once they have a trademark on something that they own that word or image. Trademark is not for business protect but, for consumer protection. It's supposed to prevent consumers from being scamed by products that are a little too similiar.