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Mojang Sued by Software “Patent Troll”
Over the weekend, Mojang’s Markus “Notch” Persson revealed that the company was being sued by Uniloc, a Luxembourg-based company that owns a patent for a “system and method for preventing unauthorized access to electronic data.” Uniloc alleges that Mojang’s “Mindcraft” (a typo in court papers that’s been seized on by the media) infringes on this patent “by or through making, using, offering for sale, selling and/or importing Android based applications for use on cellular phones and/or tablet devices that require communication with a server to perform a license check to prevent the unauthorized use of said application.” Phew!
Uniloc, according to a post on Eurogamer, has also sued EA for the same reason related to Bejewelled2. The post also points out similar lawsuits against Microsoft and Square Enix.
The litigant offered an explanation for the suits on its website, revealing that it’d like to settle out of court:
“Uniloc plans to defend our patents aggressively whenever they are infringed. This protects our business and our shareholder value. In our view, it’s the right thing to do. […] Litigation is complex, time-consuming and costly for all parties involved. Whenever possible Uniloc tries to find equitable solutions outside of litigation and negotiates licenses or settlements.”
Notch, of course, doesn’t seem interested in a settlement:
Unfortunately for them, they’re suing us over a software patent. If needed, I will throw piles of money at making sure they don’t get a cent
— Markus Persson (@notch) July 21, 2012
He elaborated on his position against software patents on his Tumblr:
“…there is no way in hell you can convince me that it’s beneficial for society to not share ideas. Ideas are free. They improve on old things, make them better, and this results in all of society being better. Sharing ideas is how we improve.
A common argument for patents is that inventors won’t invent unless they can protect their ideas. The problem with this argument is that patents apply even if the infringer came up with the idea independently. If the idea is that easy to think of, why do we need to reward the person who happened to be first?
[…]Trivial patents, such as for software, are counterproductive (they slown down technical advancement), evil (they sacrifice baby goats to baal), and costly (companies get tied up in pointless lawsuits).
If you own a software patent, you should feel bad.”
On the flip side, the patent’s inventor and Uniloc founder, Ric Richardson, has hit back at criticism that’s come his way. He writes about waking up to a “large number of emails and tweets” decrying the lawsuit—presumably from Mojang fans. Richardson pointed out that he no longer owns the patent, that he holds a non-majority stake in the company, and didn’t actually file the lawsuit. As far as owning a software patent is concerned, though, Richardson still believes that’s the right thing to do:
“One expression that comes to my mind is the saying that having a great technology without a patent is like having a Lamborghini and leaving the keys in it.
[…] Just think about the logic here. The people complaining about the law suits here are complaining that a company is trying to protect its own right to make a living from a technology that the patent office has verified as unique and novel. If you disagree then track the patent office and voice your problems with the patents as they are published.
And yet, the technology in question is a system that stops people from pirating their software and helps them make money. Well if you think it’s so unfair, don’t use the tech. Do something else. No one is forcing you to use the technology.”
At this point, it remains to be seen where this lawsuit goes. Mojang was in court relatively recently, being sued by Bethesda-parent Zenimax over the use of the name “Scrolls” for an upcoming game—a suit that was finally settled. It seems a shame that they have to make their way back to the courtroom, but only time will tell if the case moves forward.
Via Eurogamer
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“One expression that comes to my mind is the saying that having a great technology without a patent is like having a Lamborghini and leaving the keys in it.”
This is a weak comparison considering it is software they are suing over and not a physical car that costs resources to make.
Are you implying that creating software doesn’t cost any resources? Time is money friend.
My apologies, let me expand on my claim:
A car would cost money to produce, seeing as it takes physical resources to make. A program is digital and is transferable via internet for free at any given moment. I did not take into account the cost of labor it would take to design the car/program itself. I am against the use of someone else’s programs/software for free, and if the claims are justified, I would like to see the lawsuit fulfilled. I was merely commenting on the weak attempt to compare a bit of software to an overly expensive car.
