USPTO calls RIM to give support
posted December 20th 2005 7:45PM
Not that it’s any surprise given the way the USPTO’s been consistently ruling against NTP’s patents over the last couple of years, but certainly in what we could easily characterize as a break from protocol, officials from the office notified both RIM and NTP of the office’s continued intentions to reject all five of NTP’s patents in question. As soon as it gets around to issuing its final rulings, anyway, whenever that is (the Times said it could be as early as February). Supposedly issuing said rejection is to be the USPTO’s “next office action,” but it just won’t matter if it’s not sorted before NTP’s case is ruled upon. Remember, RIM cannot further appeal in the courts to buy themselves time, and have been given an express imperative to settle with NTP by James Spencer, the District Court Judge presiding over the case. But if RIM can stall their negotiations until the USPTO can file their final rulings —before injunction against RIM is instated — the case would probably be overturned. Except that apparently NTP co-founder and patent attorney Donald Stout stated their intentions to appeal the USPTO’s final rulings (can they do that?). Makes one wonder though; if these patents are so extremely invalid, then why did the Patent Office approve them in the first place? They certainly could have saved everyone a lot of trouble over there by not working the approve first / invalidate later angle.
To answer "can they do that?": yes - the only thing "final" means is "you can appeal now." First they'll appeal to the USPTO Board, and if they lose there, to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Instead of calling RIM and NTP, they should be writing Friend of the Court briefs to the presiding judge(s)?
That this is happening to poor RIM is a crime. We American citizens should be ashamed of the way our legal system confusedly handles Intellectual Property, and whatever's left of RIM when this is over should be propped back up by our government as a thanks for putting up with our inability to say what's a legitimate patent, which is just 1 item in a long list of things we need to get right NOW, and that the DMCA did nothing to resolve.
At the very least, that the USPTO can even state a patent is invalid and admit to how broken it is is a great step in the right direction - the USPTO is entering a long and involved history of invalidating a LOT of patents, and in the process make clear what a sham the Office is. This humbility is admirable and is a very important first step in fixing it, as the problem becomes glaringly clear to the casual reader.
Thank God...I can only hope that NTP spent so much in lawyer's fees that they go out of business and are a warning to other Patent Sharks.
If you want to learn about the worst cases of Patent abuse read up on:
Ronald Katz
http://library.findlaw.com/2004/Jun/9/133461.html
and
Jerome Lemelson
http://library.findlaw.com/2004/Jun/9/133461.html