Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sues Apple over patents
Multi-billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has sued Apple, Google, and a number of other companies which he claims infringe on patents he owns related to online recommendation algorithms.
Apple and Google are among 11 companies named in the suit, accused by Allen of using technology developed a decade ago in his now-defunct Silicon Valley laboratory Interval Research Corp., according to The Wall Street Journal. The complaint was filed on Friday.
Interval Research Corp was a lab and technology incubator that Allen financed with about $100 million during the dot-com bubble. Allen owns a number of patents from that venture, and he has alleged that four of them related to e-commerce and Internet search are infringed upon.
One patent offers suggestions for customers to see items related to a product they are currently viewing, while another allows a reader of a news story to find related stories about a similar subject.
"The lab worked on numerous projects, with goals to create technology to use in Mr. Allen's ventures in telecom," author Dionne Searcey wrote. "In later days it also focused on developing technology to license to others. Over the course of a decade, Interval was issued 300 patents."
"It successfully marketed some of its patent portfolio, including cellular voice processing technology and motion-detection technology used in games that allows a computer to "see" commands. It also created a 'smart' toy called 'Red Beard's Pirate Quest' and later sold the technology behind it to Lego Group."
The suit was filed by Interval Licensing LLC, which issued a press release Friday specifically naming the four patents in question:
United States Patent No. 6,263,507 issued for an invention entitled "Browser for Use in Navigating a Body of Information, With Particular Application to Browsing Information Represented By Audiovisual Data."
United States Patent No. 6,034,652 issued for an invention entitled "Attention Manager for Occupying the Peripheral Attention of a Person in the Vicinity of a Display Device."
United States Patent No. 6,788,314 issued for an invention entitled "Attention Manager for Occupying the Peripheral Attention of a Person in the Vicinity of a Display Device."
United States Patent No. 6,757,682 issued for an invention entitled "Alerting Users to Items of Current Interest."
Named in the suit, along with Apple and Google, are AOL, eBay, FaceBook, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo and YouTube. The report noted that Microsoft, in which he is a major investor, is absent, along with Amazon.com, which is based in Allen's hometown of Seattle, Wash.
Apple and Google are among 11 companies named in the suit, accused by Allen of using technology developed a decade ago in his now-defunct Silicon Valley laboratory Interval Research Corp., according to The Wall Street Journal. The complaint was filed on Friday.
Interval Research Corp was a lab and technology incubator that Allen financed with about $100 million during the dot-com bubble. Allen owns a number of patents from that venture, and he has alleged that four of them related to e-commerce and Internet search are infringed upon.
One patent offers suggestions for customers to see items related to a product they are currently viewing, while another allows a reader of a news story to find related stories about a similar subject.
"The lab worked on numerous projects, with goals to create technology to use in Mr. Allen's ventures in telecom," author Dionne Searcey wrote. "In later days it also focused on developing technology to license to others. Over the course of a decade, Interval was issued 300 patents."
"It successfully marketed some of its patent portfolio, including cellular voice processing technology and motion-detection technology used in games that allows a computer to "see" commands. It also created a 'smart' toy called 'Red Beard's Pirate Quest' and later sold the technology behind it to Lego Group."
The suit was filed by Interval Licensing LLC, which issued a press release Friday specifically naming the four patents in question:
United States Patent No. 6,263,507 issued for an invention entitled "Browser for Use in Navigating a Body of Information, With Particular Application to Browsing Information Represented By Audiovisual Data."
United States Patent No. 6,034,652 issued for an invention entitled "Attention Manager for Occupying the Peripheral Attention of a Person in the Vicinity of a Display Device."
United States Patent No. 6,788,314 issued for an invention entitled "Attention Manager for Occupying the Peripheral Attention of a Person in the Vicinity of a Display Device."
United States Patent No. 6,757,682 issued for an invention entitled "Alerting Users to Items of Current Interest."
Named in the suit, along with Apple and Google, are AOL, eBay, FaceBook, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo and YouTube. The report noted that Microsoft, in which he is a major investor, is absent, along with Amazon.com, which is based in Allen's hometown of Seattle, Wash.
Comments
At least it's not in East Texas.
