Little old lady suing Sony, Samsung, Nokia and everyone else for infringing on her laser patents
By Thomas Ricker 
posted March 21st 2008 5:47AM
posted March 21st 2008 5:47AM
Oh sure, she looks friendly enough. But don't let her matronly, argyle looks fool you. Retired Columbia University Professor, Gertrude Neumark Rothschild, is looking to extract some cold, hard cash from a who's who of Consumer Electronics giants. Otherwise, they can forget about importing their goods into the US. Rothschild's complaint filed with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) on February 20th claims that some 30 companies are violating a patent she owns for light-emitting and laser diodes. Today, the ITC has agreed to investigate the matter. It's worth noting that Rothschild has already successfully tested the judicial waters with lawsuits against Philips and others -- the Philips matter was settled out of court earlier this month. In other words, her case has legs. Still, we have very little confidence in the ITC's grasp of the matter when they name "HD DVD players (e.g., Blu-ray disc players)" as products to be probed. Full list of companies named in the complaint after the break.[Via Reuters and mrontemp]
- Avago Technologies of Singapore;
- Bacol Optoelectonic Co. Ltd. of Taiwan;
- Dominant Semiconductors Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia;
- Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd., of Taiwan;
- Exceed Perseverance Electronic Ind. Co., Ltd., of China;
- Guangzhou Hongli Opto-Electronic Co., Ltd., of China;
- Harvatek Internaional Inc. of Taiwan;
- Hitachi, Ltd., of Japan;
- Kingbright Electronic Co., Ltd., of Taiwan;
- LG Electronics of Korea;
- Lite-On Technology Corp. of Taiwan;
- Lucky Light Electronics Co., Ltd., of China;
- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., of Japan;
- Motorola, Inc., of Schaumburg, IL;
- Nokia of Finland;
- Opto Tech Corporation of Taiwan;
- Pioneer Corporation of Japan;
- Rohm Co., Ltd., of Japan;
- Samsung Group of Korea;
- Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., of Japan;
- Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd., of Korea;
- Sharp Corporation of Japan;
- Shenzhen Unilight Electronic Co., Ltd., of China;
- Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd., of Japan;
- Sony Corporation of Japan;
- Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB of Sweden;
- Stanley Electric Co., Ltd., of Japan;
- Toshiba Corporation of Japan;
- Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., of Malvern, PA; and
- Yellow Stone Corporation of Taiwan.
LORD ZARGON SHOULD SPEND LESS TIME ON THE INTERNET AND MORE TIME STUDYING ! ! ! AND DOING HIS HOME WORK ! ! !
"The web is one of the only places grammar doesn't really matter."
>>>>>>>>>>>>
I think you mean "The web is the only place..." or "The web is one of the few places..." It can't be "...one of the only..."
First, WHO THE F**K cares about GRAMMAR!! The internet is full of every legal spoken/written language their is in the world, and even some completely unrecognizable, and yet one or two twits seem to nitpick if someone left out a PERIOD so ...
Next, we can all get rich off these very same big companies without sueing...? How you ask? STOCKS!! Pull ur heds out ur asses and git a lif!
Can you please stop fighting now!!!
Main Entry: 1mor·al
Function: adjective
Pronunciation: 'mo r-&l, 'mär-
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin moralis, from mor-, mos custom
1 a : of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior : ETHICAL b : expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior c : conforming to a standard of right behavior d : sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment e : capable of right and wrong action
2 : probable though not proved : VIRTUAL
3 : having the effects of such on the mind, confidence, or will
- mor·al·ly/-&-le/ adverb
synonyms MORAL , ETHICAL , VIRTUOUS , RIGHTEOUS , NOBLE mean conforming to a standard of what is right and good.
Sony is finally getting just a little of what they deserve.
Here ya' go Sam Winter:
Main Entry: ethical
Function: adjective
Text: 1 conforming to a high standard of morality or virtue -- see GOOD 2
2 following the accepted rules of moral conduct -- see HONORABLE 1
3 guided by or in accordance with one's sense of right and wrong < ethical writers do not use the words of other writers without giving them proper credit> -- see CONSCIENTIOUS 1
Go Granny! Go!
