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Valve wins legal battle against patent troll Rothschild and associated companies (www.gamingonlinux.com)
submitted 1 week ago by nemeski@mander.xyz to c/games@sh.itjust.works
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[-] TheSeveralJourneysOfReemus@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

For those unfamiliar, Rothschild has a lot of patents and has a habit of going after various companies to try and get money out of them. They even tried to sue GNOME, as just one appropriate example here

I am fine with them getting valved out of these criminal tactics you know.

[-] FreddiesLantern@leminal.space 2 points 6 days ago

There’s a lot you can say about Valve and Gaben. But I dunno man between this and the Linux gaming as of late, not bad.

[-] voytrekk@sopuli.xyz 209 points 1 week ago

"System and method for storing broadcast content in a cloud-based computing environment"

What a bullshit patent. Twitch and other streaming services have been doing this for longer than this patent have existed most likely.

[-] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 175 points 1 week ago

Patent trolls are absolute scum of the earth.

[-] Zahille7@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago

I'm reminded of that one Silicon Valley episode

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

Remind me?

[-] Nastybutler@lemmy.world 31 points 1 week ago

Pied Piper was threatened with a lawsuit by a patent/IP troll. When Richard went to talk to him during his "everything can be solved by just talking it out" phase he learned the guy was also the owner of music copyright for an old song that he used to threaten musicians.

His solution was to find an older example of that song (using their software) and threaten the guy with losing his copyright on the song that was his main moneymaker.

So in this one case talking it out face to face did pay off. Unlike talking to Ed Chen

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago

Thanks, I remember now!

Yes, that show is notably fiction, though so firmly rooted in the reality of Silicon Valley that it was at times almost painful to watch while working and living there. Also everyone started calling me Gilfoyle.

[-] umbrella@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 week ago

the rothschilds can stand as scum of the earth on their own, without patent trolling once.

[-] forrgott@lemmy.zip 87 points 1 week ago

Yeah, the fact such a nonspecific patent was granted in the first place shows pretty clearly there's something wrong with the system!

[-] Emi@ani.social 16 points 1 week ago

At that point you could just patent breathing.

[-] qupada@fedia.io 33 points 1 week ago

"Method and apparatus for insufflation of oxygen into a body by means of flexible permeable membrane"

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[-] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 week ago

I could see an argument that RealPlayer did that 30 years ago.

[-] DaddleDew@lemmy.world 124 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I wish the damages they had to pay were enough to bankrupt them. "Companies" that do this sort of stuff are purely parasitical in nature should be taken down.

I'd even argue that when it is blatant like that law practicing licences should be revoked and the higher management of the company jailed for attempted extortion.

[-] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 73 points 1 week ago

Fuck software patents. You don't have to make anything - it's not a specific mechanism - it's just claiming an idea.

With real patents, tiny workarounds are treated as completely different. Nintendo's sturdy and reliable d-pads from the Game & Watch through the N64 used a hollow cross pivoting atop a dome. Some years later, Sega put the dome on the cross and had it pivot on a divot.

That sort of silly bullshit distinction is endemic to mechanical design patents. But I only know one case where it happened in software patents, and it's why image and video codecs are such a clusterfuck. IBM patented arithmetic coding - assigning short codes to frequent values. JPEG and ZIP software had to dance around this for decades, by using Huffman coding, which does the same god damn thing, but slightly worse. When the patent finally expired and ultranerds were free to improve on arithmetic coding, Google tried doing the same bullshit with their improvements, which is part of why JPEG XL went nowhere.

And that's for hard math! I had to sit and think about describing what arithmetic coding even does, instead of instinctively explaining how to balance binary trees. Namco infamously patented the idea of minigames during load screens. Any minigame! And then they used it, like, once. Warner patented the idea of hyping any NPC that beats you, so you won't be allowed to do that until 2033. Nintendo's trying to patent the parts of Pokemon they copied off Megami Tensei.

Imagine if Nintendo had patented sidescrollers. How many games would not exist, if they decided to own that concept? No iteration, no competition, just a handful of Marios and the worst Zelda. The very first third-party example would be Braid. A whole genre, wiped out, because a piece of paper says going left to right is theft.

