Uniloc

Last updated

Uniloc Corporation is a company founded in Australia in 1992. [1]

Contents

History

The Uniloc technology is based on a patent granted to the inventor Ric Richardson who was also the founder of the Uniloc Company. The original patent application was dated late 1992 in Australia and granted in the US in 1996 and covers a technology popularly known as product activation, try and buy software and machine locking.

In 1993 Uniloc distributed "Try and Buy" versions of software for multiple publishers via a marketing agreement with IBM. An initial success was the sale of thousands of copies of a software package (First Aid, developed by Cybermedia) distributed on the front cover of Windows Sources magazine in 1994.

In 1997 a US subsidiary was set up called Uniloc PC Preload to produce preloaded unlockable editions of popular software products on new PCs. Distribution agreements were executed with eMachines [2] and Toshiba. Family PC magazine also produced two months of magazines featuring unlockable software from Uniloc PC Preload on the cover in 2000. [3]

In 2003, Uniloc Corporation set up a US subsidiary called Uniloc USA, which operates out of Rhode Island and Southern California. The company is currently licensing its patented technology to software publishers and entertainment companies including Sega. [4]

Patent lawsuits

As of 2010, Uniloc had sued 73 companies that it alleges have violated one of its copy-protection patents. [5] According to Uniloc, 25 of those companies settled with it out of court. [5] Due to the abstract nature of its patents, and its litigious activities, Uniloc has been deemed a "patent troll" by critics. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Microsoft

Uniloc sued Microsoft in 2003 for violating its patent relating to technology designed to deter software piracy. In 2006, US District Judge William Smith ruled in favour of Microsoft, but an appeals court overturned his decision, saying there was a "genuine issue of material fact" and that he should not have ruled on the case without hearing from a jury. [11] On April 8, 2009 a Rhode Island jury found Microsoft had violated the patent and told Microsoft to pay Uniloc $388 million in damages. [12] After this success, Uniloc filed new patent infringement suits against Sony America, McAfee, Activision, Quark, Borland Software and Aspyr Media. [13]

The decision against Microsoft was subsequently overturned on September 29, 2009, when Judge Smith vacated the jury's verdict and ruled in favour of Microsoft again, saying the jury "lacked a grasp of the issues before it and reached a finding without a legally sufficient basis". [14] Uniloc appealed the judge's decision, alleging bias and in 2011 the jury verdict was reinstated against Microsoft. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said that instead of using the usual "25 percent rule", the damage awards for infringement would need to be recalculated. [15]

In March 2012, Uniloc and Microsoft reached a "final and mutually agreeable resolution", the terms of which were not disclosed. [16]

Minecraft and other games

On July 20, 2012, Uniloc filed a lawsuit against Mojang, citing the Minecraft Pocket Edition , as an infringement upon patents claiming exclusive rights to a method of software license checking. [17] Markus Persson of Mojang has stated he does not believe Minecraft infringes the Uniloc US patent no. 6,857,067 and that Mojang AB will defend the lawsuit. [18] The same lawsuit was also filed against other Android game developers including Electronic Arts (maker of Bejeweled 2 ), [19] Laminar Research (maker of X-Plane), [20] [21] Distinctive Developments, Gameloft, Halfbrick Studios, Madfinger Games and Square Enix. [22] The patent involved in the dispute was invalidated in March 2016. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eolas</span> American technology firm

Eolas is a United States technology firm formed as a spin-off from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in order to commercialize UCSF's patents for work done there by Eolas' co-founders, as part of the Visible Embryo Project. The company was founded in 1994 by Dr. Michael Doyle, Rachelle Tunik, David Martin, and Cheong Ang from the UCSF Center for Knowledge Management (CKM). The company was created at the request of UCSF, and was founded by the inventors of the university's patents.

Product activation is a license validation procedure required by some proprietary software programs. Product activation prevents unlimited free use of copied or replicated software. Unactivated software refuses to fully function until it determines whether it is authorized to fully function. Activation allows the software to stop blocking its use. An activation can last "forever", or it can have a time limit, requiring a renewal or re-activation for continued use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patent troll</span> Pejorative term related to intellectual property

In international law and business, patent trolling or patent hoarding is a categorical or pejorative term applied to a person or company that attempts to enforce patent rights against accused infringers far beyond the patent's actual value or contribution to the prior art, often through hardball legal tactics Patent trolls often do not manufacture products or supply services based upon the patents in question. However, some entities, which do not practice their asserted patent, may not be considered "patent trolls", when they license their patented technologies on reasonable terms in advance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paltalk</span> Video group chat service

Paltalk is a proprietary video group chat service that enables users to communicate by video, Internet chat, or voice. It offers chat rooms and the ability for users to create their own public virtual chat room. Paltalk Desktop is available on macOS and Windows, and Paltalk Video Chat App is available for Android and iOS. While basic services are free of charge and basic software is free to download, fee-based memberships and paid upgrades to more capable versions are offered by AVM Software, the creators of Paltalk.

