...looks like this will be a FlashR in the pan to me.

Is how, exactly, the US Patent Office managed to grant a patent for a digital dictation machine which is an obvious combination of existing technologies at that point. It is no wonder there is a patent problem in the US when you do not need to have actually invented the claim (just first to pay a patent lawyer and submission fee) or pass any meaningful 'new and novel' assessment.

Like any good corporate, the USPO has restricted its activities to what makes it money (issuing patents) and externalised the expensive bits of its operation, by getting the law courts to check if the patents have merit.

Typical of a government which links itself so closely to business and business practises rather than its citizens.

They are claiming infringement from those who make devices that use the removable flash. They are not going after the flash makers so they obviously don't think they own anything there, and they are not going after anyone using FAT filesystems so they obviously don't think they own anything there either. And they are not going after PC's or Printers that allow the use of removable flash, so they don't think they own anything there either.

The mobile device makers are using technology from the flash makers (for the adapters and access methods) and are (almost exclusively AFAIK) using the FAT filesystem (or derivations of it) to organize and store files on the flash (for which they probably pay Microsoft licensing fees).

Where in between these technologies do these people feel they have a valid claim that is not already covered by the IP of others?

See title.

...the use of flash memory in a small plastic box to keep it clean?

If not, can you get me the contact details for their lawyer; I have a proposition.

SCO to me: we have no cash - let's try law suits

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn965-wheel-patented-in-australia.html

Nuff said.

(does this mean the eeePC might be a patent violator too???)

from a country that thinks everyone should have a gun ?

Reminds me of a classic Homer quote when his brother invents the baby translator.

"Why didn't you just take something that already exists and put a clock in it?"

Patent != Copyright

This article is about Patents.

You can't copyright 'a system', you can patent it

Intellectual 'property' rights can be confusing enough without people further muddying the waters by mixing up different types.

</rant>

Also known as a Psion.

Once you have the concept of flash hosting a self contained file system, all of these become obvious developments... And psion (and others!) gave us that looooong ago.

If they'd patented wear levelling, then I'd be impressed. If their ideas don't include wear levelling then they don't actually describe how flash can be used. Thank you and good night.

A long, long time ago

Before your company was born

We were using technology

That now, you call your own

Thanks to a crappy patent system

You think you've got a chance

But we've got prior-art on our side

So, we don't give a damn.

------

United Kingdom, nil points

http://www.owonder.com/udis. Furthermore, another British company prototyped a digital recording device that stored the recordings on solid state memory cards. (no time to research them in Google, but they got some press in the late 1980s I believe.) The Paris angle? This company is behaving like a clueless blond devoid of ideas.

Perhaps they have a valid claim, but it's funny how they never mentioned it before they ran out of money. Apparently they were just long-suffering good Samaritans, letting the world use their intellectual property out of the goodness of their hearts. I feel all warm and fuzzy now ;)

besides the comments about trying to patent the cache in 1996,

reading the file (United States Patent 5,787,445

Daberko July 28, 1998 ) is quite amusing since it contains following:

"A cache memory the size of at least one of the read/write blocks is then coupled to the primary memory and provides temporary storage space for data being written to and read from primary memory."

by writing "at least" the troll forgot to try to patent the "buffer" which

normally just holds some of the words contained in a block.

This qualify them, on top of all rest, as incompetent patent troll.

Paris because she at least nicer than a troll

When the trolls lose they have to pay lawyers fees for both sides!

Nahhh..... They just strip the company, declare bankruptcy, exercise hidden assets, and head to Bermuda.

Paris, 'cause she'll be there for them.

1) The definition of a "Troll" is a company that buys up patents with the sole intention of sueing and or licensing the protected property. Edig did not "buy" these patents, they filed for them after they invented them. They were granted the patents and the courts will determine the validity.

2) Obviousness in "hindsight" is not obvious.

3) "Typical of a government which links itself so closely to business and business practises rather than its citizens" Our country is not perfect, our government certainly is not either...no more than yours is. Next time you need someone to bail you out of an invasion, call someone else.

4) Companies and inventers from around the world (including your country) seek US patents as the strongest protector of "inventions" (not ideas) anywhere.

5) "What do you expect from a country that thinks everyone should have a gun" The very same belief protected us from a country that would come and steal our freedom from us, guess it's not surprising that you would think it's ok to steal an invention.

6) "When the trolls lose they have to pay lawyers fees for both sides!" Good thing eDig is not a troll...also interesting that Duane Morris took this case on a contingency basis and has agreed to use their own monies to prosecute the cases with no recovery of said funds unless or until they win...Guess it has no merit at all and they are just looking for tax write offs.

7) This whole forum is an exercise in either innocent ignorance on the part of some or all of the posters, or has been instigated by someone with something to lose. Whether eDig actually wins or not I encourage those who care to know the truth to do "legitimate" research on this company, its inventions and even the inventor. Who knows maybe you could make some money. By the way I love all of Europe.

US Patent # 5,790,423

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5790423.PN.&OS=PN/5790423&RS=PN/5790423

This is a US patent for an interesting toy that I picked up at a Lawn Sale. It's shaped much like an audio cassette, and can record voice, music, any analog signal, and saves it as digital for playback. There is a slot in the top of it for an MMC (Multi Media Card) flash memory to augment the capacity. This patent was issued on August 4, 1998, and predates, therefore, patent number 5,839,108 by three months. Oh, and USP # 5,790,423 was applied for on June 14, 1995, whereas # 5,839,108 wasn't applied for until June 30, 1997.

Think some of the litigants might be able to use this?

I used to work for e.Digital. (Hence the AC posting) Got laid off in Jan. '02 after Apple demolished their MP3 player business with the iPod. I was wondering what they've been up to lately. It was a small company when I worked there, the engineering team was all of about 8 guys. Most of them had become rich exercising their stock options the year before I started there, paying pennies for stock worth much more than that. Of course, my options were always upside down since they could never break into NASDAQ like they promised me they were on the verge of when I turned down an offer from SAIC to work for them. The year or so that worked for them, I watched a company that didn't really know what they wanted to do, a head of engineering that was either not to be trusted or completely incompetent (not sure which), and a CEO that was trying to take control of a chaotic house. Now they join the ranks of the patent trolls. I hope they get destroyed!