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Atlanta-based attorney Scott A. Horstemeyer has sued the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and "Staff Attorney and Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents" Daniel Nazer for libel over an April blog post that bashed patent litigant Eclipse IP LLC for US Patent No. 9,013,334, "Notification systems and methods that permit change of quantity for delivery and/or pickup of goods and/or services." The patent was filed by "prolific inventor" Scott Horstemeyer on March 5, 2014. EFF explains:
We think that all of Eclipse's patents deserve a stupid patent of the month award. But the '334 patent is especially deserving. This is because the Patent Office issued this patent after a federal court invalidated similar claims from other patents in the same family. On September 4, 2014, Judge Wu of the Central District of California issued an order invalidating claims from three of Eclipse's patents. The court explained that these patents claim abstract ideas like checking to see if a task has been completed. Judge Wu applied the Supreme Court's recent decision in Alice v CLS Bank and held the claims invalid under Section 101 of the Patent Act.
All of Eclipse's patents were both "invented" and prosecuted by a patent attorney named Scott Horstemeyer (who just so happens to have prosecuted Arrivalstar's patents too). Patent applicants and their attorneys have an ethical obligation to disclose any information material to patentability. Despite this, from what we can tell from the Patent Office's public access system PAIR, Horstemeyer did not disclose Judge Wu's decision to the examiner during the prosecution of the '334 patent, even though the decision invalidated claims in the patent family. While Horstemeyer has not made any genuine contribution to notification "technology," he has shown advanced skill at gaming the patent system.
EFF has managed to get "stupid" patents invalidated by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, such as the one that was used to threaten podcasters. You can follow Horstemeyer's litigation against EFF here.
Original Submission
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2015, @09:13PM
Or "Stupid Lawyer of the Month" award.
(Score: 1) by KGIII on Thursday June 04 2015, @10:03PM
"Some men you just can't reach..." Which is why this guy needs a punch in the nuts. Like you say, "Stupid." I do agree with patents (and copyright) in general but not with the system we have now. It is like I do not mind the death penalty in principle, but not with the system we have now. The worst part is that these folks seem to think they have a just patent and that they will win in court.
No, I am wrong.
The worst thing is that these cretins may actually win in court and then have the temerity to feel justice was served. Can I donate BitCoin to EFF? I have a personal reason for doing so. I mined some back when they first started and I do not want my name or address to be associated with them. I have enough tax liability already and I am not sure how my accountant would deal with me adding BitCoin to it nor am I wanting to accept any legal blowback or political blowback as I am considering running for office at the state level. I do not need campaign contributions, maybe I can affect change in a small way, in a small state, with a small voice.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Friday June 05 2015, @03:39AM
They accept bitcoin. I'm sure they'd appreciate it very much.
(Score: 1) by KGIII on Sunday June 07 2015, @09:17AM
Excellent, thanks. I probably should have done my own research but thank you. I have a good size stack and will send them over. I should probably include my name, I am sure they will not share it, and I should say that it comes via the good folk here on this site. They should appreciate it. It is a rather good sized chunk of cash.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Friday June 05 2015, @11:28AM
sudo mod me up
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 05 2015, @12:16PM
It's the American way.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Kromagv0 on Friday June 05 2015, @12:28PM
Doesn't sound like he is planning on committing tax evasion, just trying to avoid taxes in a legal way. The IRS treats them as an asset that you sold for a profit, so if he sells them he gets to pay capital gains while if he donates them he can write off the gains or just not bother reporting the donation thus not lowering his tax bill, which given his paranoia about wanting them associated with his name seems likely. I don't understand the paranoia, but it probably will come in helpful when running for office.
T-Shirts and bumper stickers [zazzle.com] to offend someone
(Score: 1) by KGIII on Sunday June 07 2015, @09:24AM
You got it. Tax avoidance is not tax evasion. Tax evasion is illegal. Tax avoidance is perfectly acceptable and is considered to be the smart way to do things. And no, I won't be taking the write-off. I simply wish to avoid the scrutiny. There is nothing wrong with BC but, unfortunately, the image is tarnished due to the way people are using them and the lack of education in the general populace.
When BC first started I played around and let a headless box run for a fairly long time. I have a little bit less than 50 of them so it is a decent dollar value. I would like them to go to a good cause. EFF surely fits that classification.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 1) by KGIII on Sunday June 07 2015, @09:19AM
Tax avoidance. Not evasion. Tax avoidance is perfectly acceptable. Tax evasion is illegal. I will double check with a CPA on Monday but doing this should certainly be legal.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."