Transmeta IP sold to not-patent troll Transmeta - the low-power chip supplier that tried to make netbook silicon before there was a market for netbooks - is officially dead and picked apart. The company's $255m acquisition by Novafora closed late last week and a good chunk of the its patent portfolio jumped to the IP licensing firm, Intellectual Ventures. IV said …
Although I know it is a strange concept, but there was a time when patents were issued for real inovation and inventions. There still are some people and companies who make use and license real patents. It is possible this is a case . Reg has the right attitude wait and watch.
I have to assume that Austin's tongue was very firmly planted in his cheek...
The definition of a patent troll is an entity that neither invents nor makes products but instead acquires patents and uses them to extort money from legitimate businesses by suing or threatening to sue. Since this fits IV's core business model to a T, what reason is there not to join with manufacturers like HP in calling IV "just a very large patent troll"?
It is sometimes very difficult to tell the difference between the two, but generally:
1) If the company waits for someone to bring out a product then "suddenly discovers" that said product infringes on their patent, they're Troll.
2) If the company announces their patents and "rents" them out to whoever wants to use them, then odds are they're just a normal patent company.
Remember: Patent-ownership does not immediately make you a Troll; it's how you use those patents that's important. Patent Trolls use their like a club (hence the allusion).
"Remember: Patent-ownership does not immediately make you a Troll; it's how you use those patents that's important. " .... By Neoc Posted Tuesday 3rd February 2009 03:57 GMT
Neoc,
In this particular case, the art is in finding someone able to use the patents in their portfolio? Until then, is it a lemon and a convenient laundry for deposits for fronting highly speculative and lucrative future venture projects ...... which have Nowadays MetaDataBaseMorphed into Virtual Programs and ZerodDay Trades.
Why would Intel or AMD NOT have snapped up this company for what amounts to executive lunch money? Just to get the patents and ideas in their fold with their other processor IP. Was someone asleep at the switch? They aren't making truckloads or money right now, I know; but still, this was too good to pass up if you're looking to grow your market.
Somebody had a bad case of the stupids.
If they're licensing patents or using them for in-house projects, that's a legitimate use of the patent system. If their business model is entirely comprised of licensing patents at extortionate rates /after/ suing for infringement, they're a troll. It's not entirely clear what they're doing with IP yet, but since we haven't heard of lawsuits, they're probably not trolls.
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