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EFF Challenges Bogus Patent on Internet Subdomains
Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release For Immediate Release: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 Contact: Jason Schultz Senior Staff Attorney Electronic Frontier Foundation jason@eff.org +1 415 436-9333 x112 Rick Mc Leod Klarquist Sparkman, LLP rick.mcleod@klarquist.com +1 503 595-5300 x2317 EFF Challenges Bogus Patent on Internet Subdomains Illegitimate Patent Used to Threaten Website Hosting Companies San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is challenging a bogus patent on Internet subdomains that has been used to threaten small businesses and innovators. Ideaflood, a self-proclaimed "intellectual property holding company," used this illegitimate patent to demand payment from website hosting companies that offer virtual, personalized subdomains -- like "action.eff.org" for the parent domain "eff.org." But in a reexamination request filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) today, EFF and Rick Mc Leod of Klarquist Sparkman, LLP show that the method Ideaflood claims to have invented was well known before the patent was issued. In fact, website developers were having public discussions about how to create these virtual subdomains on an Apache developer mailing list for more than a year before Ideaflood made its patent claim. "This illustrates how an open-source project can establish a public record of technology development and thwart invalid patents," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "The public discussions on the Apache and other mailing lists have shown that Ideaflood's patent claims were without merit and that the patent should be revoked before it causes any more damage to innovation on the Internet." The companies that Ideaflood threatened include Freehomepage.com, T35 Hosting, and LiveJournal, a social networking site where each of its three million users have their own subdomain. The patent has since been reassigned to a company called Hoshiko, LLC. "Our patent system is intended to encourage innovation, not damage it by encroaching on the public domain," said Rick Mc Leod, who drafted EFF's petition. "Unfortunately, in recent years the PTO has been deluged with applications, making it difficult to determine whether many patents should be issued or rejected. When a 'bad' patent targets something as ephemeral as the Internet, it can be even more difficult to get that patent invalidated. Fortunately, a diligent, prior art searcher sent us a key reference." The challenge to the Ideaflood patent is part of EFF's Patent Busting Project, which combats the chilling effects that bad patents have on public and consumer interests. So far, the project has killed one bogus patent and requested the reexamination of two others. For the full reexamination request: http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/ideaflood/reexam/ReqReex... For more on EFF's Patent Busting Project: http://www.eff.org/patent/ For this release: http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_08.php#005412 About EFF The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/ -end- _______________________________________________ presslist mailing list https://falcon.eff.org/mailman/listinfo/presslist (Log in to post comments)
Fraud. Posted Aug 31, 2007 23:29 UTC (Fri) by dwmw2 (subscriber, #2063) [Link] Is this not just plain fraud, or extortion? It sounds like a criminal case could be brought against them.
Fraud. Posted Sep 1, 2007 0:51 UTC (Sat) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954) [Link] Is this not just plain fraud, or extortion? I don't see any evidence of that. Fraud is where you lie to someone to get him to give you something. I don't see a lie here; I presume Ideaflood tries to get money from people by telling them it has a patent, which is true. Extortion is where you offer to trade someone something you have a duty to give him anyway. For example, "give me $20 and I won't punch you in the face." The only thing Ideaflood is offering to trade is the right to use the invention. If the patent is good, Ideaflood has no duty to let anyone use it. If the patent is no good, Ideaflood isn't offering anything at all in trade. Are you maybe thinking of litigation extortion? Where someone has a duty not to sue (or not to defend) because he has absolutely no case, but proposes a settlement anyway? To have a duty not to use legal process, it has to be so certain that you have no case that pressing one would be outrageous. Here, I don't even see a claim that Ideaflood knows the patent is invalid.
Fraud. Posted Sep 1, 2007 1:02 UTC (Sat) by dwmw2 (subscriber, #2063) [Link] It's obvious and there's prior art. How could it not be invalid?Ideaflood is offering to trade the right to use subdomains, which is something which they cannot justifiably withhold. That seems like extortion to me. But I'm not a lawyer; I'd just like to see someone find a way to impose custodial sentences for those who file bogus patents and then abuse them.
Fraud. Posted Sep 1, 2007 2:20 UTC (Sat) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954) [Link] Ideaflood is offering to trade the right to use subdomains, which is something which they cannot justifiably withhold. Not only can they not justifiably withhold it, they can't withhold it at all (assuming the patent is invalid). They simply don't have the power. So there can't be any extortion.
I'd just like to see someone find a way to impose custodial sentences for those who file bogus patents and then abuse them. It's still not clear to me that Ideaflood intentionally filed a bogus patent or has done anything evil. And as far as I can tell, the EFF isn't claiming that either. The government sets up a patent system and invites people to apply for patents, and grants them. It's hard to hold it against someone for accepting the invitation. As far as I can tell, Ideaflood is playing by the rules we as a society set. A patent like this is worthless if it is obviously invalid. Ideaflood paid good money for it because it believed that patent lawyers would see enough validity in it to advise their clients to buy licenses. I'm not a patent lawyer, but from patents I've heard of, I can see the legal bar is pretty low.
Fraud. Posted Sep 1, 2007 9:11 UTC (Sat) by dwmw2 (subscriber, #2063) [Link] A patent like this is worthless if it is obviously invalid.I only wish that were true. But it isn't -- people will avoid implementing features, or shipping software in Linux distributions, if it's even rumoured that there might be a patent covering it, however bogus. And I thought that the invalidity of the patent wasn't actually a legal defence, if the owner does take you to court. You have to get the patent revoked separately? So they really do have the power to make life hard for you if you infringe on their bogus patent.
Fraud. Posted Sep 1, 2007 17:22 UTC (Sat) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954) [Link] people will avoid implementing features, or shipping software in Linux distributions, if it's even rumoured that there might be a patent covering it, however bogus. I think those people think there is a small chance there is a valid patent, because they see all kinds of ridiculous patents being found valid (or at least likely enough to be valid that a court requires expensive proof to the contrary).
And I thought that the invalidity of the patent wasn't actually a legal defence, if the owner does take you to court. You have to get the patent revoked separately?Invalidity of the patent is a complete defense. That the patent was issued creates a rebuttable presumption that it is valid, but if the alleged infringer shows in court that that the patent should not have been issued, the patent has no force. It's only recently that I've heard of people (such as the EFF in this case) taking the trouble to get the US patent office to rescind a patent (maybe it wasn't even possible before).
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