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.
In the face of organized crime, civilized people don’t pay up. When you pay up, you’re funding the criminals, which makes you complicit in their next attacks. I know, you’re just trying to write a little app for the iPhone with in-app purchases, and you didn’t ask for this fight to be yours, but if you pay the trolls, giving them money and comfort to go after the next round of indie developers, you’re not just being “pragmatic,” you have actually gone over to the dark side. Sorry. Life is a bit hard sometimes, and sometimes you have to step up and fight fights that you never signed up for.
Joel On Software – The Patent Protection Racket
I think the last sentence is classic and I fully agree with it. Life is a bit hard sometimes, and sometimes you have to step up and fight fights that you never signed up for.
There are some very awfull software patents granted in the past and there are some, who are clearly abusing this system. Let’s stop these trolls together!