[-] flamingleg@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 week ago

zelda 2 was good man

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[-] icerunner_origin@startrek.website 2 points 1 week ago

JPEG XL? It's 2026 and I'm still waiting for JPEG 2000 to become mainstream

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[-] Luminous5481@anarchist.nexus 53 points 1 week ago

Pocket change when it comes to Valve

Pocket change when it comes to a Rothschild as well. This isn’t going to discourage them, that family is the dictionary definition of old money.

[-] deliriousdreams@fedia.io 16 points 1 week ago

Apparently it's not the Rothschild family but an independent patent troll based in NY?

I'm genuinely asking because someone else in another thread claimed they were of no relation and I can't seem to confirm that.

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

The patent troll is literally named Rothschild, and theire whole thing is he runs a network of matryoshka-esque shell companies, that do the patent trolling.

One of the major points of this legal battle is that Valve is saying 'look, this dude has a network of shell companies, he is submitting blatent bullshit in the form of actual misconduct during legal proceedings, to the court, we want to sue him personally for damages.'

https://dockets.justia.com/docket/washington/wawdce/2:2023cv01016/323951

The case that this article is about mentions this, has that link right there in it, but, that particular case is not the one that was decided, that the article is primarily about.

The case that the article is primarily about is the one with so many egregious instances of legal malpractice that occured during it, that Valve started the suit in that link, to literally sue Rothschild for damages.

Like uh, in the proceedings of the case the OP article is about... the Rothschild shell company sued Valve for things that Valve already had a valid contract with them to use.

The Rothschild lawyer/legal team literally said 'oh oops we didn't realize that before I sued you.'

This is an insanely stupid thing to do.

The Rothschild lawyer/legal team also submitted to the court a bunch of hallucinated AI references to 'precedent establishing cases' that either did not even exist, or, were massively misconstrued, as the actual cases were nothing like what the Rothschild legal team described.

This is also an insanely stupid thing to do.

[-] deliriousdreams@fedia.io 2 points 6 days ago

I don't know that you meant to respond to me but thank you for the extra context.

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Apparently it's not the Rothschild family but an independent patent troll based in NY?

Its not an independent patent troll that is different from the guy named Rothschild.

Is the guy named Rothschild a member of /the/ Rothschild family?

I am not 100% certain of that, but I am certain that the guy named Rothschild and the patent troll in NY are the same thing.

... Somewhat strangely, despite there literally being a https://leighmrothschild.com/ where he glazes the fuck out of hinself... there isn't very much publically available info about the guy.

The rich guy, who just lost a lawsuit because he / his legal representatives confidently lied and provided false information to a judge.

Who prefers the term 'patent accumulator'.

The guy who has a personal website that says:

Rothschild leads a well-rounded life, pursuing a variety of personal interests that reflect his multifaceted personality. He has a deep passion for traveling, exploring new cultures, and broadening his global perspective. Whether it's visiting remote destinations or experiencing the world's most iconic landmarks, Rothschild's love for adventure fuels his creativity and sense of curiosity.

"I am a well rounded person and my real passion is travelling."

... Uh... huh... yeah....

Apparently he got his undergrad degree at the University of Miami in 73, was born in 1952... and... managed to get his first patent in 73 as well.

How many people have the resources/connections to get a patent while doing their college education, by age 21?

Not saying he didn't, I am saying that sure seems like he's had connections and money from a young age.

I can't explicitly tie him to /the/ Rothschild family, not with just 30 minutes of searching.

But he certainly is one of the most obnoxiously arrogrant, blue-blooded asshats I've ever encountered, and... I had a few econ and poli sci professors that regularly attended CFR meetings, or took a sabbatical from working at Goldman Sachs and Black Rock to work as a finance professor, shit like that.

[-] deliriousdreams@fedia.io 2 points 6 days ago

I was just asking if he was related because I wasn't sure he was related to Those Rothschilds. I tried to Google it because I was curious and came up with nothing.

I wasn't doubting that his name was Rothschild though. Still, added context is added context, so thank you again.

[-] Saledovil@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 week ago

Even if it's actually the Rothschilds we're talking about, that doesn't mean these guys are from one of the branches of the family where the money is. The Rothschilds got rich in the 18th century, so that's quite some time for wealth and influence to wane.

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 53 points 1 week ago

I don't have a massive amount of love for Valve (I like physical copies of my games, damn you), but patent trolls can go fuck themselves with a rusty pickaxe.

