Look at these frivolous BD related lawsuits and such

[JTK]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080321/...zR2miyhx4jtBAF

TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission said it would launch an investigation into some 30 companies including Sony Corp (6758.T) on possible patent infringements related to Blu-ray disc players and other products.

The commission said on its Web site on Thursday that the products involved are short-wavelength light-emitting diodes and laser diodes used in such electronics as handheld mobile devices, traffic lights and high-definition DVD players.

The move is based on a complaint filed in February by Columbia University Professor Emeritus Gertrude Neumark Rothschild, who is seeking to block imports into the United States of a range of products that she said were infringing her patent.

Besides Sony, companies cited in the ITC announcement include Nokia (NOK1V.HE), Motorola Inc (MOT.N), LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS), and Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd (6752.T).

A Sony spokesman said the consumer electronics maker could not as the investigation is ongoing.

Somehow I have serious doubts about all of this.

Hope to hear from our insiders on this. I call shenanigans.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/21/l...nd-everyone-e/

^^ Could be related to this nonsense.

[Maximus]

Not shenanigans.

The case is real, and any company that doesn't settle will have to drag out the court case for a long enough time so that the old lady in question dies. That's not me being harsh, but realistic.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Not shenanigans.

The case is real, and any company that doesn't settle will have to drag out the court case for a long enough time so that the old lady in question dies. That's not me being harsh, but realistic.

That's sad.

According to rumor, supposedly Phillips already settled out of court.

The cynic in me wonders how I can rig myself up in a setup like this so I can "get a settlement."

I guess I need to actually invent something first. That might help.

Ah well...

[Ferris]

This is absolutely wild. I can understand the woman's side, if it is indeed Patent Theft. But, from what I understand, that can be near impossible to prove. And, as several have said, it would take a VERY long time in court before this suit is over.

[Elandyll]

I find interesting that she waited February, a whole year and a half after the format was launched, but during the month Blu Ray prevailed vs HD DVD, to start the legal filing.


Very interesting...

Meh, that's going to be settled out of court, and she just shows to be a money hungry ol' lady, not much to it.
Some people like her spend their time filing patents on tons of stuff, and checking newspapers to see if anyting newly arrived would not infringe on their patents, to make a buck.
Of course the patent systme is necessary to protect true researchers, but I'd very much like to know if she really was a part of the Blue Laser diode team, of if truly that team chose to illegaly use her findings without buying her patent...

[Blinkman987]

Maybe she's legit. Maybe she's like Gibson guitars who saw Guitarfreaks in Japan and filed for a US patent, stealing Konami's idea and now using their sketchy patent to sue Activision over Guitar Hero.

Either way it's pure conjecture until someone knows the hard facts.

[Rabidhunter]

Yeah, this is tough to say or decide what the truth is here. It seems very sketchy at best. I would like to have proof and to see her diagrams and such. Where are they, certainly not on the article. Frankly I think she's just out for it for the money. Perhaps she's a little miffed because she invested a lot of money in HD-DUD stuff and now she's hosed.

[whippersnapper]

Folks, it's just another tech shakedown going on. This is becoming an industry in itself enriching (unjustifiably) many folks and lawyers who are engaging in this practice. Anyone who creates and markets a successful product is used to being set upon by these people -- like flies to s__t!

[Metalheadisme]

There isn't enough info here for me to pass judgement....

We have no clue what her patent encompasses and what she is claiming the companies are infringing upon.

There are very valid cases of patent infringement, and then there are ones based on frivilous patent filers getting patents on things that shouldn't be patented in hopes of stealing money from the people doing the real work.

Like in my case, I research optical biological and chemical sensors. You'd be surprised at the patents that are out there for "any system which uses a light source and detector to detect biological or chemical analytes." That type of nonsense would never hold up in the end- there's a grey limit as to how general a patent can be.

[TheRealBob]

I'm pro-Blu and all, but if the person legitimately invented and patented technology that is being used by others, then she's entitled to royalties from it.

I think some people are confusing "I don't want this to be true" with "I've looked at the facts and don't find this to be true".

For the record, I have not researched this at all and have no idea if she has a legitimate case or not. If she does, she deserves the royalties to which she's legally entitled. If she doesn't, then she deserves nothing.

[scweb13]

...a patent she owns for light-emitting and laser diodes.

Sounds like it's not against just Blu-ray.
I wonder how much might be owed to her?

[TheRealBob]

Originally Posted by Metalheadisme

Like in my case, I research optical biological and chemical sensors. You'd be surprised at the patents that are out there for "any system which uses a light source and detector to detect biological or chemical analytes." That type of nonsense would never hold up in the end- there's a grey limit as to how general a patent can be.

