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02/21/2015 07:40:28 PM · #1 |
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02/21/2015 07:56:06 PM · #2 |
| You know there are patents on autos and their accessories but has anyone patented the 'idea or act' of driving. I have to visit my lawyer tomorrow so I can apply. Everyone with a license would have to pay up. I'm RICH! |
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02/21/2015 08:00:30 PM · #3 |
| Well, I'm gonna patent the act of applying for a patent, so there. |
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02/21/2015 08:08:09 PM · #4 |
Wow, that's stupid. Or smart. There are companies whose business model is patent lawsuits.
I suspect if he sued DPC, there would be some donations and probably a few members who are attorney's at their day job.
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02/21/2015 08:21:27 PM · #5 |
| He also filed his patent six years after this site was copyrighted, according to the blurb at the bottom of every page. |
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02/22/2015 07:55:20 AM · #6 |
At least Langdon could get ahold of the EFF if he does tempt to sue LOL
They supported him for free. Amazing how goofy this is, I laugh at the thought of all that money he lost and dumped into nothing.
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02/22/2015 09:42:25 AM · #7 |
| Patents are plaguing the software industry. This American Life did a story on it. |
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02/22/2015 03:07:37 PM · #8 |
| My question is, why was he granted a patent for this in the first place? |
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02/22/2015 04:30:03 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by Elaine:
My question is, why was he granted a patent for this in the first place? |
My guess is vague wording that obscures what the patent is really about. Very common. Yes, the patent system is seriously broken. It was meant to protect innovators, not provide a living for attorneys and trolls. |
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02/22/2015 08:19:23 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
Originally posted by Elaine:
My question is, why was he granted a patent for this in the first place? |
My guess is vague wording that obscures what the patent is really about. Very common. Yes, the patent system is seriously broken. It was meant to protect innovators, not provide a living for attorneys and trolls. |
It doesn't protect innovators…unless that innovator is part of a corporation with the legal resources to pursue infringers.
If you're a little guy holding a patent that a corporation wants to use, they'll just take it, use it and the Hell with the guy who invented it.
Don't think that's how it works? Look at what the automakers did to Bob Kearns… There are hundreds, if not thousands more inventors who just give up when their ideas are stolen.
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02/26/2015 10:12:48 PM · #11 |
Here is a link to the original article by our lawyers from EFF.org
Since I am new, the software isn't allowing me to post weblinks, but do a search on these 2 titles below, and you will find the original articles started by our lawyers at EFF
photo-hobbyist-attacked-patent-bully
Then another article where I was interviewed by Joe Mullen from ARS Technica
why-one-photographer-decided-to-fight-a-patent-on-online-contests/ |
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02/26/2015 10:47:03 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by rct4905:
Here is a link to the original article by our lawyers from EFF.org
Since I am new, the software isn't allowing me to post weblinks, but do a search on these 2 titles below, and you will find the original articles started by our lawyers at EFF
photo-hobbyist-attacked-patent-bully
Then another article where I was interviewed by Joe Mullen from ARS Technica
why-one-photographer-decided-to-fight-a-patent-on-online-contests/ |
first article
second article
Good to see you here, Ruth. |
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02/26/2015 11:45:49 PM · #13 |
The patent office is a mess.
the Patent Act of 1790, the power to grant or refuse patents was given exclusively to three people: the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, and the Attorney General. Patent applicants needed the consent of at least two of the three officials to obtain a patent.
The folks who grant patents are now paying their salaries by getting as many patents in the works as possible to generate fees.
I do not think Thomas Jefferson would have granted a patent to a guy who got the patent on a specific way to swing on a swing or a dog toy shaped like a stick |
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02/27/2015 12:19:15 AM · #14 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
Patents are plaguing the software industry. This American Life did a story on it. |
Software patents are just terrible. Great way to keep any small company from gaining any traction if you can lawyer them out of existence. IMNSHO Software patents shouldn't exist.
BTW, I am a software developer. |
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02/27/2015 03:32:05 AM · #15 |
thanks Bear :) Good to be here.
My photography has been published numerous magazines, newspapers, even a NJ puzzle and a game. But I certainly wasn\'t expecting to have any kind of story or even my face posted all over the internet for a patent infringement case one day in my little photography career lol.
pbase.com/reflectionsbyruth/publications
Part of the complaints against me encompassed that Bytephoto had members from NJ, and I as Reflections by Ruth sold my photography to people in NJ which was \"his district\"
And... I ran a website that had a plurality of users that could join, interact, send messages to each other and upload photos, videos, (although I turned off the video upload option in vBulletin software) and every digital file extension out there we ever knew about since computers existed.
Just so all of you know, it wasn\'t just photo contests that were being targeted. It was musicians, graphic artists, and 2 photo contest websites. Garfum runs video contests, not photo contests.
