ThatFatMan 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: FCC Is 'Deeply Troubled' By Verizon Wireless's New Throttling Plans

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 31 Jul, 2014 @ 08:44am

    Is that a spine or are you happy to see me

  • On the post: Only A Giant Telco Could Introduce Bandwidth Throttling And Spin It As 'Network Optimization'

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 29 Jul, 2014 @ 05:50am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    This sounds like what Sprint does honestly. What I mean is that Sprint offers "unlimited" data, but they throttle it after 2.56GB to a slower speed. They call it unlimited because there is no cap to how much data you can use, just a cap to how fast you can use it. So everyone can still get away with calling it unlimited despite the limits and it's business as usual.

  • On the post: Patent System Encouraging People To Try To Reinvent The Wheel

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2014 @ 12:59pm

    Re: Re: Re: Keep it coming

    There is a lot up here that I simply don't have the time to address. So I'll take a quick stab at this and a couple other points and leave it at that.

    You strike me as anti-patent. That's my opinion. I'm not trying to defend our system as the right one. I have plenty enough of my own opinions of the shortcomings of our patent system and changes I'd like made. But given my position, I try to keep many of them out of the public eye for obvious reasons. No system can or ever will be perfect, but problems can and should be fixed. As an examiner, I work within the system we have to the best of my ability, and try not to issue things that I think would be problematic. So far, I haven't seen anything I've worked on show up here, and I'm not complaining.

    And yes, I have read at least some of your stories about how do we fix the patent system. I'm not saying, and I never meant to imply, that you haven't done so. I guess I was looking for something more, not just a few ideas, but your overall idea for the system as a whole. I actually am curious to read it, whether I agree with it or not. It would be interesting to see a system without the hands of a lawyer all over it.

    As to my statement about the constitution requiring something along the lines of a patent system. I'm not above admitting when I should have been more careful with my words. It does not say it is a requirement, but rather a power. I said requirement because I couldn't see a need for it to be enumerated otherwise. A little looking around (thanks Google and Wikipedia) and I accept that I screwed up. In reality it is a power probably better left in the hands of the federal government, because I am sure we can at least all agree having patents and copyrights on a state by state basis would be far worse than what we have now.

    The burden is on patent proponents to prove that having a patent system in the first place is beneficial and then to propose a beneficial, evidence based, patent system and The biggest problem I see with the patent system is it's not evidenced based I think it's pretty clear that AC's comment is that we need a system based on evidence. I'm only pointing out that we have it, and I tried to briefly support that.

    In any case, thank you for replying, I'll admit I was surprised. I'm glad to see that there was quite a bit of back and forth here, and that it was mostly civil.

  • On the post: Patent System Encouraging People To Try To Reinvent The Wheel

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2014 @ 11:38am

    Re: Re: Re: Keep it coming

    I'm not missing the point. I was making my own. Mikey seems to think that everything should be rejected because the core of it is already known. Every wheel should be rejected because someone already invented a wheel. By his way of thinking, every smart phone and every flip phone before it should be rejected by one of the old brick phones ca. 1980 because a cell phone is a cell phone. All I wanted him to do was to suggest a better way and tell me why his way is best. I happen to think his way is unnecessarily restrictive and would all but eliminate the patent system.

    I don't agree that a patent is really a privilege either. The constitution requires congress to do something to protect inventors and try to promote the sciences and useful arts. While he might not like the system congress gave us, it's what we have. And it's not going away, all it can do is change, unless you think we can go ahead and amend that out. Good luck. I'll touch on evidence based in a moment. But I have defended my position, and I am an Examiner. I've never insisted on here that the system is perfect. Nor will I. But to reiterate what I posted earlier, the law allows patents on new and useful improvements. And that is the right choice, because people should be afforded some protection for expending resources to invent those things and increase the body of knowledge.

