Will you stop with the silly patent troll nonsense?

The rightful owner of a patent has the right to enforce it whether they are using it or not.

It's like this. Let's say that you inherit a factory from your parents that was used to make widgets and includes all the equipment you need to manufacture widgets. You don't want to make widgets, so you sell the factory to a real estate investor who will then rent it to someone who wants to make widgets.

Does the fact that you don't make widgets mean that someone else can just move in and start using your factory without permission? Does the fact that the real estate investor doesn't want to make widgets mean that anyone can move in without permission and start making widgets? So why should patents be any different? There is absolutely no requirement in US patent law (or any other country that I know of) that only allows you to enforce a patent if you are using it.

This has gotten to be ridiculous.

Some idiot scribbles an idea on a napkin and gets a patent. He doesn't have the brain power to actually create the product, yet, he has the right to sue someone who spends the hours developing and investing in the idea. Time to put an end to the free ride of all the PATENT TROLLS!!

Reminds me a lot of the old AppleWorks spreadsheet.

On another note: My iPhone5 arrived today in perfect (no nicks or scuffs) and a week earlier that planned. The only unusual thing is that there was a note in the box that read, "Help! I'm being held captive in a Chinese iPhone factory."

Except that is not what's happening here... Companies like this find dead or dying companies & purchase their IP portfolios with the sole intention of litigating another business that does anything that is remotely similar to the alleged imposed IP. And the district court in Tyler Texas is notorious for accepting these often frivolous patent infringement lawsuits.

It's corruption at it's finest.... The courts get paid to accept the lawsuit by the Patent Trolls. The Patent Troll's squeeze the alleged infringer (Often ending up in settlement as the alleged infringer can't afford actual litigation) & the Patent Troll walks away with profit taken away from a legitimate business. Now Apple is not hurting for money which makes it an attractive target on the other side of the spectrum. The Patent Trolls are willing to spend money on litigation on the odds that the court will rule in their favor (Which in Tyler Texas happens more often than not) & walk away with an even bigger payday.

Like the term or not... Even though it's not illegal, it is broken & wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleInsider 

In a court filing on Wednesday, a Texas-based non-practicing entity sued Apple for alleged patent infringement regarding the company's Numbers spreadsheet software.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, accepted the suit from Data Engine Technologies LLC, which claims Apple's Numbers infringes on a 1995 patent for a "system and methods for improved spreadsheet interface with user-familiar objects," reports CNET.

Illustration from Data Engine Technologies' spreadsheet patent. | Source: USPTO

First discovered by Priorsmart, the suit alleges that Apple had prior knowledge of the patent as early as 2010 and went on to cite the IP in its own 2007 patent for manipulating spreadsheet cells.
The property being asserted is U.S. Patent No. 5,463,724, which was granted to Borland International and later purchased by Data Technologies, a non-practicing entity or "patent troll."
Apple first rolled out Numbers in 2007 as part of the iWork '08 software suite and went on to expand the software's capabilities by introducing it on the mobile iOS platform in 2010.
The suit is seeking damages and an injunction against Apple's infringing products, most likely in the hopes that Apple will settle out of court to avoid a possibly lengthy trial process.

I think they are using the term "patent troll" accurately.

Definition - Opportunistic with no intention to manufacture or market the patented invention

I know you want to label it Professional Escort Service but we all know what it is.

Most definitely a troll...... I think these guys got their companies mixed-up: that drawing looks more like the original Excel than Numbers. In fact, the only similarity with any Apple product is that it looks more Mac OS 6-ish than it does Windows. Apple should sue this company for copying Apple's IP.