Now all we need is someone to put the brakes on
OPEC
Good for her. So many of the big boys steal ideas from employees, and say anything developed during employment belongs to them. Lucky for her she was not employed by those companies. She had the brains to come up with the technology, You can bet she sure had the brains to protect it. The big boys now need to shut up and pay her, and pay her well.
If the "little old lady" taught at Columbia, got money from Philips in a patent infringment suit and is having her claims taken seriously by the ITC, she is much smarter than the idiots who posted here (including me).
she's taking over 30 companies to court! move over super rich the rothchilds are making a comeback
What is escelated???? I am with the others in using the right grammatical words. These people that think that spelling doesn't count doesn't realize that using the wrong word may give the sentence a whole new meaning. It also shows your ignorance.
What type of patent is this? Many patents only cover one country and it territories. Unless she has an international patent, how can she even go after companies that are not from the country she filed for a patent in. Frankly, companies do this on a daily basis, exporting items that might have a patent in another country. If the patent they have is not an international one there is no infringement involved.
I see the correctness and spelling mongers are out in numbers today, must be spring !!
What happened to my post? I guess the average goyim is prevented from posting the truth!
This lady has every right to sue these companies if she created this laser then she should be recieving some profit from it especially if it is patented. Corperations are far too quick to steal others ideas and make billions off them while the person who worked hard to create it earns nothing from their effort.
sorry it should have read corporations
You go, granny!!----big companies often do infringement, thinking they'll get away with it. A person will make a suggestion, then the company or corporation will say they're not interested----but further down the line, guess what----it's on the market!
I invented the Laser Line Level see Wikipedia and Patent US 5836081. My list is about as long. Everyone settled out and took a license from me. We are still knocking on doors of laser level manufacturers.
Highly Rankedumm....hello???
@ Mar 21st 2008 2:29PM
sure.....because you know the big bad corporations aren't going to fuck the consumer over with higher prices after the lawsuit. this lawsuit is bad all around for everyone except this lady and the lawyers involved.
I BET IF IT WERE YOUR PATENT YOU'D BE CAMPING IN FRONT OF THE ATTORNEYS OFFICE YOU DUMBASS
WANT TO GET MARRIED?
wow
I hope she wins!! It's about time that we stop letting big business walk over the small guy. Funny they didn't wait till she was dead to bring this onto the market place. We invent here in the USA and let the technology go out side to some other country to be built. Nice way for our government to treat our citizens. Giving it to the highest bidder. Their should be some kind of law saying that if it's invented here it has to be made here for a certain amount of time.But till we get rid of lobbyist in D.C. it will never change. The politicians will sell use out for a hooker and a trip to Mexico.
I wonder if she is related to Reid Rothchild?
Little old lady?? The headline makes it sound like she did the inventing on her kitchen table. Not only a sexist headline, but also an ageist headline. If a man were the subject, it would probably have read "professor sues . . ."
Here's an oldie but a goodie (how many of you knew the last part of this?)
I before E except after C, or when sounding like A as in "neighbor" and "weigh" LOL
Lighten up guys. Wouldn't it be cool if grandma stuck it to the big corps? ROFL
IDJITS!
Listen. This woman sued Phillips and they settled out of court. This means that Phillips paid her what she was due and she was satisfied. I dont understand why you all are acting like she is insane. If you invented something and you were basically swept to the side while it went global and is used by millions, wouldnt you sue? So please. The woman deserves her share. You guys on this board are basically sticking up for these big corporate theifs. I hope she gets what she deserves. At least Phillips paid her to her satisfaction. I hope the rest do.
thank you, thank you, thank you, they have been been soooo greedy for so long and have this old mans retirement income in very dire straits--payback should be a bitch for entities of this ilk! get em good !!! very best of luck hoochie mama Gert--bene t. rex
Little Old Lady? Shame on you AOL. She's a doctor of engineering. If she were a male, would you call him an old geezer? Not likely - he'd be the esteemed, retired professor of engineering.
a jew suing someone whats new
The patent office works as it does for a reason; to give corporations a better chance to cut inventors out of the money without paying fair royalties. Go Granny Go.
