HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

How Patent Trolls Kill Innovation

Views:947
@ReasonVids

"My statement to someone that is the victim of a patent troll lawsuit is that you are completely screwed," says Austin Meyer, who is himself the target of a so-called "patent troll" lawsuit.

Meyer is a software developer and aviation enthusiast. His two passions intersected in the '90s when he created a flight simulator called X-Plane, which quickly grew in popularity, outlasting even the once-popular Microsoft Flight Simulator. As many software developers do, Meyer made his application available on mobile devices like the iPhone and Android. And this is where he first ran into trouble.

A company called Uniloc has sued Meyer for patent infringement over a patent called, "System and Method for Preventing Unauthorized Access to Electronic Data." When a computer runs a paid application, one way that developers can assure that a customer has actually purchased the application is by coding the application to match a license code with an encrypted database. This is a method that most paid applications on the Android market use. It's a method that Meyer argues has been in use since at least the late '80s. This is the idea that Uniloc claims to own.

"A patent troll is a company, a person... who owns patents, but doesn't make anything or sell anything," says Julie Samuels, an attorney and the Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Samuels says that patent trolls are a huge tax on innovation and add nothing valuable to the marketplace. A study out of Boston University estimates the direct economic damage that patent trolls cause to be around $29 billion a year, and this doesn't account for hush-hush, off-the-record settlements. But the bigger problem, says Samuels, is the patent system itself.

"You can't separate the problem with the patent troll from the problem with software patents," says Samuels. "There are hundreds of thousands of software patents floating around that are really broad, that are really vague ... and a lot of them are bought up by patent trolls."

A Yale study found that the U.S. patent office is approving new software patents at an approximate rate of 40,000 a year. That's more than 100 new software patents every day. Tracking every software patent to make sure one is not in violation would be an utter impossibility without a full-time team of lawyers on staff.

Uniloc, which purchased the patent in question at a bankruptcy proceeding, declined an interview request for this piece. But on their website, they brag about a victory over software giant Microsoft resulting in $388 million in damages (though this amount was later lowered in an appeals court). Despite the enormous risk, and the enormous cost just to defend against a patent suit, Meyer is resolved to do so.

"I will not simply give somebody money that endorses the idea that they should sue people for doing something amazing," says Meyer. "It must be stopped at some point."

About 6 minutes.

Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Shot by Amanda Winkler, Tracy Oppenheimer, and Weissmueller. Music by Case Newsom, Broke for Free, and Pionir.

Visit Reason TV for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes live.

