Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2016/02/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Herb, IME being ?rocking in money? does not mean a guy is not desperate to get more IME. Sadly. Being a patent troll is the lowest way of exploiting an imperfect legal system to gain huge amounts of money which have neither been earned or deserved IMHO. Frank D. > On 26 Feb 2016, at 20:43, Herbert Kanner <kanner at acm.org> wrote: > > That,s also the opinion of a lawyer friend of mine, except I have a > feeling that he never sees gray, only black of white. The impression I > got, fairly strongly, is that IV buys up patents in order to license them > exclusively to firms that are doing things that Myhrvold feels are in the > public good. Also, this guy is so rocking in money that it is obvious he > can?t be doing it to make more. > > Another point is that the man to whom I spoke at length, Mike, the head of > IV's instrumentation shop, told me that IV works very closely with the > Bill Gates Foundation. Despite this, IV has sued Microsoft for patent > infringement. Finally, another ex lawyer friend told me that if you don?t > pursue infringers, you can lose your exclusive rights to a patent you hold. > > Herb > > Herbert Kanner > kanner at acm.org > > Question Authority and the authorities will question you. > >> On Feb 26, 2016, at 12:12 PM, Nathan Wajsman <photo at frozenlight.eu> >> wrote: >> >> Thanks for the story and the pics (the last one is too grainy, I think >> you were over-enthusiastic with the adjustments). >> >> Intellectual Ventures are indeed patent trolls. I consider them scum. >> >> Cheers, >> Nathan >> >> Nathan Wajsman >> Alicante, Spain >> http://www.frozenlight.eu <http://www.frozenlight.eu/> >> http:// <http://www.greatpix.eu/>www.greatpix.eu >> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws >> <http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws>Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ >> <http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/> >> Cycling: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator >> <http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator> >> YNWA >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >>> On 25 Feb 2016, at 02:52, Herbert Kanner <kanner at acm.org> wrote: >>> >>> >>> Over eight years ago, at the instigation of Bill Gates, the Science >>> Museum in London approached Nathan Myhrvold, former Chief Technology >>> Officer for Microsoft, for financial help in completing the Babbage >>> Difference Engine. The Museum had built the larger component, the one >>> that did the actual arithmetic. The additional financing was to enable >>> them to build the smaller but very complex component that would print >>> the results on a paper roll and, most important, create a mold in soft >>> plaster of paris, that when hardened would enable the creation of a >>> full-page plate, ready to go into a printing press, by pouring molten >>> type metal into the mold. >>> >>> Nathan made the London Museum an offer the just couldn?t refuse. He said >>> he would finance the building of two copies of the missing part and one >>> more copy of the original part, saying that he wanted to have that (five >>> ton) machine in his living room. >>> >>> It never got there. Len Shustek, the Chair of the Computer History >>> Museum (Mountain View, CA) Board of Trustees persuaded him to lend it to >>> us for a year. Every December 15th we asked for an extension and got >>> (exactly) a one-year extension. For eight years, I?ve done the lecture >>> part of a lecturer-demonstration of the machine at exactly 1:00 every >>> Saturday with rare exceptions. I?ve also been a member of a six-person >>> maintenance group doing monthly maintenance: mostly lubrication but >>> occasionally solving problems which at best caused the machine to jam >>> and at worst, broke parts. >>> >>> A gentlemen named Tim Robinson has been head of the maintenance group. >>> Without him, we could not have operated this equipment. He not only had >>> a deep understanding of this amazing mechanism, even having built a >>> version out of a Mechano set, but more than once he created a solution >>> to a problem by making a unique fix over a weekend in his home machine >>> shop. >>> >>> This December 15th the blow struck. Nathan said he wanted his machine >>> back. As far as we knew, it was not going to be in public view, but was >>> going to sit in a laboratory building that is part of his company: IV >>> (Intellectual Ventures), known to a lawyer friend of mind as a patent >>> trolling firm. >>> >>> Tim?s initial reaction was to prepare a one-page summary of suggestions >>> for safely starting the machine without breaking anything. Then he met >>> Mike, that head of the instrumentation shop of Nathan's laboratory. When >>> it became clear that Mike was highly competent and very proactive?he >>> joined our crew in hours of work mothballing the machine and even took >>> some precautions we had not thought of. Immediately after meeting Mike, >>> Tim produced a ten-page detailed document on start-up recommendations. I >>> should mention that Mike was hired away from the University of >>> Washington, where he was the head of a similar shop. >>> >>> I got to talk to Mike for about a half-hour while waiting for the >>> roughly 300 people to clear out after the last-ever demonstration. I got >>> the impression that Nathan delves in anything that interests him?ain?t >>> money nice?and that the patents he collects are licensed out to selected >>> companies that are doing things in the hoped for public good, e.g. >>> climate change, internet access in developing countries, etc. >>> >>> The day before the mothballing of the machine for shipment, a >>> professional video crew spent the day filming Tim explaining the >>> machine. I believe this crew are employees of our Museum though knowing >>> the history of our CEO, they could have been liberated from PGS. While a >>> number of volunteers were watching from a distance, I braved a carefully >>> walking on the set with my M even though the working crew appeared to >>> have a still photographer using a fearsome looking SLR. I walked with >>> great care not to get in anyone?s way and to freeze between when the >>> director said ?action? and when he said ?cut?. I was surprised to find >>> myself tolerated. So I found out later were the other observers. It was >>> difficult shooting, partly because of floodlights aimed in all >>> directions. I shot over eighty frames and finally selected six. I?ve no >>> idea what that other still photographer got. >>> >>> >>> Tim is fully visible in all but of these shots. He has a beard, a >>> pony-tail, and is wearing a red shirt. >>> I also took some shots the next day of the month-balling of the machine, >>> but haven?t yet looked at them. If any good, I?ll post a few later. >>> >>> >>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004486.jpg.html >>> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004486.jpg.html> >>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004502.jpg.html >>> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004502.jpg.html> >>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004515.jpg.html >>> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004515.jpg.html> >>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004529.jpg.html >>> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004529.jpg.html> >>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004527.jpg.html >>> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004527.jpg.html> >>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004559.jpg.html >>> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1004559.jpg.html> >>> >>> >>> >>> Herbert Kanner >>> kanner at acm.org >>> >>> Question Authority and the authorities will question you. >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Leica Users Group. >>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information