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Mueller’s critique against Google off base

Last month, Florian Mueller authored a provocative blog post, criticizing Google for its recent pledge not to assert ten of its patents against any open source project. Mueller has never been a fan of these kinds of pledges, so his comments aren’t surprising. Mueller’s main criticism is that Google hasn’t gone far enough: compared to IBM, Sun, […]

CCIA Files Comments to US Antitrust Regulators on Patent Troll Activity

(Cross-posted on DisCo) Last Friday, CCIA filed its comments to the FTC/DOJ’s Public Workshop on Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) (aka patent trolls).  Although antitrust authorities cannot fix all of the foundational problems in the patent system — such as the patent quality problem — they can certainly use their competition expertise and authority to help rein in some of the most […]

Suggestions for an FTC 6(b) Study on Patent Assertion Entities

The Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly hosted a workshop to explore the issue of patent assertion entities (PAEs) on December 10, 2012.  Since then there has been a growing consensus that PAEs are a significant problem for the technology and software industries.  Representative Peter DeFazio from Oregon and Representative Jason […]

Google Retaliates Against BT Patent Suits in US, UK

In a fresh salvo in the ongoing patent wars, Google launched infringement actions against British Telecom (BT) in California and the United Kingdom (UK) on Wednesday.  The suits appear to be in retaliation to a number of claims against Google, including a suit brought against Google in U.S. federal court in Delaware in late 2011. […]

Ericsson and Unwired Planet: A One-Stop Shop for Outlining Patent Abuse

Swedish telecommunications pioneer Ericsson is the latest in a line of big companies turning to patent assertion entities (PAEs) to make a quick buck at the expense of competition and innovation.  As TechCrunch first reported, Ericsson entered into a Master Sale Agreement with Unwired Planet to sell 2,185 patents and patent applications.  The transaction with Unwired Planet, […]

USPTO Real Party in Interest Roundtable

On Friday, January 11 the USPTO held a public roundtable to discuss proposed requirements for recordation of real-party-in-interest information throughout application pendency and patent term.  The USPTO is considering imposing new requirements on patentees and assignees to better publicize the chain of ownership for patents.  This is an important effort by the USPTO that mostly […]

Previewing Monday’s DOJ/FTC Workshop on Patent Trolls and Antitrust

On Monday, Patent Progress will be out in full force at the joint public workshop on patent assertion entity (PAE) behavior organized by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  They have put together an excellent series of panels, and we will be live-tweeting the workshop […]

Why an Antitrust Lawyer Cares About Patent Reform

Since the advent of antitrust enforcement in the United States through the Sherman Act in 1890, antitrust law and patent law have endured an uneasy relationship.  Initial cases treated patents as superior to competition.  Patentees once were “the owner of a monopoly recognized by the Constitution and by the statutes of Congress.”  Gradually throughout the years […]

Progress in a Time of War

It may be thermonuclear war, but at least it’s out in the open. We have Steve Jobs to thank, not only for his brilliant contributions to technology, but for launching Apple’s thermonuclear war against Android.   Already raging in ten countries around the world, this war has made a public spectacle of the subjectivity, uncertainties, and […]

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