Lead Inventor On One Of The Patents Paul Allen Is Suing Over Worries About Litigation Over Innovation

We've been covering Paul Allen's move into patent trolling in which he's suing Google, Apple, AOL, eBay, Facebook, Netflix, Yahoo and others over a set of incredibly broad patents, covering things like "recommendations," "alerts" and popping up information in the corner of your screen. The EFF points out that Michael Naimark, the lead inventor on one of the patents, 6,757,682, on "alerting users to items of current interest," has put out a statement about the lawsuit.

He does note that he is contractually obligated to "defend intellectual property to which [he] contributed and to respect confidentiality," and he intends to live up to those obligations. However, he did not sign any kind of "no-speak" or "non-disparagement" agreement, and thus he's comfortable making a general statement expressing concern about how much money is focused on litigation instead of innovation these days:

I am also committed to fostering a vibrant creative culture. Long-term labs like Interval Research don't come along often, and I'm grateful for Paul Allen's support. But the stage is now set for enormous resources, from all sides, to support litigation over innovation. The creative community needs all the support it can muster, and it's a perplexing thought that the money at risk in this lawsuit will likely exceed the annual budget of the National Endowment for the Arts, possibly several times over. It could be hugely significant if all parties commit to something good for the creative community as an outcome.

While the statement is carefully worded and balanced, it's good to see him at least suggest there's a serious problem in how much litigation has taken over for actual innovation.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Amy Smart Sarah Wynter Jaime Pressly Ashanti Jennie Finch