Native American Tribe Sues Amazon and Microsoft Over Patents

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monkeymagick

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Mega-corporations Amazon and Microsoft are being sued by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe over patents "given" to the tribe from patent-holding company SRC Labs. Due from tribal nations having "sovereign immunity," the supercomputer patents might avoid patent reviews from the US Patent Office. Apparently another drug company, Allergan (patent-trolling company) gave the same tribe six patents of its eye medication Restasis, agreeing to pay $13.5 million to the St. Regis Tribe as part of a patent deal.

If it does work, the advantages could be considerable. State universities have a different form of sovereign immunity, and in at least two cases, universities have stopped patent reviews from moving forward at the Patent Trial and Appeals Board. Public universities also have a big advantage in federal court, because potential defendants can't file a declaratory judgment lawsuit against them to challenge their patents. In other words, they have to wait to be sued before they can fight back. This effectively gives universities the ability to choose when and where to fight patent battles.
 
The sovereign tribe wishes to operate independently from the United States and it's people, so be it.
Your "patent" isn't recognized by the United States, it only applies to your own people. Go ahead and sue yourselves to block Amazon and Microsoft products from your tribal lands.
 
Indeed. If they want to have sovereign immunity, then they should be also rejected by USPTO as a allowed patent holders. Same with universitites.

Or every judge should do what Allergan's patent received - cancellation. You take your patents outside the jurisdiction of USPTO/US judges, you cancel your patents.
 
Ya good luck with that

It' funny, but sometimes Judges are actually doing something right

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...n-patent-slams-companys-native-american-deal/

There are “serious concerns” about Allergan “renting” sovereign immunity
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Sovereign immunity "should not be treated as a monetizable commodity that can
be purchased by private entities as part of a scheme to evade their legal responsibility," the judge concludes
Click to expand...

One really shouldn't poke a sleeping dragon

https://www.google.de/amp/s/arstech...merican-sovereign-immunity-for-patents/?amp=1

New bill would end Native American “sovereign immunity” for patents
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“This is one of the most brazen and absurd loopholes I’ve ever seen, and it should be illegal,” Sen. McCaskill said last week in a statement to a pharmaceutical lobby group.
Click to expand...
 
UGH! I hate patent trolls. Could someone please appoint me to be a judge and preside over these cases? I have a law license, STEM education, can understand and write code and I'm a geek. That makes me way more qualified to here these cases than most of the crusty old turds currently hearing them.

I swear I would call out these trolls in open court and nail their asses with every attorney fee penalty allowed. And I would invalidate so many shitty software patents their heads would spin.
 
If ever there was any MORE evidence that the entire patent system needs an overhaul....
 
So they don't want to be a part of the system when it benefits them financially, but they DO want to be a part of the system if it means fleecing money off of people in said system?

Fuck the companies and fuck the tribes that try to play this troll game. Soon as the word "sovereign immunity" pops up in front of any judge, he should throw the case out and tell whoever to go take it up with tribal elders. Good luck getting them to let go of any of their tax free casino money.


Want to play in the corporate world? Start paying corporate taxes.
 
I heard about this on the radio, in regards to Allergan. This is such an insane loophole, and completely surprising that it wasn't exploited before. It is a direct by-product of a historical refusal to address Native Americans in any way beyond letting them be the boss of their bedroom. Now they are being exploited once again, giving them the non-choice between a nominal fee or nothing to protect major corporations from their legal responsibilities. What's worse is, because it's portrayed as the the tribe approaching the corporation, it looks like a "they asked for it" situation instead of what it really is.

I'm not beating the "we have to save them because they can't save themselves" drum, but this sort of arrangement is a pretty disappointing picture of humanity.
 
Yep, sure i get the hate for patent trolls, but honestly Ms, apple, google and company are not above being patent trolls themselves.. so yeah triple whammy, market control, patent control and billions to back both. Any patent reform honestly needs to protect more smaller players and or make patents more significant, carry more weight somehow. But honestly screaming and knee jerking at patent trolls is a bad idea in general, might look and be some nasty legal moves deployed by so called trolls but real power lies elsewhere.
 
tgom222 said:
UGH! I hate patent trolls. Could someone please appoint me to be a judge and preside over these cases? I have a law license, STEM education, can understand and write code and I'm a geek. That makes me way more qualified to here these cases than most of the crusty old turds currently hearing them.

I swear I would call out these trolls in open court and nail their asses with every attorney fee penalty allowed. And I would invalidate so many shitty software patents their heads would spin.
Click to expand...

you got my vote but the problem is they'll just try to take the case to a jurisdiction where the judge doesn't know shit instead of letting a technology literate judge take the case.
 
monkeymagick said:
Mega-corporations Amazon and Microsoft are being sued by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe over patents "given" to the tribe from patent-holding company SRC Labs. Due from tribal nations having "sovereign immunity," the supercomputer patents might avoid patent reviews from the US Patent Office. Apparently another drug company, Allergan (patent-trolling company) gave the same tribe six patents of its eye medication Restasis, agreeing to pay $13.5 million to the St. Regis Tribe as part of a patent deal.

If it does work, the advantages could be considerable. State universities have a different form of sovereign immunity, and in at least two cases, universities have stopped patent reviews from moving forward at the Patent Trial and Appeals Board. Public universities also have a big advantage in federal court, because potential defendants can't file a declaratory judgment lawsuit against them to challenge their patents. In other words, they have to wait to be sued before they can fight back. This effectively gives universities the ability to choose when and where to fight patent battles.
Click to expand...

Dude, I hate to be that guy, but is there a reason you posted a screen grab of a Native American representing the Cherokee Nation, versus a pic of a Native American from the Mohawk tribe that this article is about?

I wouldn't really give a shit but I happen to be a Cherokee warrior from the Cherokee Nation, Just like Tommy. And I'm sure Grandfather would be angered by this as well.

Here's a better one;

Mohawk Indian_warrior_painting.jpg
 
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