What else has Texas given us? er...let me think.....

...they are suing because they have a few documents that show something compared to an actual product?

Yeah, Apple snuck into this third world software company to steal it's monumental ideas.

These comments are in chronological order! :)

For those who are juvenile enough to simply blame lawyers ... I do plenty myself, I think you need to hyper down and take an adult view.

The rule of law is what makes democracy and capitalism in America, more just than in places like India or other countries. We aren't better or smarter than they are, we just have laws and hard fought rights. One of which is to be able to sue. It is messy and it is inefficient (it creates this whole legal class of middlemen), but it can be fair and it is necessary.

Wisdom is how we keep from going overboard on the right to sue. If society ends up generating so many lawsuits, it isn't necessarily the lawyers fault, it is that society has not valued wisdom enough.

CEO's and egomaniac lawyers have put the adolescent values of greed and power above the community values of hard work and shared responsibility. That is what we should lament and try to change, not type out bumper sticker slogans on a forum.

But go ahead and have fun ... until some corporation actually screws with you and you actually need a lawyer. BTW, let your elected representative know that the laws that limit the ability of persons to sue a corporation or go bankrupt need to be overturned. We know have a legal system in which it is easier and more common for corporations (like this guy at eMusic) to sue other corps, but not for individuals to do so. This is the upside-down logic of reptile-brained neo-conservatives and it should be discussed out in the open.

cheers

...patent a device that allows you to stab lawyers in the face over the internet.

Patenting software is like patenting a dog trick.

First off, you're describing, in incredible accuracy, the business model that has been Microsoft since hitting it big.

If you kept up on these sorts of things, you'd notice that almost all of these lawsuits are coming out of Texas. Did you ever think to ask, "Why?"

Basically, these so-called tech companies file speculative patents for systems and methods in the hope that, in the future, they'll be able to launch a lawsuit and get money from a settlement. If you look further, they almost never take a company down as they have no intention of creating a product of their own, but rather continue to feed at the lawsuit trough.

No one should ever side with bottom feeders like this. They produce nothing, create nothing and only serve to drive up the cost for consumers. Almost every major company in the USA has had to deal with these scum.

Your comparison is not apt (though funny) as Apple does make a product and ergo must protect it's intellectual copyright. From time-to-time, Apple's Lawyers do push the envelope, but that is what lawyers do. By comparison, the patents of whizbang productions, zap inc, only exist to generate lawsuits and pass the savings on to consumers. This latest company could as well be called "bogus lawsuits R us Inc."

If any company had a karmic debt to pay, it would be the s****-ups at MS. Rather than linking to a comic, you should have linked to this: http://www.vcnet.com/bms/departments/catalog/catalog.shtml which provides a list of almost all MS's takeovers. If you can make sense of it, ou'll see its all about making an monopoly.

If you kept up on these sorts of things, you'd notice that almost all of these lawsuits are coming out of Texas. Did you ever think to ask, "Why?"

Well, the least you could've done is answered why.

it's because all of my exes are there,

and they're to blame...

Due process my a**. The point is these companies are piddling around with technological may bes that they will probably never actually develop and they are choosing to do it after Apple, a company that many are tempted to take a little bite off of, has developed a viable product and moved technology ahead. Where would we be if we had to honor all these hack companies? We'd still be in the techno dark ages waiting for them to do something. The laws need changing and that's it! Put a restriction on these lawsuits that says an actual product trumps a wet dream.

Imagine that you patented something and are in the process of seeking funding and/or a buyer/licensee for your idea.

You hit the road and present your idea to several parties following standard practices - NDA, etc.

Months, or even years later, one of those parties begins producing a product that uses your idea - without your permission (it can take several years for an individual or startup to produce a product).

I don't have a problem with anyone seeking to protect what is rightfully theirs. (IP owners don't want to "take down" companies Monde, they just want to be paid a fair price for their property).

I think what rational people find appalling is when a goliath simply takes what they want because they know the idea man has shallow pockets and can be outlasted.

It's common knowledge that both Apple and Microsoft have nicked IP on several occasions, and both deserve to be reprimanded when appropriate.

The main point of my last post was that doing the right thing (negotiating with the rightful owner of the IP in question) would save mountains of time and money - which you and I actually fund.

GOT to be f*cking kidding me.

Objectivity or density? kainzow, I'm guessing density as your last post is very nearly indecipherable as it relates to the topic of this post.

Whilst I thought the reason for all these copyright suits in TX was well known, I didn't take into account that you may not keep up on such info.

From the NY Times(as per Mr. "turtle formations" request):

What’s behind the rush to file patent lawsuits here? A combination of quick trials and plaintiff-friendly juries, many lawyers say. Patent cases are heard faster in Marshall than in many other courts. And while only a small number of cases make it to trial — roughly 5 percent — patent holders win 78 percent of the time, compared with an average of 59 percent nationwide, according to LegalMetric, a company that tracks patent litigation.

This does not speak to the legitimacy of any given suit, however, a entire cottage industry of patent creating, successful company suing shell corporations have sprung up there. There is very little to loose for these companies and much to gain.

I'm for protecting intellectual property rights as much or more so than the next guy, but this kind obvious patent fishing expedition is not at all about any mythical little guy or company trying to earnestly raise funds to get their product out there. It is about greedy attorneys exploiting an aspect of the patent law to line their own pockets. As mentioned before, the savings is passed on to the consumer. You'd be shocked to know how much these schiesters have cost every consumer over the years-you included.

Prediction: Apple settles an/or the case is dismissed out of hand. Cost will range upwards from 3 million dollars, but will fall very short of Apple's financial pain threshold, say, 15 million dollars.

If you cannot see this, then you're just dense or delusional. Pick whichever suites you.

Well, if these guys were doing that, they should be able to produce the NDA. If they did not get an NDA, that is their bad. Now -a-days anyone plugging an idea (even a patented one) should know this and be able to produce the document.