Another patent lawsuit against the growth of Internet and data communication

8/30/2010 4:54 AM EDT

Reminds me of the SCO group and its frivolous lawsuits against IBM, Novell and others. There must be a strict timeline enforced for such lawsuits - sue a company when you see them launch a product with your idea, not when it has become a mature product.

On the other hand, big companies can muscle their way through copyright violations, so legal protection is necessary, but often times proves inadequate and ends up being a long drawn process killing a small company along the way. In such cases, the only hope is perhaps to negotiate with the big company for a better deal, not fight it out in the court of law.

8/30/2010 6:55 PM EDT

"Paul Allen Sues the Web" was my favorite headline (from Wired I think). One of his quotes, through a spokesman, was ever funner: "This lawsuit is necessary to protect our investment in innovation..."

It's one thing when a small company sues a giant company to get its rightful due, but when a giant company sues all the other giant companies the game gets interesting. There must be lots of lawyers perusing the yacht catalogs.

This lawsuit could be in the courts for a long time. Will it stifle development from all who were sued? Probably not, too much at stake for all involved. And it going to be difficult for Mr. Allen to demonstrate financial hardship.