Posted on 09/07/2019 8:51:55 PM PDT by Pelham
This is a story about patents, but more importantly, it’s a story about how the United States has become a modern-day version of the Banana Republic. The term “Banana Republic” was coined by American author O. Henry in 1904 in reference to Honduras which came under extraordinary influence by multinational American fruit corporations.
Banana Republics are societies characterized by their starkly stratified social classes and a ruling-class plutocracy composed of the business, political and military elites. The Elites rule over a servile government that abets and supports, for “contributions,” kickbacks and bribes, the exploitation of the rest of society. Instead of Dole and United Fruit controlling Honduras, we now have Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, FaceBook and other tech giants controlling Congress and the Executive Branch through unlimited lobbying by groups like the Internet Association, High Tech Inventors Alliance, the Software Alliance, Unified Patents and through direct and indirect (e.g. Super PAC) political donations. As demonstrated below, the only difference between Honduras in 1904 and the United States today is that the new bananas are smartphones, software and microelectronic components.
...The beneficiaries of a weak patent system are large multinationals who already dominate their markets with financial power and market share like Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon (collectively the “Elites”). The Elites do not need patents. As they gain dominance in their markets, innovation is not as important as market share, profits and maintaining their dominance. The “peasants” need strong patents to compete with, and perhaps one day join the Elites.
Google did not invent the internet (nor did Al Gore). The internet was invented by the United States government and research institutions supported by your tax dollars. Google just found a really profitable way to enable the public to efficiently use the internet Google did not create.
(Excerpt) Read more at linkedin.com ...
Just keep mashin’ the buttons ‘til words come out.
Their entire business model is based on profiting from providing access to other peoples information and technology.
Since everything passes through their servers, from Hillary Clinton's deleted emails to the source code for the next new computer operating system, Google gets to harvest and review whatever they want to
.
They outright stole Sun Microsystems operating system source code to use as the basis of their Android OS - verbatim, in many cases
Ping,
$0.01 for your thoughts.
Microsoft Patents Ones, Zeroes
https://www.theonion.com/microsoft-patents-ones-zeroes-1819564663
I said it at the time and this article says it again, the AIA was no more than the “Big Tech left out of patent jail free card.”
Did our patent system need reform? Yes, absolutely. But Big Tech used the needed reforms around patent eligible subject matter and the patent Tripp’s to outright convince Congress that the entire patent system needed to be trashed.
If true reform was what was sought, then there were more simple and elegant solutions to defang the trolls and ensure that the mess
created by years of uncertainty around patent eligible subject matter was clarified.
Some suggestions:
1. fee shifting for non-practicing entities and limitations on damages. If you are a troll (one just buying patents and not practicing the inventions claimed therein) and you lose a lawsuit, then you pay attorney fees. Also, your damages are limited and you cannot obtain an injunction.
2. A new type of patent for computer implemented inventions with a post allowance opposition period and shorter term.
A start up I worked for got our CEO from Sun. Our start up was a disaster from the get go and only got worse when the idiot from Sun took the helm.
And BTW, Java was a pack of lies when it was first sold to the programming community. The fact that it thrived for so long is less a testimony to Java than a damning critique of the fecklessness and mob mentality of computer programmers.
And Steve Jobs stole ideas from Xerox.
They were called the Pirates of Silicon Valley for a reason.
They stole the fruits of others labors and the technology that drove the Cold War and re purposed it to changed the world and remade it in their image.
Take a look at Apples famous logo and do a quick think about the significance, which has been lost over time and one billion iPhones.
Where is Darl McBride when you need him?
And again — lawyers.
I happen to have met the person from whom they stole the search algorithms. He took a settlement from Google but nothing compared to what they were worth. Personally I think the government has a case to take down Google and should do it.
Great post. Thanks.
ROFL
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