Re: Vulnerability-based IPS Patent

["Rob, grandpa of Ryan, Trevor, Devon & Hannah" <rMslade () shaw ca>]

Date sent:              Wed, 29 Mar 2006 12:33:04 -0500
From:                   "Kyle Quest" <Kyle.Quest () networkengines com>

> I'm amazed how these two guys have the guts to patent something like
> this. John Selep is a product marketing manager, so it's possible he
> has no clue about security and the intrusion prevention industry, but
> Mauricio Sanchez is a network security architect at HP... It's hard
> to believe that he didn't know about a technology that's been out for
> many years.

Submarine patents are a major business, at least in the US.  There are, for 
example, at least two patents on broad ... well, *I* would just call them "ideas," 
but you're not supposed to be able to patent ideas, in the virus detection realm.  
I've been contacted by various law firms, over the years, working for companies 
that are either being sued or are under threat of suit from the guys holding these 
patents.

As well as being extremely vague, these patents refer to concepts that I can prove 
were known prior to the application for the patent, let alone the issuance.  In 
some cases I can even prove that there were actual products created using these 
ideas, prior to the application for the patents.  (When I first got into virus 
research I archived a lot of email, and I was also one of the first to get into 
reviewing antivirals in a big way.)  Apparently, though, once a patent has been 
issued, it is almost impossible to get it reversed.  (I suspect that a complete lack of 
willingness to admit that any branch of the government could *ever* be wrong 
may be involved.)

I'm not party to the actual lawsuits or negotiations, of course, but I suspect that 
the process may be something like the following:

- patent holder tells big company it owes him $100M 
- big company gets legal firms on the case
- legal firm finds me
- I provide evidence of invalidity of patent
- big company goes back to patent holder, tells him that they *could* win if they 
wanted to but it would be a pain, here's $100K
- patent holder moves on to next victim company

======================  (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer)
rslade () vcn bc ca      slade () victoria tc ca      rslade () sun soci niu edu
They say to the seers, `See no more visions!' and to the
prophets, `Give us no more visions of what is right!  Tell us
pleasant things, prophecy illusions.  Leave this way, get off
this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!'
                                                   - Isaiah 30:10,11
http://victoria.tc.ca/techrev/rms.htm
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