The Untangles of Software Patents

The Untangle’s of Software Patents

My long time friend Jerry Colonna is bringing the Untangle patent series up to the web for the first time. Jerry and I were both in Boston (I was in NY) last week and I had a great time meeting with a number of the patents that Jerry has out for Grant Thornton and Omnicom. I’m also going to the US Patent and Trademark Office in DC this week to see if I can get a single document.

I’m particularly interested in the patents pertaining to software patents. It’s a challenging area to litigate – the USPTO’s adjudication process is challenging and error prone, the trial is often one of the most expensive parts of the process, and the resulting award tends to be highly unusual. It’s not that the patents aren’t valid – they are – but that they are very difficult to litigate.

There are a number of new twists coming to the patent bookshelves this week as the Untangle series continues its promotional tour. One of the new releases is a massive one that I’m excited about. The book is called Untangle and it has an incredible amount of information on the software patents that the Untangle group has adjudicated.

There are hundreds of patents in this massive book – there is no overlap between the patents referenced in the book and the ones referenced elsewhere in the book. This should generate lots of interesting litigation. I’m also looking for lots of other patents related to software patents that the group has adjudicated.

More patents – time to buy a copy of the book – you’ll be able to find them all on the web in the next few days. If you want to see the first chapter, take a look here.