James Robertson: “Tagging followed by an automated email is now owned by Facebook. Can we just close down the patent office now, and declare everything they’ve done since, oh, about 1985, invaild?”
Yep, software as a business is trying to kill itself.
The Las Vegas Sun [via Daring Fireball]: “We are live from the Sahara casino floor, which is to close forever at 10 a.m. Moments ago, a man asked no one in particular, “Is Jerry Lewis going to be here? He should be the last one out the door.—
The first time I ever went to Windows World/Networld Interop I stayed at The Sahara.
That was a long time ago. My how things change.
Cult of Mac: “Patent troll Lodsys has been suing iOS indie developers for using Apple’s own in-app purchasing mechanism. Sleazily, the company has claimed that they had no choice but to go after the little guy because Apple refused to cough up an App-Store-wide patent license.”
Apple could step in here and be a real knight in shining armor. They could offer to pay villainous scum Lodsys out of their 30% take from In App Purchase.
We’ll see.
Engadget: “Though it’s very unlikely that Cupertino won’t offer assistance, devs will also be able to turn to EFF for advice, where they may even be paired with pro bono patent attorneys. Besides offering this bit of good news, Samuels was able to help us dig deeper into Lodsys, and the dirty business of patent suits.”
Well, there’s a bit of a silver lining, I think.
I’m sorry, I just had to post this. Wil is very well known in the Mac Development world, and a real stud coder. Anywho, he’s gone off on the knuckleheads at Lodsys. Via Twitter. Enjoy, I know I did.
Lodsys: “No, that’s not what’s happening. Apple is licensed for its nameplate products and services.”
The bottom line. If you’re an iOS developer using In App Purchase, or IAP, you should remove it immediately and remove any links that take users of your FREE version to the App Store, apparently a simple button is enough to get a letter.
SLIME BALLS.
The good new is Lawyers like this burn in hell, they really do. There’s a special placed reserved for them. They’ll get theirs.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. –
H. G. Bohn, 1855
Lodsys: “There are lots of bills in life that it would be preferable to not pay if one didn’t have to. Lodsys is just trying to get value for assets that it owns, just like each and every company selling products or services is, trying to do business and make a profit. Its odd that some of the companies that received notices had such a visceral reaction. Some of these companies have our favorite apps, for which we paid the asking price. We realize you have to get paid for your work and so do we.”
The Troll responds.
Their extortion fee is 0.575%.
What’s really bogus about this is they’re looking to shake out fees for “past usage.” Even if they could collect today it’s not very nice to turn someone upside down and shake them until coins fall from their pockets.
Our patent system1 is completely busted. Like in this case. There’s a guy sitting somewhere trying to collect fees for doing NOTHING. Oh, sure, the shell company bought a patent from someone else, but they didn’t actually do the inventing. He’s probably an ex divorce lawyer or used car salesman. I’m sure there are many fine folks in East Texas, but why would you want to share where you live with vermin like this?
1. Disclaimer: I’m actually a co-author on a patent. I also asked to be removed from other patents, after this one, because I believe they’re not used the way they were intended.
Rolling Stone: “They weren’t murderers or anything; they had merely stolen more money than most people can rationally conceive of, from their own customers, in a few blinks of an eye. But then they went one step further. They came to Washington, took an oath before Congress, and lied about it.”
Can someone please, please, explain to me why these thieves aren’t serving time? It’s time to pay the piper.
New York Times: “WASHINGTON — The adult sons of Osama bin Laden have lashed out at President Obama in their first public reaction to their father’s death, accusing the United States of violating its basic legal principles by killing an unarmed man, shooting his family members and disposing of his body in the sea.”
“..by killing an unarmed man…” – That’s rich.
2,752 unarmed people died September 11, 2001 at the hands of your father.
Duh. One for 2,752. He got off easy.
Holy Kaw!: “That’s right. The red-brick Georgian beauty that housed so many of Macaulay Culkin’s shenanigans is hitting the housing market on Thursday, and will be selling for $2.4 million.”
If I had a huge pocket full of cash I’d buy this place. I know my lovely wife wouldn’t mind.
Actually, there’s another one I think I’d prefer. The home from Father of the Bride. It’s perfect.
The home used in the film is in Pasadena, California.