I love it when a patent holder goes after big Corporations who try and infringe on their ideas. Make 'em pay big time. For example, Sears, for the quick release ratchet. An employee invented it and Sears bought it from him for aroumd $400.00. He eventualy settled for millions of dollars. I hope she wins millions from each company.
How much of "a life outside the web" is likely to be experienced by someone who calls himself "LordZargon"?
Just another Jew looking for more money.
Simple as that.
Sounds like a good case for legalzoom.com!
Percy [green mile] Bush!
Go grandma, sue the piss out of these scum bags. I hope you sue them all back to the stone age. Sony especially has been stealing all of it's ideas for years and they keep getting away with it so why stop? I hope you win billions and put an end to these companies non stop theft of intellectual property. Now if I Obama, could come up with just one original idea, just one that I haven't stolen from Hillary, then I could stop being a parrot and tell people all about the first and only idea that I have come up with by myself since I started my campaign, if only, naaahhhhh, I'll just keep stealing all of Hillary and everyone else's ideas , the idiot voters just eat it up anyway.
I wonder, since Ms. Rothschild was a Columbia University Professor, if she developed these patents on public grants. If so, we all should share in the fruits of her labor (and our money)! (P.S.: If you don't know grammar or spelling, why do you want to put it out there for all to see?)
OUCH -OUCH-OUCH
YUP ! ! !
YAAAA FOR THE GREY PANTHERS,OF WHICH I AM ONE
I am continuously amazed, and staggered, by the ignorance and rude behavior of many of the people on this skein of words. I am saddened at the fact that only a couple of people addressed the anti-semitism that pervades many of these comments. And, I cannot for the life of me understand what her age has to do with anything. It seems that aside from the possiblity that she may be Jewish, the big deal is that she is a "she." This really seems to ignite an ill-hidden lump of misogynous resent among many. Are you people so completely removed from rationality and reasoned discourse that you think insults and racist comment actually contribute the a better understanding of anything?
As for grammar, it matters, just not to you. If it is your goal to sound ignorant and crude, congratulations: you're there. If you think you're clever and provide insightful words of wit and wisdom: keep the day job. I don't think the country wants another president with these wonderful traits just yet.
Corporations steal as a matter of policy; it's cheaper than both honesty and hard work. Business ethics are actions, immorality on the part of management precedes unethical actions. Corporations don't consider honesty as the best policy, it's merely a policy option.
Patent law does not require that she invented lasers, it only requires that she figured out how to make them work so that they produced a certain effect. The patent covers her "figure out," not the laser. Lots of patents are junk and meant only to take advantage of the work of others, but apparently not this one.
All major corporations steal - they are recidivists of the first order. Feeling sorry for them is like feeling sorry for cancer. I always wondered where corporations go to find sycophants who will defend their every action, regardless of ethics or morality. Now I know, they troll the comments for poorly spelled, badly worded and ungrammatical drivel excreted by miserable semi-intellectuals.
At least you can still look for work on Fox.
Well the headline reads a lot more interesting with "Little Old Lady", bringing to mind grandma putting down her baked goods to call her lawyer.
But yeah, if it were a guy it wouldn't say "Little Old Man". But if it were just some "professor" it may not have even made headlines.
YOU GO GIRL!! GIVE 'EM HELL!!
By the by ... for those with the racist Jew comments - go home. The world is too small for people like you.
I'm not Jewish - I'd still sue for my just rewards. You don't have to be Jewish to have the moxie to stand up for yourself!!
vassala la laser la yarak sa leda. ma jhusya supporta la yarakla maerika. rothshiels assala na nazi la alamanya.
I hope she gets her money.
I bet theonion is upset the story broke here first.
You know, whether her case has merit or not, she's a lot smarter than you are and her age and gender are not relevant. Her sweater style, maybe.