intellectual property
,
patent trolls
,
patents
,
libertarian
,
libertarianism
,
technoanarchism
,
technology
,
innovation
,
x-plane
,
x plane
,
austin meyer
,
uniloc
,
east texas
,
julie samuels
,
eff
,
electronic frontier foundation
,
open source
,
reason magazine
,
reason tv
,
nick gillespie
,
zach weissmueller
    Thumbnail for Should You Go to Jail for Unlocking Your Phone?17:51
    Should You Go to Jail for Unlocking Your Phone?
    ReasonVids
    808 views
    Thumbnail for Get BETTER At FC24 // Are You Making These Mistakes? | AlexionFUT18:48
    Get BETTER At FC24 // Are You Making These Mistakes? | AlexionFUT
    invidious
    337 views
    Thumbnail for Reason.tv at Slamdance: The Porno-Terror Nexus--How the Patriot Act shut down Insex.com4:26
    Reason.tv at Slamdance: The Porno-Terror Nexus--How the Patriot Act shut down Insex.com
    ReasonVids
    923 views
    Thumbnail for John Stagliano is Free on Obscenity Rap! Feds Bungle Case, Exclusive Q&A1:28
    John Stagliano is Free on Obscenity Rap! Feds Bungle Case, Exclusive Q&A
    ReasonVids
    898 views
    Thumbnail for Adolf Hitler Rare Speech Hitlers Declaration of War Againt the US 11 December 1941 26:12
    Adolf Hitler Rare Speech Hitlers Declaration of War Againt the US 11 December 1941
    NachtWaffen
    953 views
    Thumbnail for Fridge security0:20
    Fridge security
    AOUisgay
    493 views
    Thumbnail for e-whores get patrolled by Tyrone. Now waiting for him to do the same with U.S. Crime Statistics.0:44
    e-whores get patrolled by Tyrone. Now waiting for him to do the same with U.S. Crime Statistics.
    AOUisgay
    497 views
    Thumbnail for These White Boxes Could Track Your Every Move6:13
    These White Boxes Could Track Your Every Move
    ReasonVids
    1088 views
    Thumbnail for I Built a Car with Adjustable Suspension for Exploring the Map! (Scrap Mechanic Survival Ep.8) | kAN Gaming25:17
    I Built a Car with Adjustable Suspension for Exploring the Map! (Scrap Mechanic Survival Ep.8) | kAN Gaming
    gaming.topic
    662 views
    Thumbnail for Watching a BLM riot develop in real-time12:10
    Watching a BLM riot develop in real-time
    AOU
    1642 views
    Thumbnail for The Russian Armed Forces began to use interceptor drones that catch Ukrainian UAVs using a net.0:12
    The Russian Armed Forces began to use interceptor drones that catch Ukrainian UAVs using a net.
    bestofupgoat
    414 views
    Thumbnail for USPS0:14
    USPS
    bestofvoatxyz
    618 views
    Thumbnail for Good for goy, not for Moi1:01
    Good for goy, not for Moi
    AOUisgay
    517 views
    Thumbnail for The Case for Gun Control Is Dead2:28
    The Case for Gun Control Is Dead
    ReasonVids
    1060 views
    Thumbnail for Learn to Laugh at Online Dating | Live From The Lair11:36
    Learn to Laugh at Online Dating | Live From The Lair
    Terrence Popp
    713 views
    Thumbnail for Dragon Ball Z - Russian Roulette | Shelly_Fish0:53
    Dragon Ball Z - Russian Roulette | Shelly_Fish
    invidious
    421 views
    Thumbnail for Is Silicon Valley Building the Infrastructure for a Police State?10:12
    Is Silicon Valley Building the Infrastructure for a Police State?
    ReasonVids
    963 views
    Thumbnail for Leo and Rocko Sing The 2007 Emmy Song | SomePkmn-LovingDude3:07
    Leo and Rocko Sing The 2007 Emmy Song | SomePkmn-LovingDude
    gggknezz123
    368 views
    Thumbnail for Gov't to makeup artists:  Put down the blush, or we'll shut you DOWN2:51
    Gov't to makeup artists: Put down the blush, or we'll shut you DOWN
    IJvids
    887 views
    Thumbnail for Stossel: Rep. Thomas Massie Says End the War in Afghanistan3:27
    Stossel: Rep. Thomas Massie Says End the War in Afghanistan
    ReasonVids
    942 views
    Thumbnail for Training session with a Belgian Malinois puppy | Global K9 Protection Services0:15
    Training session with a Belgian Malinois puppy | Global K9 Protection Services
    invidious
    397 views
    Thumbnail for The 25 Pound Laptop! #Shorts | Techquickie0:33
    The 25 Pound Laptop! #Shorts | Techquickie
    invidious
    455 views
    Thumbnail for LIVE Free Practice 3 (English) I 2024 6 Hours of Imola I FIA WEC | FIA World Endurance Championship1:27:41
    LIVE Free Practice 3 (English) I 2024 6 Hours of Imola I FIA WEC | FIA World Endurance Championship
    invidious
    271 views
    Thumbnail for US State Department veteran Stuart Seldowitz, "If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, it wasn't enough"2:06
    US State Department veteran Stuart Seldowitz, "If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, it wasn't enough"
    AOUisgay
    475 views
    Thumbnail for Poor muslims need your money!2:29
    Poor muslims need your money!
    bestofupgoat
    429 views

points

Permalink
Reply
intellectual property
,
patent trolls
,
patents
,
libertarian
,
libertarianism
,
technoanarchism
,
technology
,
innovation
,
x-plane
,
x plane
,
austin meyer
,
uniloc
,
east texas
,
julie samuels
,
eff
,
electronic frontier foundation
,
open source
,
reason magazine
,
reason tv
,
nick gillespie
,
zach weissmueller
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle