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There are two camps in the tech industry: those that take existing technologies, infuse new ideas into them, and create meaningful and useful products, and those that file patents, do nothing, wait for other companies to develop meaningful and innovative products, then sue them for their piece of the pie. NTP falls under the second category, having already walked away with a hefty $612 million settlement from a dispute filed with RIM. With the added weight of that settlement, NTP is using the same patents to strike out even harder against several more mobile tech giants, including Google, HTC, Motorola, and LG. All of these companies are linked to Android in some way, though the non-Android big boys Apple and Microsoft were named as well.
If this suit is anything like the RIM one, it won’t be quick, painless, or easy. NTP and RIM had at the legal wrangling for five years before bags of money were dropped at their feet. However, the strength and number of companies being sued may work in advantage of the manufacturers and software developers being accused of patent thievery.
[via Engadget]
I bet a few people at NTP end up dead by the end of the week.
Everyone loses but the lawyers…
The government needs to nullify any patent if the patent holder can not produce a product or service based on the paten within a reasonable timeframe.
Too bad the Supreme Court just passed on an opportunity to strike down or at least restrict software patents in their recently ruled-upon Bilski case. Instead, this sort of patent trolling will only get worse.
This company is nothing but a patent troll. On top of this those patents have been reviewed and rejected, sadly until all the appeals are exhausted they can keep playing this game with people who actually produce stuff.
Obvious troll is obvious.
This company needs to be put out of business.
here is actual document. haven’t read it all
http://www.scribd.com/doc/34128782/NTP-complaint-against-Google
How did their lawsuit against all the carriers turn out back in 2007… anyone know?
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/11/ntp-shows-fall-2007-lawsuit-fashions-sues-atandt-sprint-verizon/
Network Time Protocol? Who the hell is NTP and what do they do?
Did anyone else think NTP meant ntp.org?
Sounds like Apple’s strategy…
garbage
E-mail? Can you say prior art?
I like someone’s suggestion over at Engadget: have one of those companies buy out NTP and shut this whole thing down.
NTP probably stands for “Nationwide Troll for Patents”.
NTP are fucking parasites.
Ummmm how the hell did RIM loose this? Seriously. They are talking about patenting email (an open protocol that was created well before the company ever existed.) over a medium (in this case wireless.) You can’t patent that!! It would be like patenting e-mail over WIFI, e-mail over fiber, e-mail over coax, e-mail over CAT5.
I swear to god as my witness I want to track down these jack***es who grant these patents and beat them to death. (This includes the people who are carelessly granting Apple all these damn patents as well.) There needs to be retribution for these insane behavior on the part of the parent office.