Patent Troll Sues Facebook Over Facebook
A recently founded company, Real Time Social Inventions, is suing Facebook over its core feature that enables users to interact via a social network.
Besides Facebook, RTSI has also included Yammer, Salesforce, Rockmelt, Oracle, Glam Media, Ning and Conduit in the lawsuit.
The patent in question describes a "multi-user on-line real-time virtual social networks based upon communities of interest for entertainment, information or e-commerce purposes" that enables multiple users to interact with each other via an "interactor client application". If valid, this patent would cover the entire basic functionality of Facebook.
RTSI is not the original author of the patent, but seems to have acquired the rights to it from San Francisco-based RTSN, even if USPTO records do not confirm this transaction. San Francisco-based RTSN purchased the patent from the original owner ISQ Online in August of 2011. The original patent was filed in July 2007 and was awarded to ISQ Online in December 2010, which suggests that Facebook as well as all other defendants have a good case of prior art.
This lawsuit, however, is particularly frivolous as RTSI generalizes its claims and states that it has suffered damages by Facebook and "by making, using, offering to sell, and/or selling its Facebook social networking product and service, accessible at least through facebook.com." The discovery appears to have been rather sudden as RTSI "has suffered damages in an amount not yet ascertained." As a result, RTSI is asking for "adequate" damages and "reasonable royalties, together with interest and costs."
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Hah. Hahaha.
Alright someone take this a****** out back and shoot him, save the rest us from this headache.
No wonder it takes so long for legitimate cases to go though the court systems, it's being backlogged by these types of idiots.
I NVENTED THE INTERNET; YOU ALL OWE ME MILLIONS!
Umm what? I knew I should have become a lawyer.
Tbh I think it's about time I sued everyone over this thing I made called breathing.
I NVENTED THE INTERNET; YOU ALL OWE ME MILLIONS!
someone already beat you to it
sorry forgot the link
They should abolish patent transference. It would kill at least half of the patent trolls.
Umm what? I knew I should have become a lawyer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u9JAt6gFqM
actually.. it's not the lawyer's fault. It's the fault of corrupt politicians and bloated bureaucracy.
What I really wonder is who are the guys behind this? Are they evil geniuses planning to exploit the flaws of the US patent system? Are they megalomaniac loonies who genuinely think they have a case? Are they jackasses with too much time on their hands trying to get a good laugh?
RTSI - Real Trolls Suppressing Innovation
...and court personnel and judges are paid with taxpayers' money to deal with this sh*t...
.. it's not the lawyer's fault. It's the fault of corrupt politicians and bloated bureaucracy.
Other democratic countries around the world have equally bloated bureaucracy, and yet such cases are removed even before they could reach a court and waste everyone's time and (tax) money. But of course those countries didn't surrender their democracy to corporations...
How about a simple Rule Change : no working example, no patent...
Some one stop this planet, I want off.
one shouldnt be able to "invent" something unless one "builds it"...
I have invented teleportation: Its when...you know...something disappears in a place and appears somehwere else...YEAH! you better be ready for me SPOCK!
surely any lawyer know they will lose that one due to the prior art alone. So why take on the case other than to charge rtsi for their services, they have to know that rtsi can't be that flush with cash, looks like the losing side will lose.
UH... by that description... that pretty much covers the internet as a whole. Its like they are trying to put a patent on the wheel or dirt.
The patent issues never cease to amaze me.
UH... by that description... that pretty much covers the internet as a whole. Its like they are trying to put a patent on the wheel or dirt.
*Runs to the patent office*
This era is gonig to be known as the era of highway robbery through spurious patent awards. It will get worse before it gets better. If RTSI had a social network in place at the time of submittal, then that might be something. If they were licensing their IP to 3rd parties at the time of submittal, then even that might be something. But squatting on an idea so that you can lie in wait to ream whoever manages to be the most profitable while stepping on your land mine is just BS. That doesn't help anyone.
I bet $12B can buy an awful lot of interesting contracts. I wonder if Zuckerberg ever considered that path with these guys.
Here is a nice article that I think sums the problem up nicely.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feat [...] atents.php
Main points:
-It will cost at least a million bucks to defend yourself in a patent suit.
-The patent office has incentive to push through as many patents as possible, since that is how they get paid, so this will never change.
Personally, I think software patents have infringed on things that should be protected under copyright, and not under patents, and are utterly ridiculous.
eg: Microsoft holds the patent for the software based phone... which is pretty much a phone, but running through software.... I mean really... that is ludicrous. Patenting virtual versions of things from real life.
LOL, this happens all the freakin time. With so much more than just internet and pop culture stuff. A lot of these lawyers do this to just retire, well before they should.
Ask yourself, if you were in their shoes, wouldn't you do it too? Don't get all moral. Don't act like you are a fan of any megasite like facebook. The amount they get will barely put a small dent in Facebook because they will just settle. Still will be huge but Facebook is worth sooo much money right now.
step one: find patent trolls
Step two: shoot patent trolls
step three: feel better about the world now that patent trolls are fertilizer.
I wonder if I can patent a process of inventing. This way, anybody or anything invents anything, they owe me cash right away.
step one: find patent trollsStep two: shoot patent trollsstep three: feel better about the world now that patent trolls are fertilizer.
lol
"Prior art" should cover my a** before someone tries to sue me for being me.
This should be Facebook's response to their claims: mail them $1 and a box of tissues. They can drown in their tears at their failure to be useful at anything.
If I was Zuckerberg , I would call a meeting with the patent-troll company CEO and lawyers, and when they'd expect to listen the counter-offer, I would laugh like hell on their faces..
*Runs to the patent office*
Way late on that one. Someone already patented the wheel way back in 2001.
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/ [...] lia.wheel/
I patented the patent. Suing in 3....2....1....