Lawsuits abound: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint sued

Patents can be a great thing. They ensure that big bullies don’t shake down someone who creates something, leaving them with nothing to show for their innovation. However, patent laws in the US are absurdly outdated. The best indicator of that is that there are companies whose only reason for existence is to horde patents and sue people who use similar technology. This is how we feel towards NTP, a technology-licensing company (read: patent hoarder). They sued Research In Motion, creator of the BlackBerry, a few years ago. The case lasted four years and ended with a $612.5 million settlement. NTP is now seeking damages from AT&T, Verizon, an Sprint for their use of a supposedly patented e-mail system.

Here’s the thing, though: the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the patents. NTP is appealing, so they are technically still valid. But if rejected again, NTP wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.

NTP alone represents the need to reform patent law. We’re all for giving people their proper due, but that should only extend to the creator of the device. Patents should not be sold, lest we have companies like NTP. They’re not out for innovation and the advancement of technology; they’re out to make a buck off big companies.

We’ve had our beef with Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint in the past. That bias, however, does not prevent us from seeing that they’re in the right here. This system of patent hoarding and lawsuit-filing does nothing but impede progress. Not only are they trying to hold back technology, but they’re trying to take money from companies who will invest in new technology.

What is NTP doing with the proceeds from the RIM settlement? What do they plan to do with any settlement from this case? Well, since it’s likely that their only overhead is the purchase of patents, they’ll probably put the money in a Swiss bank account and sit on it. Which, by the way, worsens the economy. But hey, personal gain ahead of the greater good, right? Right?

Once again, most of the news from today has made us ill.

[The Globe and Mail]

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