Cloud flare Defeats Patent Trolls with a novel defense

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SUMMARY

Cloudflare successfully defeated a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Sable IP and Sable Networks in 2021, utilizing its innovative defense strategy through Project Jengo. This initiative, launched in 2017, incentivizes the community to submit "prior art" that can invalidate frivolous patent claims. The effectiveness of this approach highlights the ongoing issue of patent trolling in the tech industry, where meritless claims often target companies with substantial resources. The discussion also references historical cases, such as the lawsuit against Carbonite Corp, emphasizing the need for reform in software patent protections.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of patent law and its implications in technology
  • Familiarity with the concept of "prior art" in patent disputes
  • Knowledge of Cloudflare's Project Jengo and its operational framework
  • Awareness of the historical context of patent trolling in the tech industry
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the mechanisms of Cloudflare's Project Jengo and its impact on patent litigation
  • Explore the concept of "prior art" and its role in patent defense strategies
  • Investigate the historical cases of patent trolling, including the Carbonite lawsuit
  • Examine proposals for reforming software patent laws to prevent abuse
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Technology entrepreneurs, legal professionals in intellectual property, software developers, and anyone involved in patent litigation or interested in the dynamics of patent trolling.

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Cloud flare uses crowdsourcing to find prior art to defeat patent trolls
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...-tying-cloud-services-to-old-router-hardware/

Once again, Cloudflare has proven that its unusual defense against meritless patent infringement claims effectively works to end so-called "patent trolling."

In a blog post, Cloudflare announced that its most recent victory—defeating a lawsuit filed by Sable IP and Sable Networks in 2021—was largely thanks to participants of Project Jengo. Launched in 2017, Cloudflare's program offers tens of thousands of dollars in awards to activate an army of bounty seekers and crowdsource submissions of evidence—known as "prior art"—that can be used to overcome frivolous patent claims or even invalidate patents that never should have been issued.
 
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Some interesting prior history was the lawsuit against the Carbonite Corp over their online storage of files. The story was detailed in an episode of This American Life:

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/441/when-patents-attack

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/496/when-patents-attack-part-two

In particular, a follow-up discussion on how to fix the problem of software patents by excluding them from patents since copyright protections already cover them.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/timoth...eme-court-should-invalidate-software-patents/

When I worked for a BIG computer company, we spent a lot of time writing and reviewing patent applications. Some programmers were totally against the idea.

I remember including some coworkers on one of my patent applications, and they wanted their names off of it even though they would get a small monetary award for having signed. I added them because, in my mind, they helped me come up with the idea, and I wanted to share in the wealth, but as the saying goes, "No good deed goes unpunished!"
 
In my experience in the computer industry all the patent claims were bogus and were just a way for the strong to bully the weak.