IBM held the patent on the concept that if you're typing characters on a screen, and you get to the last character cell at the bottom right, then if you enter one more character the screen scrolls up one line.

I kid you not.

IBM was notorious for having a bunch of stupid patents like this that they'd enforce. They were very smart about it though, because they'd license it for a very modest payment, so it wasn't worth fighting them over it. The net result was that IBM made a fortune off all these small payments (every BIOS maker paid them to be allowed to use the technology I described above, for example).

Apple was just the opposite. They'd do stupid things like help create the IEEE 1394 interface standard, then they branded it FireWire, created good brand awareness of it, then wanted to charge everyone an arm and a leg to use the name FireWire. Most didn't pay, causing a lot of customer confusion, and, many think, causing much less success for IEEE 1394 than it would have had otherwise.

[theknub]

from what i understand, her "groundbreaking" research was done in the 80's and early 90's. my original thought was that wouldn't this have applied more to CD and DVD than BD? how would she have been so far ahead of the curve on this?

[reider]

Here is the link to her only patent I found:

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...2.INNM.&OS=IN/

It's very old (filed in 1988), very broad; but legit. It's about manufacturing techniques of light emitting (and also all others in general) semiconductor P-N junctions which I would assume was widely improved upon, but nevertheless is still in use.

[Krayge2469]

Patent holders are notorious for being as ABSOLUTELY ambiguous as possible so as to allow wiggle room for someone to invent a legitimate technology and then, once the tech takes off, to try and use some vague patent to squeeze the companies for royalties. I also have some "things that make ya go hmm" thoughts rollin around the back of my head on the timing as well. ie, she kept her fat yap shut until the tech that she thought could most closely fit her ambiguous design was the "winner" and then was suddenly "oh noez! someone totally ripped my idea off!" it's far too convenient and if she'd said something when the tech showed up then she'd have nothing to sue for cause BD may have gone under with the looming threat of the lawsuits.

the whole thing just screams "shakedown" and is another potential weapon in the belt of those trying to fix the patent system to avoid crap like this. i still think there should be some kind of a "saturation point" law. when your "patent" is being infringed upon, it's up to you to notice and call someone on it but, once it hits a certain marketshare it becomes public domain if you haven't acted upon it sooner. all these ppl waiting to try and sue until after the supposed infringement has taken a solid foothold on whatever industry is involved is bull. no single patent infringement will wildfire across the country in a week and these ppl would then suddenly be out of luck. common sense...the patent system has NONE.

[CobraComander]

cut her brake lines

[Sylin]

Originally Posted by Krayge2469

Patent holders are notorious for being as ABSOLUTELY ambiguous as possible so as to allow wiggle room for someone to invent a legitimate technology and then, once the tech takes off, to try and use some vague patent to squeeze the companies for royalties.

Agreed. They'll sue Company A because their product is closely related on one end of the spectrum, and then sue Company B because their product is closely related on the OTHER end of the spectrum. Nevermind that if you compare the two products, they are NOTHING alike. It is the legal equivalent of having your cake and eating it, too.

Now, that said, as someone who holds a few copyrights, trademarks and IP myself, I believe in protecting original work and creativity from unfair use or theft, but I'm also very reasonable. Sometimes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

[Grubert]

Dreier LLP Obtains Settlement Agreements with Sony, Sanyo, Exceed and Lucky Light in Landmark LED Patent Case

Companies agree to license patents covering crucial LED technology in case brought by Columbia Professor Emerita Gertrude Neumark Rothschild

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080527/nytu028.html?.v=101

Professor Rothschild is very pleased that both Sony and Sanyo, and other major electronics makers have recognized her major scientific contributions to LED and LD technology

I bet she would be pleased. Nudge, nudge.

[Beta Man]

it may have also taken her a long time to learn they were infringing on her patent, and it may have taken her a long time to put her evidence/case together..... let's not jump to conclusions to say "oh they won" because more than likely her patent would have been infringed upon by more than just Blu-Ray, so I don't think she was waiting.... believe it or not... this "War" that everyone talks about wasn't as public as you may want to believe.

[Anthony P]

it may have also taken her a long time to learn they were infringing on her patent, and it may have taken her a long time to put her evidence/case together..... let's not jump to conclusions to say "oh they won" because more than likely her patent would have been infringed upon by more than just Blu-Ray, so I don't think she was waiting.... believe it or not... this "War" that everyone talks about wasn't as public as you may want to believe.

no, the trick is that you need to wait until something is established enough. Then you jump in with the patent infringement. The companies are stuck, they can't re-invent to change it so that no claim can be made, they are stuck while it is in court (why the claimant asks for -not available in the US, like she did), so what can you do? just talk with the claimant until an agreement is made. If you do it too early then the companies might be able to change it enough to prove relatively fast that the person did not have a legit claim.