Drew Curtis: How I beat a patent troll

Prevoditelj: Ivan Stamenković Recezent: Senzos Osijek

Last January, my company, Fark.com, was sued

Prošlog siječnja moju je tvrtku, Fark.com,

along with Yahoo, MSN, Reddit,

kao i Yahoo, MSN, Reddit,

AOL, TechCrunch and others

AOL, TechCrunch i druge

by a company called Gooseberry Natural Resources.

tužila tvrtka Gooseberry Natural Resources .

Gooseberry owned a patent

Gooseberry posjeduje patent

for the creation and distribution

za stvaranje i distribuciju

of news releases via email.

vijesti putem e-maila.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Now it may seem kind of strange that such a thing can actually be patented,

Možda vam je čudno da se tako nešto zaista može zaštititi patentom,

but it does happen all the time.

ali to se uistinu stalno događa.

Take something already being done

Uzmete nešto što već postoji

and patent it for an emerging technology --

i patentirate to za tehnologiju u nastajanju --

like phone calls on the internet

poput telefonskih poziva putem interneta

or video listings for TV shows

ili video liste TV programa

or radio but for cellphones,

ili radija, ali za mobitele,

and so on.

i tako dalje.

The problem with these patents

Problem s tim patentima

is that the mechanisms are obscure

jest taj da su mehanizmi nejasni,

and the patent system is dysfunctional,

a sustav patenta disfunkcionalan,

and as a result, most of these lawsuits end in settlements.

pa je rezultat taj da većina takvih tužbi završi nagodbom.

And because these settlements are under a non-disclosure agreement,

A budući da su te nagodbe tajne,

no one knows what the terms were.

nitko ne zna pod kakvim su uvjetima sklopljene.

And as a result, the patent troll can claim

Kao rezultat toga, vlasnik patenta može tvrditi

that they won the case.

da je dobio slučaj.

In the case of Gooseberry Natural Resources,

U slučaju Gooseberry Natural Resources,

this patent on emailing news releases

taj patent na vijesti poslane emailom

had sort of a fatal flaw

imao je, na neki način, jednu fatalnu manu

as it pertained to myself,

kako se meni činilo,

and that was that in the mainstream media world

a to je da u svijetu mainstream medija

there is only one definition for news release,

postoji samo jedna definicija vijesti,

and it turns out that is press release --

a to je tiskovni izvještaj --

as in P.R.

kao u PR-u.

Now my company, Fark,

Moja tvrtka, Fark,

deals with news, ostensibly,

bavi se vijestima, načelno,

and as a result

te stoga

we were not in violation of this patent.

mi ne kršimo ovaj patent.

So case closed, right?

Slučaj zatvoren, zar ne?

Wrong.

Ne.

One of the major problems with patent law is that,

Jedan od najvećih problema s patentnim zakonom jest taj

in the case that when you are sued by a patent troll,

da kad vas tuži patentski trol,

the burden of proof that you did not infringe on the patent

teret dokazivanja da patent nije prekršen

is actually on the defendant,

leži na optuženiku,

which means you have to prove

što znači da morate dokazati

that you do not infringe on the patent they're suing you on.

da ne kršite patent za koji vas tuže.

And this can take quite a while.

A za to može biti potrebno puno vremena.

You need to know that the average patent troll defense

Morate znati da prosječna obrana od patentskog trola

costs two million dollars

stoji dva milijuna dolara

and takes 18 months when you win.

i traje 18 mjeseci kad pobijedite.

That is your best case outcome

To je najbolji mogući ishod

when you get sued by a patent troll.

kad vas tuži patentski trol.

Now I had hoped to team up with some of these larger companies

Nadao sam se da ću se udružiti s nekom od ovih većih tvrtki

in order to defend against this lawsuit,

kako bih se obranio od ove tužbe,

but one-by-one they settled out of the case,

ali sve su se redom nagodile,

even though -- and this is important --

iako -- ovo je važno --

none of these companies

nijedna od tih tvrtki

infringed on this patent -- not a one of them.

nije prekršila ovaj patent -- nijedna.

And they started settling out.

Počeli su s nagodbama.

The reason they settled out

Razlog zbog kojeg su se nagodili

is because it's cheaper to settle than to fight the lawsuit --

jest taj što je jednostavnije nagoditi se nego se boriti protiv tužbe --

clearly, two million dollars cheaper in some cases,

ponekad je jeftinije za dva milijuna dolara,

and much worse if you actually lose.

a mnogo je gore ako izgubite.

It would also constitute a massive distraction for management of a company,

To bi također stvorilo velike probleme za menadžment tvrtke,

especially a small eight-man shop like my company.

posebno u maloj tvrtki s osam zaposlenika, kao što je moja.

Six months into the lawsuit,

Nakon šest mjeseci procesa tužbe,

we finally reached the discovery phase.

napokon smo došli do faze otkrivanja.

And in discovery phase,

U toj fazi

we asked the patent troll to please provide

tražili smo patentskog trola da pokaže

screenshots of Fark

slike Farka

where the infringement of their patent

gdje zaista dolazi

was actually occurring.

do kršenja njihovog patenta.

Now perhaps it's because no such screenshots actually existed,

Možda je zato što takve slike nisu postojale

but suddenly Gooseberry wanted to settle.

Gooseberry odjednom htio nagodbu.

Their attorney:

Njihov odvjetnik:

"Ah, yes. My company's having a reorganization on our end."

"Ah, da. Moja se tvrtka reorganizira s naše strane."

