Intellectual Ventures wants patent related to managing domain names and web hosting.
Some big companies in the domain name space have lots of patents. Despite threats, no major players have tried to extract money out of their competitors.
But registrars should be concerned about a recent patent application because of the company behind it: Intellectual Ventures. Through its company III Holdings 1, LLC, the company has applied for a patent for “System and Method for Domain Management and Migration”.
The application (pdf) describes two types of systems:
1. A unified system for managing domain names registered at different registrars.
2. A way to migrate hosting to take advantage of newer equipment or better service prices.
I suspect there’s a lot of prior art on the first one.
The inventors are entrepreneur David Feinleib and attorney Alan Burnett.
Hate patent trolls? I own both PatentTroll.com and PatentTrolls.com.
Joseph Peterson says
Slimy outfit.
Acro says
David Feinleib seems like a nice fella. Is it because his patent applications are piped through a corporate outfit that you made the ‘patent troll’ reference?
Typically, this is done for specific reasons: corporate formation, protection of IP property, and VC funding.
Joseph Peterson says
Intellectual Ventures is regarded by some as a patent troll. Even Wikipedia uses the phrase in its opening paragraph on the company.
Andrew Allemann says
It’s because the applicant is part of intellectual ventures, which is a patent troll.
Acro says
Ok, so patent trolls that lease patents they have pursued, are how much worse than domainers that register domains for lease (or sale) ? Playing devil’s advocate.
Joseph Peterson says
@Acro,
The difference would be this:
Patent trolls collect broad patents in order to sue entrepreneurs with similar ideas. The name derives from trolls who live under a bridge and pop up to extort ransom from travelers.
Domain investors don’t sue people with similar ideas. You owned 100.org until recently, but you didn’t buy that domain in order to file lawsuits against anyone who might decide to use 100.co or 100.biz.
As a domainer, you don’t block the bridge. You simply assert your right to your own front yard and point out alternative pathways to anyone who seeks to trample that front yard.
Tite says
This is what I’ve been afraid of, patent trolls turned domainers turn UDRP specialists turn the end of domaining as we know it….don’t allow this to happen and watch closely going foward
Tite says
They use patents as buffers for large conglomerates and they do the same with domains keep in people caught up in litigation and and this will deter people from domaining
Ivan Rasskazov says
Wait and see I guess. IP Law is in a lot of uncertainty in terms of software and the Internet. Getting patents is one thing, but having patents that a court would enforce are another.
Either way, I think the domaining industry can help itself by forming a SRO. Sooner or later the IRS, SEC, FTC and the like will start looking at the industry with greater detail. It may be helpful to preempt.
John Berryhill says
“The application (pdf) describes two types of systems”
Who cares what it describes?
Without going into a complex digression on how patents work, what an application “describes” is not important.
Bul says
@John Berryhill, whats the likelihood that such a patent is granted?
John Berryhill says
In the form it is in? 0
There is only one claim, and it has apparent 35 USC 112 problems.
That’s a separate question from whether there is “some” claim that could be drafted on the basis of that specification which could be allowed.
But the single claim in the application is something of a train wreck for reasons too complicated to explain in a blog comment.
I’ve been watching people freak out over patents for over two decades, mostly because they generally don’t have the faintest clue how patents, or the patent process, work.
Bul says
Thanks John as always.
Jean Guillon says
There is a funny guy from IBM who did the same after I launched the dotVinum project for Wine Registries: the guy registered “dotvinum” and also… “.wine” and “.vin”
🙂