    As to your comments about an evidence based system, we already have it. Examiners reject applications for patents every day and they rely heavily on evidence: patent and non-patent literature, technical documents, etc. While I agree that an objective and reasonable standard would be nice, no one is offering up such a standard that can apply to all cases. There is case law (i.e., court rulings) that cover some basic ideas like rearrangement of parts, obviousness of ranges, optimization of known parameters and simple substitution of known elements for the same purpose. I think we can all agree that that list is neither exhaustive and is rather fundamentally basic. By it's very nature, most things beyond that are subjective. You take two examiners, give them the same invention to review and the same prior art and you're just as likely to get two different results on whether the invention is obvious in view of the art as you are to get agreement. Why? Because those examiners are drawing from different experiences and interpretations. If there was a more perfect objective system out there, I'm sure you could write a program to do my job and no more bad patents would issue. I'd also like to think that if such an objective standard could exist, it would have been written into law by now and lobbied against heavily by lawyers and businesses alike.

  • On the post: Patent System Encouraging People To Try To Reinvent The Wheel

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2014 @ 11:09am

    Re: Re: Re: Keep it coming

    Doesn't Work. What incentive is there for anyone to disclose their invention without some level of protection from someone copying it, using it, selling it? There are few, if any, people out there who would be willing to invent something for someone else to make millions off of without any compensation.

    You speak of necessity like we need those things for our sirvival. Arches are not necessary, nor is indoor plumbing and gunpowder, etc. All you really need is food, water and shelter. Other people are optional. We got by for many many years without those things and survived as a species. You want plumbing and a smart phone and the internet, but it isn't necessary.

  • On the post: Patent System Encouraging People To Try To Reinvent The Wheel

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2014 @ 09:10am

    Re: Keep it coming

    We get it, you're anti-patent. No one is going to change your mind.

    As an examiner, I am personally curious to know what the patent system would look like if you, Mikey, got to write the laws. So go ahead, draft some laws to make the patent system be what you think it ought to be and post them up for all of us to read. Cover everything. I'm dying to read it.

    And while you're at it, explain in detail all the ways it'll help.

    Please.

  • On the post: Patent System Encouraging People To Try To Reinvent The Wheel

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2014 @ 04:38am

    35 U.S.C. 101

    Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.

    If you don't like the way the law is written, you're welcome to contact your representative in congress and explain to them your disdain for the patent system and see if they'll agree to remove the new and useful improvements clause :)

  • On the post: France Passes Anti-Amazon Law Eliminating Free Shipping; Amazon Responds With 0.01 Euro Shipping Fees

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 14 Jul, 2014 @ 09:48am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Efficiency isn't always the most valuable thing in the world

    If you've been paying attention over the years, you'll notice that that is exactly the way government works. Most of the laws that are passed are nothing more than band-aids for already broken or outdated laws, or worse, for moral panics and public outcries.

  • On the post: France Passes Anti-Amazon Law Eliminating Free Shipping; Amazon Responds With 0.01 Euro Shipping Fees

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 14 Jul, 2014 @ 07:57am

    Sad

    It's really sad that neither the legislators nor the bookstores saw this move coming.

    Maybe in another 10 years Amazon will have to bump up the shipping cost to 0.02 euro after they outlaw 0.01 euro shipping too.

    And if I were running Amazon, I think I'd find a way to refund everyone 0.01 euro just for the sake of doing it. Maybe toss in a piece of 0.01 euro candy with every book order

  • On the post: Keurig Begins Demonstrating Its Coffee DRM System; As Expected, It Has Nothing To Do With 'Safety'

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 09 Jul, 2014 @ 11:27am

    Re: Re: Lexmark tried this same crap with their ink cartridges.

    And Brother

  • On the post: DHS Cites 'Credible Threat' As Reason For Forcing Travelers To The US To Hand Over Powered-Up Devices To Airport Security

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2014 @ 06:13am

    Maybe TSA is french...

