Drew Curtis: How I beat a patent troll

Prevodilac: Dejan Vicai Lektor: Mile Živković

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

Prošlog januara, moju kompaniju, Fark.com je tužila,

along with Yahoo, MSN, Reddit,

pored Jahua, MSN-a, Redit-a,

AOL, TechCrunch and others

AOL-a, Tehkranča i drugih,

by a company called Gooseberry Natural Resources.

kompanija koja se zove Prirodni resursi Gusberi.

Gooseberry owned a patent

Gusberi poseduje patent

for the creation and distribution

za stvaranje i distribuciju

of news releases via email.

vesti preko elektronske pošte.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Možda deluje čudno da se takva stvar može zapravo patentirati,

but it does happen all the time.

ali se to dešava sve vreme,

Take something already being done

Uzmite nešto što se već radi

and patent it for an emerging technology --

i patentirajte za neku novu tehnologiju -

like phone calls on the internet

kao telefonski pozivi preko interneta

or video listings for TV shows

ili lista programa za TV emisije

or radio but for cellphones,

ili radio ali za mobilne telefone,

and so on.

i tako dalje.

The problem with these patents

Problemi sa ovim patentima

is that the mechanisms are obscure

je to što su im mehanizmi nejasni

and the patent system is dysfunctional,

i patentni sistem je nefunkcionalan,

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

i kao rezultat, većina tužbi se završi nagodbom.

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

Pošto su te nagodbe skopljene pod neotkrivenim okolnostima

no one knows what the terms were.

niko ne zna šta su bili uslovi.

And as a result, the patent troll can claim

Kao rezultat, patentski bauk može da tvrdi

that they won the case.

da su oni dobili slučaj.

In the case of Gooseberry Natural Resources,

U slučaju Prirodnih resursa Gusberi,

this patent on emailing news releases

patent slanja vesti preko elektronske pošte

had sort of a fatal flaw

imao je neku vrstu kobne greške

as it pertained to myself,

kako se to odnosilo i na mene,

and that was that in the mainstream media world

greška je da u javnom medijskom svetu

there is only one definition for news release,

postoji samo jedna definicija za vesti,

and it turns out that is press release --

ispostavilo se da je to javna objava -

as in P.R.

to jest PR.

Now my company, Fark,

Moja kompanija, Fark,

deals with news, ostensibly,

bavi se vestima, navodno,

and as a result

i kao rezultat

we were not in violation of this patent.

nismo kršili zakon tog patenta.

So case closed, right?

Rešen slučaj, zar ne?

Wrong.

Nipošto.

One of the major problems with patent law is that,

Jedan od najvećih problema sa zakonima patenata je,

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

da kada vas tuži neki patentski bauk,

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

težina dokaza da niste narušili patent

is actually on the defendant,

pada na okrivljenog,

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 niste narušili patent zbog kojeg vas tuže.

And this can take quite a while.

To može da potraje.

You need to know that the average patent troll defense

Morate znati da prosečni patentski bauk

costs two million dollars

košta dva miliona dolara

and takes 18 months when you win.

i potraje 18 meseci kada pobedite.

That is your best case outcome

To je najbolji ishod

when you get sued by a patent troll.

kada vas tuži patentski bauk.

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

Nadao sam se udruživanju sa većim kompanijama

in order to defend against this lawsuit,

da se branim protiv ove parnice,

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

ali jedan po jedan su se nagodili,

even though -- and this is important --

iako - ovo je važno -

none of these companies

nijedna od tih kompanija

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

nije narušila patent - nijedna od njih.

And they started settling out.

Nagodili su se.

The reason they settled out

Razlog nagodbi

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

je što je jeftinije nagoditi se nego se parničiti -

clearly, two million dollars cheaper in some cases,

očigledno je jeftinije za dva miliona dolara u nekim slučajevima,

and much worse if you actually lose.

mnogo je gore ako izgubite.

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

To je takođe velika smetnja rukovodstvu kompanije,

especially a small eight-man shop like my company.

posebno malom biznisu sa osam ljudi kao što je moja kompanija.

Six months into the lawsuit,

Šest meseci parničenja,

we finally reached the discovery phase.

napokon smo stigli do faze otkrivanja.

And in discovery phase,

U toj fazi otkrivanja,

we asked the patent troll to please provide

zatražili smo od patentskog bauka da predstavi

screenshots of Fark

slike Farka

where the infringement of their patent

gde se narušavanje njihovih patenata

was actually occurring.

zapravo dešava.

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

Možda zbog toga što dotične slike nisu postojale,

but suddenly Gooseberry wanted to settle.

Gusberi je odjednom želeo nagodbu.

Their attorney:

Njihov advokat:

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

"Ah, da. Moja kompanija se reorganizuje."

Never mind the fact

Zanemarite činjenicu

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

da adresa vodi do tržnog centra negde u severnom delu Los Anđelesa

with no employees.

bez zaposlenih.