Digital data is indeed physical. It takes up a certain physical partition of your hard drive, and costs resources to replicate and transfer over the Internet, through consumption of electricity and by renting the use of phone lines or fiber optic cables. Just because the cost is minute, DOES NOT MEAN IT’S FREE.
Air Jordans require the same amount of physical resources as a cheap pair of $20 shoes, however they have drastic differences in price. This is because the worth of products is not set by the physical resources it consumes, but by the desire of its creator, and agreed to by consumers who purchase the products. The comparison is valid because it describes the amount of time and money that can be spent on developing a highly profitable product, yet not pursuing any interest in actually using it.
My use of the word ‘free’ is just as you have claimed; having minute costs. Nothing is truly free when you get down to brass taxes. The cost to make and transport a pair of shoes is far greater than that of transferring data over the internet was the point I was trying to make. Maybe I’m coming across as too general of a speaker, and that is what I apologize for.
Now in regards to cost, yes both software production and being transferred via internet costs money just as it would cost money to produce and transport a Lamborghini. Yes, the cost of a product is determined by its demand amongst the general public. But nonetheless, the quote I referenced before is a weak comparison. I’m having trouble giving a good reason why it isn’t, seeing as you continued to question me and then threw some shoe story glorified with a message about developers taking time and money into making a highly profitable product, which I understand that portion, just that that has nothing to do with Air Jordans being expensive because of high demand. Where was I? Run-on sentences are my weak point. But I digress.
Instead of trying to describe why it’s a poor comparison, let me provide you with a more relevant law suit that has been around for quite awhile. GM Foods. GM products are made with genetically modified (GM) food, the most common GM food being corn. These GM foods are made into the products we consume every day, such as the vast majority of chips are made with GM corn and many sweets are made with corn syrup because it is very cost-efficient. Now the GM foods start out as genetically modified seeds. These seeds are what made the law suits plentiful.
See, the company that first patented these GM seeds would go to other successful farms, test every one of their plants, and if there was one case of a GM product being used by that farm, they’d sue them for everything they had. it was always difficult for them to prevent such an occurrence because seeds spread. One gush of air can send 1,000 little seeds flying with it. Also, farmers would share seeds, buy seeds, the batches would contain a few GM seeds and they’d be screwed. What’s funny is that it has even been proved to grow naturally in that state, and yet it is patented.
My argument is that this software is just a seed that’s made its way into the farms of the gaming industry, it’s not a Lamborghini clone made exactly from the same design. This software is relatively easy to cross with that of Uniloc, especially with as general a description of their product they have given.
“by or through making, using, offering for sale, selling and/or importing Android based applications for use on cellular phones and/or tablet devices that require communication with a server to perform a license check to prevent the unauthorized use of said application.”
Basically, any software that would communicate to a server for authorization is going against their patent. Nearly every server based Android app uses this type of software, it isn’t uncommon. The lawsuit is going to fall through simple as that.
I see this lawsuit as total crap, they are targeting EA, Microsoft, Mojang and Square Enix. What they are doing is saying if they want to continue using the software they have to get a cut of what they make from using it. It is essentially blackmail.
That is what patent trolls do in a nutshell: wait for someone to do something big, search to see if they can get them on a fairly basic patent, and then sue them for a share of their profits. It’s an utterly shameful practice that happens way too often to be “good for society” as the patent troll guy put.
And that is exactly how this company, and Apple tries to be alone on the market, or at least get a profit from everything.
I think you guys might be missing the point, patents are for original ideas, meaning something completely new, innovative, or world- changing. This patent is essentially for signing in to a server to make sure you bought the app. Is this a new idea?? People have been doing it on PC, Xbox, Playstation, and other devices for quite a while now, is doing this on an android phone or tablet an innovation? This patent is garbage to begin with, that is why it is a problem.
Yup. However, Richardson has a point when he says, “If you disagree then track the patent office and voice your problems with the patents as they are published.” It doesn’t matter if you’re an overly bearded man in an overly expensive hat. “I will throw piles of money at making sure they don’t get a cent,” is not going to accomplish anything in the end.