The multinational technology corporation Apple Inc. has been a participant in various legal proceedings and claims since it began operation and, like its competitors and peers, engages in litigation in its normal course of business for a variety of reasons. In particular, Apple is known for and promotes itself as actively and aggressively enforcing its intellectual property interests. From the 1980s to the present, Apple has been plaintiff or defendant in civil actions in the United States and other countries. Some of these actions have determined significant case law for the information technology industry and many have captured the attention of the public and media. Apple's litigation generally involves intellectual property disputes, but the company has also been a party in lawsuits that include antitrust claims, consumer actions, commercial unfair trade practice suits, defamation claims, and corporate espionage, among other matters.

<i>Alcatel-Lucent v. Microsoft Corp.</i> Legal case

Alcatel-Lucent v. Microsoft Corp., also known as Lucent Technologies Inc. v. Gateway Inc., was a long-running patent infringement case between Alcatel-Lucent and Microsoft litigated in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California and appealed multiple times to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Alcatel-Lucent was awarded $1.53 billion in a final verdict in August 2007 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego. The damages award was reversed on appeal in September 2009, and the case was returned for a separate trial on the amount of damages.

Frederick "Ric" Richardson is an Australian inventor recognised for his early invention of a form of product activation used in anti-piracy. He is the inventor of record for a number of U.S. patents, including the Uniloc patent US5490216 and the Logarex patent 6400293. Richardson grew up in Sydney and currently resides in Byron Bay.

Microsoft has been involved in numerous high-profile legal matters that involved litigation over the history of the company, including cases against the United States, the European Union, and competitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vringo</span>

Vringo was a technology company that became involved in the worldwide patent wars. The company won a 2012 intellectual property lawsuit against Google, in which a U.S. District Court ordered Google to pay 1.36 percent of U.S. AdWords sales. Analysts estimated Vringo's judgment against Google to be worth over $1 billion. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the District Court's ruling on appeal in August 2014 in a split 2-1 decision, which Intellectual Asset Magazine called "the most troubling case of 2014." Vringo appealed to the United States Supreme Court. Vringo also pursued worldwide litigation against ZTE Corporation in twelve countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, India, Spain, Netherlands, Romania, China, Malaysia, Brazil and the United States. The high profile nature of the intellectual property suits filed by the firm against large corporations known for anti-patent tendencies has led some commentators to refer to the firm as a patent vulture or patent troll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markus Persson</span> Swedish video game programmer (born 1979)

Markus Alexej Persson, also known as "Notch", is a Swedish video game programmer and designer. He is best known for creating the sandbox video game Minecraft, which has since become the best-selling video game in history; and for founding the video game development company Mojang Studios in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mojang Studios</span> Swedish video game developer

Mojang Studios is a Swedish video game developer based in Stockholm. The studio is best known for developing the sandbox and survival game Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time.

Lodsys, LLC was an American patent holding company located in Marshall, Texas that brought patent infringement lawsuits against a variety of companies in the US. Numerous app development enterprises have accused them of "patent trolling".

The smartphone wars or smartphone patents licensing and litigation refers to commercial struggles among smartphone manufacturers including Sony Mobile, Google, Apple Inc., Samsung, Microsoft, Nokia, Motorola, Huawei, LG Electronics, ZTE and HTC, by patent litigation and other means. The conflict is part of the wider "patent wars" between technology and software corporations.

Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is the general title of a series of patent infringement lawsuits between Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics in the United States Court system, regarding the design of smartphones and tablet computers. Between them, the two companies have dominated the manufacturing of smartphones since the early 2010s, and made about 40% of all smartphones sold worldwide as of 2024. In early 2011, Apple began litigating against Samsung in patent infringement suits, with Samsung typically filing countersuits with similar allegations. Apple's multinational litigation over technology patents became known as part of the smartphone wars: extensive litigation and fierce competition in the global market for consumer mobile communications.

Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., 593 U.S. ___ (2021), was a U.S. Supreme Court decision related to the nature of computer code and copyright law. The dispute centered on the use of parts of the Java programming language's application programming interfaces (APIs) and about 11,000 lines of source code, which are owned by Oracle, within early versions of the Android operating system by Google. Google has since transitioned Android to a copyright-unburdened engine without the source code, and has admitted to using the APIs but claimed this was within fair use.

Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 632 F.3d 1292, was a patent lawsuit originally filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VirnetX</span> Company described as a patent troll

VirnetX is a publicly traded Internet security software and technology company based in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.

Personal Audio LLC is a Beaumont, Texas-based company that enforces and earns licensing revenue from five patents. The company has often been accused of being a patent troll, making money solely through royalties on frivolous and sweeping patents.

A Minecraft mod is a mod that changes aspects of the sandbox game Minecraft. Minecraft mods can add additional content to the game, make tweaks to specific features, and optimize performance. Thousands of mods for the game have been created, with some mods even generating an income for their authors. While Mojang Studios does not provide an API for modding, community tools exist to help developers create and distribute mods. The popularity of Minecraft mods has been credited for helping Minecraft become one of the best-selling video games of all time.

MPHJ Technology Investments is a Waco, Texas-based company that has been called the poster child for "patent trolls" due to its practice of suing small businesses for patent infringement for using the scan-to-email function on their own office equipment. The company's argument is that they own the patent for the networked scan-to-email process and so are entitled to payments for each worker at a business that uses this function.

References

  1. ↑ "Corporate Profile for Uniloc, dated Dec. 4, 1999. – Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Uniloc's Try-Before-You-Buy Software to be Included With Emachines PCs in 2001; Consumers Can Try Top-Selling Games, Utilities Free for Up to 7 Days Before Deciding to Buy". Business Wire. 2000. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  3. ↑ Uniloc.com Debuts`'Try-Before-You-Buy Software With Family PC Magazine;`'Star Wars Rogue][ dead link ]
  4. ↑ "SoftAnchor Customers". Uniloc.com. 12 May 2009. Archived from the original on 12 May 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Corporate Counsel: Patent Litigation Weekly: Uniloc Keeps Filing Software Suits « Uniloc". Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Rob Beschizza (21 July 2012). "Patent troll targets Minecraft". Boing Boing . Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  7. ↑ Ryan Paul (21 July 2012). "Minecraft developer sued by aggressive litigator over DRM patent". Ars Technica . Condé Nast Publications . Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  8. ↑ Zach Weissmueller (20 February 2013). "How Patent Trolls Kill Innovation". Reason.com . Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  9. ↑ corbet (28 March 2013). "Red Hat and Rackspace face down a patent troll". LWN.net . Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  10. ↑ Jon Brodkin (28 March 2013). "You can't patent simple math, judge tells patent troll Uniloc". Ars Technica . Condé Nast Publications . Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  11. ↑ Moses, Asher (30 September 2009). "Aussie inventor's $445m Microsoft windfall wiped out". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  12. ↑ "Uniloc Awarded $388 Million in Damages in Major Patent Infringement Case Against Microsoft". 20 April 2009. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  13. ↑ Asher Moses (5 August 2010). "Van man 1, Microsoft 0: now Aussie Ric's gunning for more tech giants". Sydney Morning Herald .
  14. ↑ Eaton, Nick (29 September 2009). "Judge overturns Uniloc's record $388M victory over Microsoft". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  15. ↑ Ben Grubb and Asher Moses (7 January 2011). "One man v Microsoft: a day in the Dickmobile, another day in court for Aussie inventor". Sydney Morning Herald .
  16. ↑ Decker, Susan (5 March 2012). "Microsoft Settles Fight Over Uniloc Anti-Piracty Patent". Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  17. ↑ Bumgardner, Barry (20 July 2012). "Mojang v Uniloc patent dispute" (PDF). United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas – Tyler Division. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  18. ↑ Persson, Markus (22 July 2012). "Twitter / notch: Unfortunately for them, th ..." Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  19. ↑ "Uniloc USA, Inc. et. al. v. Electronic Arts Inc". United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas – Tyler Division. 20 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  20. ↑ "Details of the Uniloc Lawsuit". X-Plane. 11 September 2012.
  21. ↑ Biggs, John (2 February 2013). "Creator Of The X-Plane Flight Simulator Seeks Help Fighting A Patent Troll". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  22. ↑ Ribeiro, John (23 July 2012). "Electronic Arts, Other Game Developers, Sued for Patent Infringement". PCWorld . Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  23. ↑ Mullin, Joe (25 March 2016). "Patent that cost Microsoft millions gets invalidated". Ars Technica . Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.