The technology behind one patent allows a site to offer suggestions to consumers for items related to what they're currently viewing, or related to online activities of others in the case of social networking sites.
A second, among other things, allow readers of a news story to quickly locate stories related to a particular subject. Two others enable ads, stock quotes, news updates or video images to flash on a computer screen, peripherally to a user's main activity.
Really!!!?!
The USPTO ACTUALLY granted Paul Allen patents based on "recommending similar items" really!?!?!? Every salesman in the WORLD does that every single day. It's perhaps of THE most obvious and easiest uses to get a computer to perform. Either using key-words (meta data) OR slightly more difficult having the computer identify the 'type' of story the person is reading and then find other stories with similar 'type'.
Either way.... this is done on every news related website since.... FOREVER.
When have you NOT seen a 'related stories' at the bottom of some story that you're reading. Also with the latest Twitter, Digg and Facebook enhancements they ALL do a similar thing. Is PA really gonna sue AP, News Corp, The Times, The WSJ, etc etc etc...
Boy I can't wait for the day when software patents get the KICK IN THE ASS they deserve. You can't patent a recipe, you can't patent the design of a car, you can't patent a dress and the same should go for software.... It's little more then a recipe when you think about it.
Really!!!?!
... you can't patent the design of a car ...
Actually, you can -- it's called a "design patent".
"There's a patent for that!"
how much do i send, and to where?
Boy I can't wait for the day when software patents get the KICK IN THE ASS they deserve. You can't patent a recipe, you can't patent the design of a car, you can't patent a dress and the same should go for software....
Uh, maybe you or I can't, but in principal, a car design and a dress design can be patented.
Maybe this is just a PR stunt meant to inject his name into Media?
Maybe it's even AAPL stock manipulation, timed to dampen the coming Apple Event on Sept 1, 2010!
Maybe he is looking to pick up a few $$ on out of court settlements, and is using this case' legal fees as a tax deduction, while keeping his legal staff working a bit harder for their retainers:!? I am just guessing out loud...
I am pretty sure that Apple's Legal Department checks all Patents pretty carefully! Then there are loose Patent Laws that create enough of a Doubt for the law suits! It would be nice to see a reform there to prevent frivolous suits, but good luck on that
In the end, we all pay for all those legal wars, unless the accountants write it off as business expense when all those companies file their taxes!?
Multi-billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has sued Apple, Google, and a number of other companies which he claims infringe on patents he owns related to online recommendation algorithms.
][ View this article at AppleInsider.com ][/url][/c]
Oh Boy another SCO in the making.
What is it with Microsoft. They are so freaking crazy stupid idiotic morons.
When I read the patent's description, the first thought to cross my mind was, "Boy, Amazon is getting some much needed pushback for the whole 1-click deal. Karma is a b***h".
Imagine my disappointment when it is explicitly mentioned that Amazon isn't on there!
Wouldn't a successful outcome for the plaintiff pretty much shut down Google's search ads?
Thought some thing on those lines but I think Google doesn't try to grab attention from the content.
"Oh I'm sorry, I already patented: select ArticleName from Article where ArticleType = @Type. Now you owe me a penny every time you perform that query."
Give me a break.
How in the world is Amazon absent from the suit?
When I read the patent's description, the first thought to cross my mind was, "Boy, Amazon is getting some much needed pushback for the whole 1-click deal. Karma is a b***h".
Imagine my disappointment when it is explicitly mentioned that Amazon isn't on there!
Because Amazon is the largest tenant of his commercial properties in the Seattle Area? Those deals have to be worth many millions and Jeff Bezos is the type who'd move out if he thought Allen was trying to screw him.
http://bit.ly/9PW3jj
sidenote, here are some crazy awesome patents:
3216423 http://bit.ly/OmGdQ
6368227 http://bit.ly/9Q3YPu
6612440 http://bit.ly/9hpQT2
Best team money can buy.
sidenote, here are some crazy awesome patents:
3216423 http://bit.ly/OmGdQ
6368227 http://bit.ly/9Q3YPu
6612440 http://bit.ly/9hpQT2
The first and the third "crazy awesome" patents are fine, the swing one should have been thrown out as too obvious.
Hmmm takin any best thats where Troll Paul got his 'idea'.