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While most of the tech world was partying at South by Southwest in Austin yesterday, Yahoo announced it was filing a lawsuit against Facebook for allegedly infringing on 10 patents from their 1,000+ patent warehouse.
I’m no fan of Facebook, but this is a deplorable move. It’s nothing less than extortion, expertly timed during the SEC-mandated quiet period before Facebook’s IPO. It’s an attack on invention and the hacker ethic.
forwardslash · 4706 days ago · link ·
I wrote an essay for a 105 comp sci writing class on software patents to try and educate my fellow future developers on patents. Companies say that they are defensive measures and just a part of doing business, but as so many lawsuits prove they are used offensively. I fear that my fellow developers will be laissez-fair towards the whole thing and not realize the power they have.