Never mind the fact

Zanemarite činjenicu

that the address led to a strip mall somewhere in Northern L.A.

da je adresa vodila u trgovački centar negdje u sjevernom dijelu Los Angelesa,

with no employees.

i to bez zaposlenika.

"And we'd like to go ahead and close this out.

"Htjeli bismo ovo završiti.

So would you mind giving us your best and final offer?"

Možete li nam dati svoju najvišu i konačnu ponudu?"

My response:

Moj odgovor:

"How about nothing?!"

"Što kažete na ništa?!"

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

We didn't have high hopes for that outcome.

Nismo se nadali takvom ishodu.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But they settled.

Ali nagodili su se.

No counter offer.

Bez protuponude.

Now, as mentioned before,

Kako sam već spomenuo,

one of the reasons I can talk to you about this

jedan od razloga zašto mogu s vama o ovome razgovarati

is because there's no non-disclosure agreement on this case.

jest taj što u ovom slučaju nema ugovora o tajnosti.

Now how did that happen?

Kako se to dogodilo?

Well during the settlement process, when we received our copy, I struck it.

Tijekom procesa nagodbe, kad smo primili svoj primjerak, pogodio sam.

My attorney said, "Nah, no chance of that working."

Moj odvjetnik je rekao, "Ne, nema šanse da će to upaliti."

It came back signed.

Vratilo se potpisano.

Now why? You can call them.

Zašto? Možete ih nazvati.

They're not under NDA either.

Ni oni nisu pod ugovorom o tajnosti.

Now what did I learn from this case? Well, three things.

Što sam naučio iz ovog slučaja? Tri stvari.

First of all, if you can,

Prvo, ako možete,

don't fight the patent, fight the infringement.

ne borite se protiv patenta, borite se protiv kršenja.

Patents are very difficult to overturn.

Patente je vrlo teško osporiti.

Infringement is a lot easier to disprove.

Kršenje je mnogo lakše osporiti.

Secondly, make it clear from the beginning

Kao drugo, neka od početka bude jasno

that either you have no money at all

da ili uopće nemate novca,

or that you would rather spend money with your attorney fighting the troll

ili ćete novac radije potrošiti na borbu s trolom

than actually giving them the money.

nego da im taj novac date.

Now the reason this works

Razlog zbog kojeg ovo funkcionira

is because patent trolls

jest taj što su patentski trolovi

are paid a percentage of what they're able to recover in settlements.

plaćeni od postotka iznosa koji dobiju kroz nagodbe.

If it becomes clear to them that they cannot recover any money,

Ako im bude jasno da ne mogu dobiti nikakav novac,

they become less interested in pursuing the case.

postaju manje zainteresirani za slučaj.

Finally, make sure that you can tell them

Na kraju, budite sigurni da im možete reći

that you will make this process

da ćete ovaj proces

as annoying and as painful

učiniti što napornijim, bolnijim

and as difficult as possible for them.

i težim za njih.

Now this is a tactic that patent trolls are supposed to use on people

To je taktika koju bi patentski trolovi trebali primjenjivati na ljude

to get their way.

kako bi dobili što žele.

It turns out, because they're paid on contingency,

Budući da su plaćeni u postotku,

it works really, really well in reverse.

izgleda da to funkcionira vrlo dobro i u suprotnom smjeru.

Don't forget that.

Ne zaboravite to.

So what does all this mean?

Što sve ovo znači?

Well to sum up,

Da zaključimo,

it boils down to one thing:

sve se svodi na jednu stvar:

Don't negotiate with terrorists.

Ne pregovarajte s teroristima.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Patent trolls have done more damage to the United States economy

Patentski trolovi čine više štete gospodarstvu SAD-a

than any domestic or foreign

nego bilo koja domaća ili strana

terrorist organization in history

teroristička organizacija u povijesti

every year.

svake godine.

And what do they do with that money?

A što čine s tim novcem?

They plow it right back into filing more troll lawsuits.

Troše ga na ulaganje novih tužbi.

Now this is the point in the Talk

Ovo je trenutak u mojem govoru

where I'm supposed to come up with some kind of a solution for the patent system.

kad bih trebao naći neko rješenje za sustav patenata.

And the problem with that

A tu je problem

is that there are two very large industry groups

što postoje dvije velike industrijske grupe

that have different outcomes in mind

koje imaju različite ideje

for the patent system.

za sustav patenata.

The health care industry

Zdravstvena industrija

would like stronger protections for inventors.

voljela bi bolju zaštitu za izumitelje.

The hi-tech industry

Hi-tech industrija

would like stronger protections for producers.

htjela bi jaču zaštitu za proizvođače.

And these goals aren't necessarily diametrically opposed, but they are at odds.

Ti ciljevi nisu dijametralno suprotni, ali donekle se isključuju.

And as a result, patent trolls can kind of live in the space in between.

I zato patentski trolovi uspijevaju u međuprostoru.

So unfortunately I'm not smart enough

Na žalost, nisam dovoljno pametan

to have a solution for the patent troll problem.

da bih imao rješenje za problem patentskih trolova.

However, I did have this idea,

No, imao sam ovu ideju,

and it was kind of good.

i bila je dobra.

And I thought, "I should patent this."

Pa sam pomislio: "Morao bio ovo patentirati."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Behold, patent infringement via mobile device --

Pogledajte, kršenje patenta putem mobilnog uređaja --

defined as a computer which is not stationary.

definiran kao računalo koje nije stacionarno.

My solution: award me this patent

Moje rješenje: dodijelite mi ovaj patent

and I will troll them out of existence.

i istrijebit ću ih.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)