How to lose a technology race with the world, especially China. Allow patent trolls to not only exist, but thrive.
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Apple Ordered to Pay $302 Million in Damages to VirnetX in Patent Retrial
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It was previous high awards that had been dismissed. This trial was about redoing those awards and adding some others.
No need. The patent holders approached Apple and Apple refused. So then the patent holders sued. This is pretty common, as Apple has a policy of refusing license requests and taking them to court.
Yes, and most of the VirnetX officers are the actual inventors of their core patents. They're not what most people consider patent trolls.
Plaintiffs like East Texas and Delaware courts because they are quick, have technical experience, and favor patent holders.
In a similar way, Apple prefers northern California courts which favor home state companies and seemingly, their lawyers' style. Likewise, Motorola used to favor filing in their home state of Illinois.
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Maybe in this one particular case. But if they kept settling cases, surely it would just encourage (even) more and more cases, because they would get a reputation for settling rather than fighting? If they fight even the cases that appear to have some merit, it might make it less likely that as many typical 'patent trolls' would attempt bringing a case in the first place. To be less inclined to fight patent cases would, I think, perhaps be seen an open invitation to others to try their luck, because there would be less risk involved, and a higher chance of getting some of Apple's cash mountain.
That's kind of a hard decision to make. If you settle a lot and they know it , then you encourage even more trolling. If you fight it and you tell the other side "Let's go to court", you may win or lose but it's an attempt to discourage others from attempting it in the first place.
I visited the VirnetX website to get exact details about this case, the only product I found is a SPAM software download, not a valid product making company. I smell a patent troll, I don't know the details but I think this company is fake. I should have patented the keyboard and screen, then any/all softwares would be subjected to my patent.
Perhaps Apple can pay them after they get their payments from the lawsuit with Samsung?
What does that have to do with anything? Can I wait until my buddy gives back the $50 he owes me before I pay my income tax bill?
Looking at the big picture, even with the multi-million dollar payouts Apple occasionally has to pay they totally win out in the long run.Why? When those ideas result in billions in sales for them, any copyright infringement penalty (even a $300 million dollar penalty) just becomes a drop in the bucket.
Not knocking you, but that slanted Wikipedia entry. Specializing makes sense. Buying up IP makes sense.
Heck, Apple does both, in a big way. They're constantly purchasing companies for their IP, which sometimes they use, sometimes they don't.
And of course, there's the billions Apple et al spent acquiring Nortel communication patents and then using most of them to create one of the world's worst patent troll companies ever:
How Apple and Microsoft Armed 4,000 Patent Warheads - Wired magazine
Welcome to the forum with your first post. For an example of a real patent troll, read the Wired article linked above.
The VirnetX guys are living the American dream: work hard, invent something cool, and license it to others.
The inventions they created for customers like NSA, had patents applied for back around 1998 - 2002. The patents were granted around 2005 - 2011.
The inventors knew they had done something valuable, so they left and formed VirnetX in 2005 and acquired the first set of patents in 2006-7 from their old employers.
Moreover, these guys at VirnetX have continued to invent new technologies along the way. Unlike a traditional troll that only buys up others' work, this is more like a group of smart scientists who wanted to profit from their own work.
VirnetX has invented IP and libraries that they license. For that matter, they even have an iPhone download.
My question is, do their royalty rates make sense? For a large customer like Apple, it appears that their asking rate is between one or two dollars per phone. That seems like a lot for a relatively small part of a phone. OTOH, some people here think that Apple should get even more money for Apple's less important patents when infringed.
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If you invent something, you are not a troll if someone else steals it and uses it and you sue them.
Apple never saw an invention they could not steal cheaper than make...per SJ guru himself.
They have been using VPNoD knowingly in violation for years. Their "engineers" testified they never even checked patents before development---sheer stupidity or arrogance. Trying to force Virnetx out of business. Bad stuff, Apple.
Be smart. Buy VHC-VirnetX stock now as Apple is going to pay and pay. And so is Samsung and others. Microsoft paid early and gets out cheap. Do some homework before using the T-word fan boys.
Apple never saw an invention they could not steal cheaper than make...per SJ guru himself.
