Ronald J Riley 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (786)

• On the post: How Patents Are Harming Small Companies Too

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 06 Jun, 2009 @ 07:37pm

  TechDIRT hosting ads for invention promoters.

  Invention promotion fraud costs aspiring inventors typically something between $10,000 and $50,000 and years of delays waiting on false promises. This is an industry defrauding people for over $500 million a year.
  
  So why is TechDIRT hosting ads for companies like these?
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: How Patents Are Harming Small Companies Too

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 06 Jun, 2009 @ 07:27pm

  Re: I'm one of those little guys

  Jim,
  
  It sounds to me like you are a cog in some big corporation. Most certainly many of these companies files hordes of incremental inventions. It also sounds like you resent your situation.
  
  Big companies like to talk about innovation while they are combining others inventions without authorization into their products. For all their innovation they do not produce the important inventions. What they lack in the ability to produce significant inventions they make up for with innovative media hype.
  
  I can understand why living in this environment eats at you.
  
  The solution is to leave the corporate world and become an independent inventor. Break out of the stifling corporate environment. Start a business, create jobs and prosperity for both yourself and your community. This is the essence of the spirit which has made America the land of opportunity.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: New Bubble? Investing In Lawsuits

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 06 Jun, 2009 @ 05:00pm

  Suits not frivolous.

  Patent lawsuits are very expensive. No one files frivolous patent lawsuits.
  
  Big companies are really complaining about lawsuits which have merit. They steal, get caught, and face large judgments because their theft is on a very large scale.
  
  The companies doing most complaining are losing one lawsuit after another. They have much more money than any inventor and yet with that huge litigation advantage they still lose.
  
  What does that tell you about their conduct?
  
  RIM is a perfect example of this. They lost big. They appealed all the way to the Supreme Court and lost at every stage. The reason is simple, they lost because they were wrong. They lost because they were caught foisting manufactured evidence on the court. They lost because they tried to use political influence to sway the court.
  
  When all that failed a massive PR campaign was used to distract people from the real reason RIM lost.
  
  Virtually every member of the Coalition for Patent Fairness is guilty of the same sort of conduct.
  
  Returning to the issue of costs. Small businesses are not being sued for patent infringement because it is not economical to sue for any infringement less than ten million dollars. In most cases it is not economical to sue unless the value of infringement is a hundred-million or more.
  
  Any business with that kind of infringement is hardly small.
  
  Why is TechDIRT being used to shill for companies stealing more than a hundred million dollars? Are they speaking on behalf of small business or on behalf of rather large businesses?
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: Is It An Antitrust Violation To Agree Not To Poach Employees From Competitors?

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2009 @ 03:20am

  Re: Re: Re: not just execs

  Companies write lots of provisions into contracts which are not enforceable. They count on employees not looking into what the law allows. They will then have a clause in the contract which states that if any part is deemed unenforceable that the rest of the contract stands.
  
  There has been a tendency in corporate circles to overreach in contracts. This has happened in employment contracts and in consumer contracts. Banking, insurance, and a host of others are trying to short circuit peoples ability to have their day in court. It is a bald faced attempt to deny people justice.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: Is It An Antitrust Violation To Agree Not To Poach Employees From Competitors?

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2009 @ 03:12am

  Re: Nothing wrong here

  Has it occurred to anyone that the best people may not want to work for the biggest company? Smaller companies are more nimble and frankly much more satisfying to work for.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: US Trade Rep Promises Transparency… But Actions Speak Louder Than Websites

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2009 @ 06:21pm

  Re: Couple Comments

  "At least it provides a small piece of the list of organizations who are against the advanvement of the human race."
  
  Who do you think produces those advancements? How are the advancements paid for?
  
  When other countries get away with taking the advancements without paying who is paying the cost?
  
  Patent piracy is costing Americans jobs and prosperity. This is a tax being levied on all Americans by other countries.
  
  Transnational corporations steal American ingenuity and ship production to low wage counties. In the process they line their pockets at the expense of all Americans.
  
  Both foreign thieves and corporate thieves are undermining the American dream.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: US Trade Rep Promises Transparency… But Actions Speak Louder Than Websites

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2009 @ 06:12pm

  Re: Re: Mr. Riley

  Perhaps most disturbing is opposition to patenting improvements to life forms or processes for extracting or synthesizing beneficial active ingredients.
  