Especially over a patent as nebulous as this:

"System and method for storing broadcast content in a cloud-based computing environment"

Motherfucker, that's called a "file".

[-] trash@leminal.space 16 points 6 days ago

I whole heartedly agree, but I have a bit of love for Vavle because of the work they have put in regarding gaming on Linux.

[-] MIDItheKID@lemmy.world 14 points 6 days ago

That literally covers all streaming platforms. Go after Netflix lol good luck. Also YouTube? Also basically the fucking internet? Like what the fuck?

[-] Corporal_Punishment@feddit.uk 42 points 1 week ago

What the fuck?

That guy doesnt actually invent anything. He just comes up with ideas and files?

[-] fonix232@fedia.io 10 points 1 week ago

80% of patent work is coming up with ideas and filing them. The remaining 20% is ensuring there's no prior art, prior patents, etc.

Besides, patent trolling is not completely negative. The silver lining is that the same system that allows this, also allows e.g. Sony to perpeetum own the patent for interactive TV ads that require the user to yell a word at the TV to ensure they're watching the ad. Sony owns the patent but never implemented it, nor did they license it to others.

Now imagine what would happen if you had to implement your patent into a commercial product or lose the rights to it...

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

You don't know what patent trolling is.

You are describing patent enforcement.

Patent trolling is when a small company/firm solely, only exists as a kind of legal container that currently owns ... well, usually a broad array of all kinds of patents that they bought from some other person or company at some point.

They then go around and do nothing other than see who they can shakedown for money, via threatening all kinds of lawsuits, which would be extremely expensive and time consuming to fight, so most companies just fold and settle.

Nintendo suing Palworld over copyright and patents?

That's not patent trolling.

Yes, the existence of patents and how IP law works is a complex and contentious topic, in general.

But... patent trolling?

It is a specific thing that occurs because of the current state of IP laws in the US, and basically everyone from any kind of relevant and related academic and/or legal background agrees that it is terrible and Congress should really revamp the laws to at least specifically fix it.

Patent and IP law are complicated.

Patent trolling is completely negative.

[-] fonix232@fedia.io 2 points 6 days ago

Sitting on a patent, not implementing it, while also not allowing others to implement it, is a form of patent trolling.

Hell I'd even go as far as to call what Qualcomm does with their 4G/5G patents, trolling (they basically offer to sell patent licensing but it's generally much more expensive to get the license AND develop+manufacture your own modem with it than to buy modems from Qcom directly, which is essentially stifling any potential innovation on the modem market).

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll

You can argue whatever you want, the actual common definition of a patent troll is what I described, a person/entity that did not invent, but owns or purchases or otherwise legally acquires as many patents as they can, then goes around trying to sue or legally threaten people they claim are using it... as a form of making money for themselves.

Patent trolls operate much like any other company that is protecting and aggressively exploiting a patent portfolio. However, their focus is on obtaining additional money from existing uses, not from seeking out new applications for the technology.

The fact stands that you in your original comment just broadly described basically the entire concept of patents and patent law existing... as a specific subset of activity enabled by that system.

Which you described as 'not completely negative'.

No, it is completely negative, it is a form of parasitic wealth accumulation only available to the wealthy, and it only has negative effects for everyone other than the patent troll.

You can just make up a new colloquial meaning and sure, that's valid in the sense that the meanings of words change overtime... but like, this is specific, technical/legal/academic term with specific meaning.

[-] Luminous5481@anarchist.nexus 24 points 1 week ago

Besides, patent trolling is not completely negative.

The very idea of intellectual property is ludicrous and absurd. The concept of owning ideas is one of the most ridiculous notions that capitalism ever came up with. There are absolutely zero positive benefits to society when it comes to patents. They are the very reason people can’t afford lifesaving medicines and farmers can’t replant their own seeds. Anyone who owns a patent is a leech and should be hanged by the neck until dead.

[-] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 17 points 1 week ago

This.

Even the original argument, that patents exists to reward inventors with a period of time where they have the sole ability to sell their product, is gone. Now patents are simply owned by the company or university and rarely the inventor or scientist, they're allowed to be renewed over and over so that they are effectively eternal.

It's a shit system designed to encourage rent seeking behaviors without the risk and cost of having to invent new things.

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[-] shani66@ani.social 13 points 1 week ago

Patent trolling is completely negative. Patents themselves are mostly negative.

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this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2026
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