It was quite upsetting to work your butt off at art festivals all year trying to make an income, to have everything sale from September on taken away from you because you had to pay lawyers to even have to defend myself with such a junk patent.
The relief I felt when I finally found EFF was the best my husband and I had felt since it all began in Sept.
Not sure how all of it works, weather the plaintiff chooses who they want to sue, or their lawyer does, but I\'m sure they are sorry they chose me now :)
What helped me was Reflections by Ruth who owns and runs Bytephoto is only a Sole Proprietor. That means at least for the initial counsel, I was able to hire the lawyers Pro Se which was cheaper but still Sept to Jan wiped out my business account and some of my personal account. If I was an LLC or Inc, then I would have had to hire a lawyer for a minimum $10,000 retainer fee up front before they would be able to defend me, which we didn\'t have.
I think this is part of what allowed EFF to take me on Pro Bono. That meant out of the 4 that were sued, all were LLC\'s or Inc but myself and they would have had to go to court losing probably close to if not over $100,000. Then to invalidate the patent would be another process that would have cost them more money.
I knew that somewhere, their must be someone or a group that could make this go away without me losing more money. My ultimate goal was to invalidate the patent so that no other website could get hit. I think the day EFF told us they would take on our case, I slept the best I had since before Sept. :)
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02/27/2015 06:29:25 AM · #16 |
| has anyone tried to patent the idea of suing for patent infringement? |
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04/14/2015 11:05:36 PM · #17 |
Thought I would post an update :)
I am currently in DC to meet up with one of our attorneys and his colleague to go to a meeting on Capitol Hill to speak on patent reform. I am one of the speakers.
patentreformbriefing.splashthat.com
Also, should you be interested to reading, here are some of the court documents released to the public by EFF which I okayd them to do so.
We have one last answer back to the Plaintiff that was not made public yet, but if it does, it would still be at this same link.
eff.org/cases/garfum-v-reflections-ruth |
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04/14/2015 11:45:58 PM · #18 |
Bumping to make links clickable ... thanks for the update!
Originally posted by rct4905:
Thought I would post an update :)
I am currently in DC to meet up with one of our attorneys and his colleague to go to a meeting on Capitol Hill to speak on patent reform. I am one of the speakers.
//patentreformbriefing.splashthat.com
Also, should you be interested to reading, here are some of the court documents released to the public by EFF which I okayd them to do so.
We have one last answer back to the Plaintiff that was not made public yet, but if it does, it would still be at this same link.
//eff.org/cases/garfum-v-reflections-ruth |
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04/15/2015 02:18:01 AM · #19 |
thank you :)
how long does it take for my account to become clickable links?
I don't think my vBulletin software holds out that long with our users.
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04/15/2015 12:16:13 PM · #20 |
Hi Ruth,
Welcome to DPC, and on behalf of small photo businesses everywhere, thank you for what you are doing regarding this mess. It's horrid you had to go through it at all.
As for how long it takes to get legit, you should be by now. There are 3 boxes below the message field. Make sure you have the "automatically parse URLs checked when entering a link in your message. |
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04/15/2015 12:42:44 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by tanguera:
As for how long it takes to get legit, you should be by now. There are 3 boxes below the message field. Make sure you have the "automatically parse URLs checked when entering a link in your message. |
Also, for the auto-parsing to work you have to include the "//" at the front of the link (I added it to yours). |
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04/15/2015 03:09:54 PM · #22 |
So read through the court documents, I cant seem to figure out why Ruth's site is being singled out (unless there are others) since there many other website that host a photo contest. The plaintiff is what appears to have a technical expertise in web design and coding so I'm not sure if he's suing on the basis that Ruth is running a contest site or if her site was too similar to his in that it used a specific process to rank content (thats his argument). The Garfum site is not similar to DPC or other contest sites, it doesn't have a specific challenge or theme, it only ranks videos by popularity and then pays out winnings. Ruth's site was in accessible so I cant compare to hers. The patent appears to very specific about the process of ranking content. The guy didn't just patent the concept of a photo contest.
FWIW, the patent violation seems to suggest that sites like facebook and Google who use a ranking system to prioritize content are more suspect than a typical contest site.
IMO its going to get dismissed (assuming the defendants lawyer can argue it effectively) because the patent is too generic, however the suit does state that if it is dismissed that it be allowed to enter into a claim construction to find out what the patent actually protects.
Maybe its a stepping stone to take on bigger fish?
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04/15/2015 03:27:46 PM · #23 |
| So, this guy can prove he "invented" this ranking system...??? |
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04/15/2015 05:51:57 PM · #24 |
If it's a specific algorithm or programming code, maybe?
I course the lawsuit doesn't say that or contain any on specifics. Like I said it's very vague while looking detailed.
I just don't get why he's going after her. What possible threat does she pose or how much money can he stand to make after court costs. He asking for a juried trial. |
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04/15/2015 07:33:56 PM · #25 |
| Maybe his photos did poorly on her site...? |
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