The Patent Protection Racket

Joel Spolsky:

What does this sound like? Yes, it’s a textbook case of a protection racket. It is organized crime, plain and simple. It is an abuse of the legal system, an abuse of the patent system, and a moral affront.

Exhibit A: Lodsys, patent troll extortionists extraordinaire, who today filed nine lawsuits against companies ranging in size from Disney to PCalc developer James Thomson’s TLA Systems. Their claim: a patent on in-app purchases.

★ Wednesday, 3 April 2013