  Rather than opposing advancements and the intellectual property rights which drive those advancements people should be championing them.
  
  Claims that these inventions are biopiracy by those who are unwilling or unable to discover improvements are little more than an attempt to rationalize patent piracy and all they accomplish is denying humanity the benefits of such advancements.
  
  Traditional remedies are by their nature prior art. Claims of biopiracy are thinly veiled attempts to attach a property right to prior art which have no rights at the expense of those who are creating improvements in the art.
  
  Patents for such improvements in no way restrict the use of old knowledge. It is likely that the improvements will make use of traditional knowledge less desirable.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: US Trade Rep Promises Transparency… But Actions Speak Louder Than Websites

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2009 @ 06:04pm

  Re: Re:

  Since they did not produce the invention their failure to fairly compensate those who did is a tax on Americans.
  
  In other words it is theft pure and simple. America should deduct the value of such from foreign aid.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: Is It An Antitrust Violation To Agree Not To Poach Employees From Competitors?

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2009 @ 03:05am

  Intentionally Suppressing Wages & Opportunities

  This is industry collusion to cheat employees of the opportunity to let market forces maximize their income and their chances to achieve their full professional potential.
  
  Employees who have been limited as a result of this should look at bringing a class action lawsuit and perhaps consider bringing a civil RICO case.
  
  It is interesting that the companies conspiring in this manner are also well know for ripping off American inventors. I noticed that a number of the perps are members of the Coalition for Patent Fairness. I have long observed that companies who have ethical issues in one part of their business are often equally disreputable in many other aspects of their business conduct.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: The Role Of Abundance In Innovation

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 31 May, 2009 @ 07:31am

  Recession may be the mother of invention

  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/30/BUE517SN4N.DTL&type=business
  
  This was handy so I am offering it of others consideration.
  
  Mike constantly drones on about his citations. The problem is that the vast majority are from fringe types and utter drivel.
  
  If I thought it would make a difference I would spend the time to look up the legitimate stuff. But over a year of watching Mike's responses to those who have tried to educate him convinced me that this is futile.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  Affiliations:
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: If You Worked At Mattel And Thought About Making A Non-Barbie Doll, You Can't

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 30 May, 2009 @ 06:26pm

  Creator Bill of Rights

  Mattel's conduct with Carter Bryant is outrageous. It is by no means the first instance. Mattel is well known in the inventor community for their entitlement school yard bully mentality.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  Affiliations:
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: Patent Lawsuit Over Shazam Highlights The Difference Between Invention And Implementation

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 30 May, 2009 @ 05:05pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mikey strikes out as usual

  "It's funny. The main example I can think of where there was a system for promoting human knowledge is not the Patent system, but the public University system, where publically funded universities do research, and publish it without patents just to improve "human knowledge". But this model has been in decline for the past 30 years, as universities increasingly try to get on the patent train to see if they can lock down ideas and make some money."
  
  In other words universities have come to the conclusion that the best means to teach is with a patent. The problem with not patenting is that oftentimes this dooms the invention to never being commercialized. Before Bayh-Dole about 96% of government funded inventions just sat on the shelf, orphans that no one would invest in commercializing.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  Affiliations:
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: Patent Lawsuit Over Shazam Highlights The Difference Between Invention And Implementation

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 30 May, 2009 @ 04:49pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mikey strikes out as usual

  "It's so great to finally see eye to eye on something."
  
  If only you were able to do this Mike.
  
  Filing for a patent teaches the invention. That act of teaching does advance human knowledge.
  
  It is ONLY with that knowledge that those who commercialize may proceed. people with the ability to commercialize are fairly common, Mike being an example. Those who can inventor are much scarcer. Just as Mike advocates those with a scarce commodity, an invention make their profit on the naturally scarce item.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  Affiliations:
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: Patent Lawsuit Over Shazam Highlights The Difference Between Invention And Implementation

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 30 May, 2009 @ 04:38pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re: protecting ideas

  "And if he did that, this would not be an issue. Why didn't he go to Apple and pitch the idea?"
  
  Inventors pitch ideas to companies all the time. Members of the Coalition for Patent Fairness including Apple are notorious for refusing to license while using the invention. Whole industries stand united and dare the inventor to sue.
  
