John Paczkowski

Recent Posts by John Paczkowski

Patent Troll/Alley Thug Pleased With Salesforce.com Patent Suit Settlement

All that bluster and bravado and in the end, Salesforce.com chose to settle its patent dispute with Microsoft rather than go to the mattresses. On Wednesday afternoon the two companies said they had resolved the patent-infringement battle that prompted Salesforce.com CEO Mark Benioff to brand Microsoft a “patent troll” and “alley thug.” The companies’ arrangement will see each giving the other coverage under their respective patent portfolios and Salesforce.com giving Microsoft some additional “compensation.”

“We are pleased to reach this agreement with Salesforce.com to put an end to the litigation between our two companies,” Microsoft Deputy General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez said in a statement. “Microsoft’s patent portfolio is the strongest in the software industry and is the result of decades of software innovation. Today’s agreement is an example of how companies can compete vigorously in the marketplace while respecting each other’s intellectual property rights.”

Microsoft first sued Salesforce.com in May, alleging the company’s CRM services violated nine Microsoft patents. Salesforce.com promptly branded the company a patent troll and “a former leader of industry.” But a month later, it slapped Microsoft with a patent suit of its own and hired David Boies, the former U.S. Justice Department attorney who successfully argued the federal antitrust case against Microsoft, to represent it.

Twitter’s Tanking

December 30, 2013 at 6:49 am PT

2013 Was a Good Year for Chromebooks

December 29, 2013 at 2:12 pm PT

BlackBerry Pulls Latest Twitter for BB10 Update

December 29, 2013 at 5:58 am PT

Apple CEO Tim Cook Made $4.25 Million This Year

December 28, 2013 at 12:05 pm PT

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Just as the atom bomb was the weapon that was supposed to render war obsolete, the Internet seems like capitalism’s ultimate feat of self-destructive genius, an economic doomsday device rendering it impossible for anyone to ever make a profit off anything again. It’s especially hopeless for those whose work is easily digitized and accessed free of charge.

— Author Tim Kreider on not getting paid for one’s work