They have been using VPNoD knowingly in violation for years. Their "engineers" testified they never even checked patents before development---sheer stupidity or arrogance. Trying to force Virnetx out of business. Bad stuff, Apple.
Be smart. Buy VHC-VirnetX stock now as Apple is going to pay and pay. And so is Samsung and others. Microsoft paid early and gets out cheap. Do some homework before using the T-word fan boys.
Did the joke just whiz past you? 'Cause if you did think I was serious, then I have to say, your buddy is never returning the $50 mate.
I don't see how the frequent "Patent should never have been issued" argument is relevant. Unless it is invalidated, Apple has to proceed accordingly. Either license the technology or engineer around it.
Apple supposedly has some of the best engineers and lawyers on the planet so how do they continually get caught up in these patent disputes?
If the patents don't apply/aren't valid/are too vague/etc. then why is Apple getting tapped with these big awards? Are their engineers and lawyers not as bright as we are led to believe or is Apple's penchant for new-product secrecy at any cost hamstringing their staff's ability to properly evaluate these patent revelancies up front?
Apple supposedly has some of the best engineers and lawyers on the planet so how do they continually get caught up in these patent disputes?
If the patents don't apply/aren't valid/are too vague/etc. then why is Apple getting tapped with these big awards? Are their engineers and lawyers not as bright as we are led to believe or is Apple's penchant for new-product secrecy at any cost hamstringing their staff's ability to properly evaluate these patent revelancies up front?
Patent trolls, by definition, don't come up with the ideas behind the patents they use to sue other entities. They tend to acquire patent portfolios from other entities that DO do the hard work of coming up with the idea (and filing for the original patent), and then use their portfolio to sue others.
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Good question, and I believe I know at least part of the answer. Many engineers are discouraged from searching patents for prior art when developing their own stuff, so it is quite possible that they may independently come up with the same solution as another person did. The reason why patent searches are discouraged is so that companies can truthfully claim that they didn't know about the existing patents, and therefore didn't willfully infringe on them (and therefore can't be awarded triple damages).
By your definition above, VirnetX is not a patent troll.
This is the East Texas Patent Troll court (from Wikipedia):
"In 2015, a staggering 43.6% of federal patent suits (2,540 suits) were filed in the Eastern District, which was more than the number of lawsuits filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (545 cases or 9.3%), the United States District Court for the Central District of California (300 cases or 5.1%), the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (228 cases or 3.9%) and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (162 cases or 2.8%) combined."
Apple probably expected to lose and will appeal in a more favorable court. Happens all the time. Many East Texas verdicts have been thrown out, including some for over $1 billion.
Unless Apple comes up with them first, then they should be protected for eternity.
It doesn't matter which is the hard part. Patent trolls do neither.
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I don't think you're familiar with software development. It's trivially easy to come up with an infringing design completely independently of any knowledge of the related patent. Software is just obvious that way. Software patents are stupid. It takes far more effort to figure out if your idea, which you came up with completely on your own, is patented because someone else also came up with it and registered it than it does to actually come up with and implement the idea.
Did you protect it? Did you go to the effort to articulate the idea in a written form to record it? Did you go to the trouble, effort and expense to get it legally protected with a patent? Because if not you are just demonstrating your ignorance with your example.
Technology advancement would come to an immediate halt. One jerk with a critical patent, like any means of wireless communication, cold hold that for ransom for a ridiculous amount of money. And you'd never have wirelessly communicating devices ever again.
Yeah... just like Apple, Macrumors, you and I...
[doublepost=1475343036][/doublepost]Patent trolls incentivize and financially reward the people who do the hard work of coming up with ideas and allows those people to profit from ideas they produce that they do not have the resources available to bring to market.
You do know with all patent trolls, they paid money to the inventor of the patent. That is more than what Apple did, Apple just stole the idea without payment. The inventor does the hard work and they got paid when the "troll" buys it. As the new owner of that patent, they can do what ever they want with it. If Apple doesn't like NPE (non practicing entities), perhaps Apple should have done the smart thing and bought those patents first.
I hope you know Apple also buys up companies for their patents as well, 8 this year ... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Apple
If you hold them for "a ridiculous amount of money" you will not get a profit. Profit incentivizes the bargaining process. You are wrong plainly and simply.