    Agence de Sécurité Theater

  • On the post: Qualcomm Uses DMCA To Shut Down Its Own GitHub Repository (Plus A Bunch Of Others)

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 07 Jul, 2014 @ 10:08am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Qualcomm is reversing

    You're right. I should have said they weren't liable for compensating the affected parties. All I was really trying to do was take a crack at KlearGear and General Mills and others for their ridiculous Terms&Conditions (e.g., https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140417/08180426946/general-mills-says-if-you-like-cheerios-facebook-you-can-no-longer-sue.shtml ; https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140324/03123726668/kleargear-no-shows-hearing-reinstates-3500-non-disparagement-clause.shtml ) I clearly failed :)

  • On the post: Qualcomm Uses DMCA To Shut Down Its Own GitHub Repository (Plus A Bunch Of Others)

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 07 Jul, 2014 @ 08:57am

    Re: Re: Qualcomm is reversing

    Not forgotten. It was in the Terms & Conditions on their website that they aren't financially liable if they issue a Bogus DMCA takedown notice. You agreed to it, remember?

  • On the post: NSA Insisted Snowden Didn't Have Access To Actual Surveillance Data: But He Did… And It Shows How Much Non-Terrorist Content NSA Collects

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 07 Jul, 2014 @ 06:59am

    Re: encryption

    It's not a new idea

  • On the post: CIA Sent FBI Agents After, Ended Career Of 19-Year Employee Over A FOIA Request For Historical Documents

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 07 Jul, 2014 @ 11:47am

    Everything the agency never took issue with during his previous 18 years of employment -- like personal call infractions and the possession of photos (taken by Scudder in his position as "official CIA photographer") deemed "classified" -- was suddenly yet another reason to force him out

    Unfortunately this is S.O.P. for the government. The fine folks in "Employee Relations" are relentless and will let nothing stand in their way of administering justice. I can speak with some experience on the subject, I've been one of their victims. I can only imagine they are more unpleasant at the CIA to deal with.

  • On the post: NSA Insisted Snowden Didn't Have Access To Actual Surveillance Data: But He Did… And It Shows How Much Non-Terrorist Content NSA Collects

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 07 Jul, 2014 @ 06:55am

    Maybe he didn't have access to that data. Lets not forget that he talked to people about how the public would feel to learn about these programs, etc. Maybe he had help and he is trying to protect those persons that helped him.

    While it may sounds like what I am saying is that the NSA mouths aren't lying to us after all, what I am really saying is that maybe they really will never have any idea what he actually took or had access to indirectly. They may very well have a much larger problem on their hands than they realize at NSA. Snowden could be the tip of the ice-burg.

  • On the post: Massachusetts SWAT Teams Claim They're Private Corporations To Get Out Of Transparency Requests

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 27 Jun, 2014 @ 12:06pm

    Let them be private corporations

    If that's the game they want to play, so be it. But they have to go all the way. That means they aren't protected any longer from being treated as the common criminals they so often are. They are welcome to bust down the door and be shot like any common criminal for breaking and entering. one or two homeowners against an armed mob sounds like a pretty reasonable self-defense claim. Wanna rummage through our belongings and collect evidence? Sounds like that's just robbery to me. They don't get to have it both ways. Hope they registered those assault weapons too and have the proper federal permits for automatic weapons.

    All of that nonsense aside, this is obviously B.S. though. I seem to recall the Prisons recently tried to make the same argument since they've been privatized, and that being held to be an insufficient grounds to deny FOIA requests. I don't see the courts buying it here either.

  • On the post: Music Freedom Or Holding Consumers Hostage? Letting ISPs Pick Winners And Losers Is A Problem

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 19 Jun, 2014 @ 11:51am

    Re:

    I remember when AT&T, Verizon, etc. had unlimited data plans. Some people have even managed to keep them, thanks to grandfathering. I used to have an AT&T unlimited data plan, and was grandfathered in. The difference in performance any time I used that data AFTER the bogus caps were put in place? NONE. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nothing changed. It wasn't faster because data caps suddenly popped into existence. The only thing that increased was the rate at which these companies made profits.

  • On the post: Music Freedom Or Holding Consumers Hostage? Letting ISPs Pick Winners And Losers Is A Problem

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 19 Jun, 2014 @ 10:52am

    Re:

    haven't heard of this, what "screwing" do you speak of?

  • On the post: IRS To Public: You Need To Hold Onto Your Records For 2-7 Years; We'll Just Trash Ours Whenever We Feel Like It

    ThatFatMan ( profile ), 19 Jun, 2014 @ 12:45pm

    IRS?

    Inbox Recycling Service?

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