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

"Hteli bismo da završimo ovim.

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

Da li biste mogli da nam ponudite najbolju i poslednju ponudu?"

My response:

Moj odgovor:

"How about nothing?!"

"Kako bi bilo ništa?"

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

We didn't have high hopes for that outcome.

Nismo se mnogo nadali tom ishodu.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But they settled.

Ali su prihvatili.

No counter offer.

Nema kontra ponude.

Now, as mentioned before,

Kao što je bilo rečeno pre,

one of the reasons I can talk to you about this

jedan od razloga što sa vama mogu da pričam o ovome

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

je to što nema dogovora o neobjavljivanju ovog slučaja.

Now how did that happen?

Kako se to dogodilo?

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

Tokom procesa nagodbe, kada smo primili našu kopiju, otkucao sam.

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

Moj advokat je rekao: "Nema šanse da to prođe."

It came back signed.

Vratili su potpisano.

Now why? You can call them.

Zašto? Možete ih zvati.

They're not under NDA either.

Nemaju ni ugovor o zaštiti poverljivih podataka.

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

Šta sam naučio iz ovog sluačaja? Tri stvari.

First of all, if you can,

Prvo, ako možete,

don't fight the patent, fight the infringement.

nemojte se boriti protiv patenta, borite se protiv narušavanja.

Patents are very difficult to overturn.

Patente je teško preokrenuti.

Infringement is a lot easier to disprove.

Narušavanja je lakše opovrgnuti.

Secondly, make it clear from the beginning

Drugo, neka bude jasno od početka

that either you have no money at all

da ili nemate novca uopšte

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

ili da biste radije trošili novac na advokata u borbi protiv bauka

than actually giving them the money.

nego da im date novac.

Now the reason this works

Razlog zašto ovo funkcioniše

is because patent trolls

je taj što su patentski bauci

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

plaćeni procentom od sume koju izvuku u nagodbi.

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

Kada im postane jasno da ne mogu da izvuku nikakav novac,

they become less interested in pursuing the case.

postanu manje zainteresovani da nastave slučaj.

Finally, make sure that you can tell them

Naposletku, budite sigurni da im možete reći

that you will make this process

da ćete ovaj proces učiniti

as annoying and as painful

toliko dosadnim i bolnim

and as difficult as possible for them.

i tako teškim za njih koliko je to moguće.

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

To je taktika koju bi patentski bauci trebalo da koriste na ljudima

to get their way.

da bi pobedili.

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

Ispostavlja se, zato što su plaćeni po učinku,

it works really, really well in reverse.

da ovo radi veoma, veoma lepo i kada se obrne.

Don't forget that.

Ne zaboravite to.

So what does all this mean?

Šta sve ovo znači?

Well to sum up,

Da sumiramo,

it boils down to one thing:

sve se svodi na jednu stvar:

Don't negotiate with terrorists.

nemojte pregovarati sa teroristima.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Patent trolls have done more damage to the United States economy

Patenski bauci su učinili više štete ekonomiji SAD

than any domestic or foreign

nego bilo koja domaća ili strana

terrorist organization in history

teroristička organizacija svake godine

every year.

u istoriji.

And what do they do with that money?

Šta rade sa tim novcem?

They plow it right back into filing more troll lawsuits.

Vrate sve nazad da bi mogli da pokrenu više takvih parnica.

Now this is the point in the Talk

Ovo je momenat u govoru

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

gde ja treba da smislim neko rešenje za sistem patenata.

And the problem with that

Problem sa time je

is that there are two very large industry groups

što postoje dve veoma velike industrijske grupe

that have different outcomes in mind

koje imaju različite ishode na umu

for the patent system.

za sistem patenata.

The health care industry

Industrija zdravstva

would like stronger protections for inventors.

bi volela veće mere sigurnosit za ulagače.

The hi-tech industry

Tehnološka industrija

would like stronger protections for producers.

bi volela veće mere sigurnosti za proizvođače.

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

Ova rešenja nisu nužno u sukobu, ali se ne slažu.

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

Kao rezultat, patentski bauci mogu da žive u prostoru između.

So unfortunately I'm not smart enough

Nažalost, nisam dovoljno pametan

to have a solution for the patent troll problem.

da imam rešenje za problem patentskih bauka.

However, I did have this idea,

Međutim, imao sam sledeću ideju,

and it was kind of good.

i bila je dobra.

And I thought, "I should patent this."

I mislio sam: "Trebalo bi da je patentiram."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Behold, patent infringement via mobile device --

Gle, narušavanje patenta preko mobilnog uređaja -

defined as a computer which is not stationary.

definisan kao računar koji nije stacioniran.

My solution: award me this patent

Moje rešenje: dodelite mi ovaj patent

and I will troll them out of existence.

a ja ću rešiti postojanje bauka.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)