  When an inventor does manage to get investors interested and sues the sleazy patent pirating companies they then abuse the process of law in an attempt to bankrupt the inventor. As if that is not bad enough those companies then spend millions smearing the inventors' good name.
  
  Is it a surprise that after all this all the inventor wants to do is to kick the crap our of the companies who have stole their property and persecuted them, often for decades?
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  Affiliations:
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: Patent Lawsuit Over Shazam Highlights The Difference Between Invention And Implementation

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 30 May, 2009 @ 04:25pm

  They don't issue patents for ideas.

  "And, yet, some guy who had the same idea, but didn't go through the trials and tribulations of actually making it work for the market, suddenly gets to demand tons of money for it?"
  
  They don't issue patents for ideas. They issue patents for demonstrating a solution.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  Affiliations:
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: The Role Of Abundance In Innovation

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 30 May, 2009 @ 10:18am

  Forcing people to try to work around.

  A big part of what drives the next step in invention is someone who does not want to pay to use someone eases invention. So they develop an alternative, sometimes a much better alternative, patent it and collect royalties from others.
  
  What we see on TechDIRT are the people who resent having to compensate those who invent coupled with laziness and no gumption to produce an alternative.
  
  From what I can tell most of the anti-inventor sentiment on TechDIRT comes from the software community, actually second and third rate types who resent always being late to the invention party.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  Affiliations:
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: Less Than A Third Of Australia's Censor List Actually About Underage Images

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 30 May, 2009 @ 05:16am

  Good Job

  I could not agree more. The disinfecting light of public exposure is the best way to reign in knuckle-heads.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  Affiliations:
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: The Role Of Abundance In Innovation

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 30 May, 2009 @ 05:09am

  Over 30% Domestically Filed Patents

  Over 30% domestically filed patents are by small entities. Well over 90% of job creation is by small entities.
  
  It is big companies lobbying to weaken patents. It is big software companies manipulating the software community to promote their agenda for weak patents.
  
  It is the American people who will lose jobs and prosperity in a big way if transnational corporations are allowed to steal American ingenuity.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  Affiliations:
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: The Role Of Abundance In Innovation

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 30 May, 2009 @ 05:02am

  Invention is Scarce Due to Mindset

  Mike’s faulty reasoning never ceases to amaze me. When times get tough, and people lose their jobs more turn to inventing then would otherwise be the case. If people are fighting for their very survival then all their efforts go towards shelter and food. But loss of a job often means lots of time to invent.
  
  While most people are probably at a fundamental level capable of becoming inventors it is a fact that relatively few do so because of their mindset. I think that you are a good example of this. It does not have to be this way, all you need to do is shed your narrow mindset about inventing and actually develop and patent inventions.
  
  I realize that it is easier to sit around and rationalize why you should not roll up tour sleeves and actually work at inventing but if you did so you might find you actually like what you were doing.
  
  While some products may not be scarce it is a fact that inventor who follow through are scarce. One reason for this is that they have to face theft of most of the value of their inventing efforts. You can set an example and rather than advocate theft of the fruits of inventors work you could actually help increase the number of inventions which are developed by rewarding those who do the development.
  
  Even better would be to demonstrate through deed that that you can do your bit to make invention less scarce. Are you up to the task? Or are you to lazy or narrow minded to actually do some good by inventing and above all else teaching your invention to others as real inventors do?
  
  I do not think you have what it takes but would love to see you prove me wrong. Moreover, if by some chance you make the grade www.PIAUSA.org will be ready to lend you a hand when some parasitic patent thief tries to rape you.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  Affiliations:
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

• On the post: Could PR People Replace Journalists?

  

  Ronald J Riley ( profile ), 21 May, 2009 @ 05:28pm

  Common Feelings

  "Now, I'm sure plenty of journalists are cringing at the concept -- and certainly, as someone who gets bombarded daily with idiotic story pitches that are spun to such ridiculous levels I can only laugh at them (as I hit delete), it makes me cringe a bit."
  
  Mike, this is how inventors feel about the quality of your comments about patents and economics.
  
  Ronald J. Riley,
  
  
  Speaking only on my own behalf.
  Affiliations:
  President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
  Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
  Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
  President - Alliance for American Innovation
  Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
  Washington, DC
  Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

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