Market Losers Litigate
While looking for this week’s software patent, I came across this story about about Transmeta’s lawsuit against Intel:
Transmeta was the first company to emphasise that power consumption was going to be a major headache for chip and computer makers. It claimed that its Crusoe processors would be able to run the same software as Intel chips, but gobble up less electricity, thus leading to longer battery life.
Although the company landed early deals with Sony and Fujitsu when Crusoe arrived in 2000, it did not live up to its goals. Crusoe’s performance was middling, and Transmeta had several problems getting new versions out the door. Deals with Toshiba and others evaporated.
The chipmaker then went through several rounds of layoffs and changed its chief executive three times before refashioning itself into an intellectual property firm last year.
I wonder if “intellectual property firm” is a euphemism for “patent troll.”
It’s really quite a sad story. Transmeta was an innovative company with some amazing technology. As near as I can tell, they were crippled by poor execution and some bad business decisions. It’s too bad that this will be the final chapter of their corporate history.
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Tim, this is pretty inflammatory. As most folks in IP policy are trying to narrow down and pinpoint the definition of patent trolls, you seem to simply call all IP companies patent trolls.
To be honest, I disagree with you a lot, but a statement like this is beyond the pale... its like me calling you Richard Stallman.
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Current efforts at patent reform intend, partially, to curb abuses of the patent system by patent trolls. But rather than separate firms that use patent in positive ways, Tim simply calls all firms holding patents patent trolls.
Whats funny is that Tim's comment is neither necessary nor even relevant to his blog. He just threw it in there.
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Christmas Day falls on December 25. It is preceded by Christmas Eve on December 24, and in some countries is followed by Boxing Day on December 26. Some Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Christmas on January 7, which corresponds to December 25 on the Julian calendar. December 25 as a birthdate for Jesus is merely traditional, and is not thought to be his actual date of birth. Regards
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o:)))))
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