Laminar Sued

[larjeet]

Just found this on Avsim http://forum.avsim.net/page/index.html/_/pri-news/laminar-research-sued-for-patent-infringement-r656

[i<3xplane10]

Horrible isn't it?

[Michael_Chang]

idk, this seems kinda stupid, it's just like apple suing samsung

[larjeet]

Laminar defence fund page https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=_FnWfT1bZ95NIiPHF6dhXlbsa6XpdzWrx-R4Cl9zPqkQNZ38k-uH1EAaB8W&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8da6a0e86558d6153d7722c6eea13ecd7b

[Japo32]

Just knew it today. Already sent a donation to Austin. He asked for a help and there is nothing more to say about it.

For sure the biggest problem here is how he and his family can solve this stressing situation. Hope they can be thought it soon!

Edited September 18, 2012 by Japo32

[Ben Russell]

Yeah, nothing more heartbreaking than a Ferrari driving, cirrus flying millionaire in court over paying license fees..

This is not a new problem for software.

Austin's "poor me" attitude is pathetic given the resources and success he -already- has.

[ptru]

Well, the "pathetic attitude" as you call it could be discuss-able...

But this is (probably) not about license fees - this is (by my opinion) mainly about patent trolls...

[Phantom88]

Yeah, nothing more heartbreaking than a Ferrari driving, cirrus flying millionaire in court over paying license fees..

This is not a new problem for software.

Austin's "poor me" attitude is pathetic given the resources and success he -already- has.

I wonder how you would feel if this was your livelihood and family being threatened in this manor?

[Ben Russell]

This is software. Not a religious cult.

[hobofat]

I wonder how you would feel if this was your livelihood and family being threatened in this manor?

Merit or lack of merit of this lawsuit aside, Austin has the financial resources to defend this claim. Livelihood and family are not at stake here.

EDIT: Austin says as much. "(Note: I have enough money to defend thus suit all the way through trial without it being a financial hardship, so please do not give if it is a hardship for you. But, if you would like to make a contribution to help with the cause because you want to help stop people like this, then it will surely be appreciated!)" http://www.x-plane.c...-world/lawsuit/

SECOND EDIT: Austin adds this addendum to his original "cost" explanation, in typical caps lock:

NOTE: THIS IS AN ADDENDUM THAT I AM ADDING SEPTEMBER 18, 2012. SINCE I INITIALLY WROTE THIS BLOG, I HAVE JOINED IN WITH THE 9 OTHER COMPANIES THAT UNILOC IS SUING TO SHARE THE DEFENSE COST. SHARING THE DEFENSE COST 9 WAYS HAS DRASTICALLY REDUCED THE PREDICTED COST OF THE LAWSUIT TO US. IN FACT, SPREAD OUT OVER TWO YEARS, THE DEFENSE COST WILL NOT BE A PROBLEM FOR ME TO BEAR. THIS BEING THE CASE, THE COST AND STRESS OF THIS LAWSUIT ARE NOW PREDICTED TO BE MUCH LOWER THAN MY UNDERSTANDING WAS WHEN IT WAS INITIALLY FILED. THE INJUSTICE OF IT, OF COURSE, REMAINS, SO MY RESOLVE TO TAKE THIS THROUGH TRIAL TO SEE WHAT A JURY THINKS IS DOUBLED. THERE WILL BE NO SETTLEMENT.

Edited September 19, 2012 by hobofat

[Phantom88]

That is Great news hobofat,Thank You for the update.

[larjeet]

Is this lawsuit limited to android app developers or could this so called patent infringment be applied to xplane plugins that verify licences over the internet such as Gizmo?

Edited September 24, 2012 by larjeet

[greggerm]

Is this lawsuit limited to android app developers or could this so called patent infringment be applied to xplane plugins that verify licences over the internet such as Gizmo?

Yes, the claim of infringement is based on Laminar "making, using, offering for sale, selling and/or importing Android based applications for use on cellular phones and/or tablet devices that require communication with a server to perform a license check to prevent the unauthorized use of said application, including, but not limited to, X-Plane."

The patent claim only affects Austin's Android product.