ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Drew Curtis - Web entrepreneur
Drew Curtis is the founder and administrator of Fark.com.

Why you should listen

In 1993, while a student in England, Drew Curtis began sending links to his friends. Over time that grew until he founded a website for the links: Fark.com. The site has now grown into one of the largest, and most irreverant, news aggregators on the web.

Along with managing Fark.com, Curtis speaks on behalf of other entrepreneurs targeted by "patent trolls" -- an epithet for companies or law firms that file aggressive, broad patent lawsuits against other companies.

Download a .zip file of Drew Curtis and Fark's court documents >>

More profile about the speaker
Drew Curtis | Speaker | TED.com
TED2012

Drew Curtis: How I beat a patent troll

德魯·柯蒂斯 : 我如何戰勝專利蟑螂

Filmed:
1,109,604 views

德魯·柯蒂斯 : fark.com (一個諷刺時弊的社區網站)的創辦人分享他一次關於專利訴訟的經歷。在場訴訟裏,他被指控侵犯了某間公司一項“透過電子郵件產生和發佈新聞稿”的專利。在他的演講裏他也分享了一些統計資訊,顯示越來越多圍繞著沒有用的專利的法律訴訟帶來的問題。
- Web entrepreneur
Drew Curtis is the founder and administrator of Fark.com. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
Last January一月, my company公司, FarkFARK.comCOM, was sued起訴
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去年一月 我的公司 Fark.com 被人告了
00:19
along沿 with Yahoo雅虎, MSNMSN, Reddit書籤交易,
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一同被告的還有 雅虎, MSN, Reddit,
00:22
AOLAOL, TechCrunchTechCrunch的 and others其他
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美國在線, TechCrunch 等
00:25
by a company公司 called Gooseberry醋栗 Natural自然 Resources資源.
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提告的是一家叫 Gooseberry Natural Resources 的公司
00:28
Gooseberry醋栗 owned擁有的 a patent專利
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這家公司擁有
00:30
for the creation創建 and distribution分配
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透過電子郵件來
00:32
of news新聞 releases發布 via通過 email電子郵件.
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來產生和發佈新聞稿的專利
00:35
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
00:38
Now it may可能 seem似乎 kind of strange奇怪 that such這樣 a thing can actually其實 be patented專利,
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這也可以是專利 真的令人難以致信
00:41
but it does happen發生 all the time.
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但這種事並不少見
00:43
Take something already已經 being存在 doneDONE
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將已經存在的東西
00:45
and patent專利 it for an emerging新興 technology技術 --
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作為新興技術申請專利
00:47
like phone電話 calls電話 on the internet互聯網
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像透過網路打電話
00:50
or video視頻 listings上市 for TV電視 shows節目
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或將影片目錄用在電視上
00:53
or radio無線電 but for cellphones手機,
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還有在手機上聼收聲機
00:55
and so on.
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等等
00:57
The problem問題 with these patents專利
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之所以會有這些關於專利權的糾紛
00:59
is that the mechanisms機制 are obscure朦朧
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是因為這方面的機制含糊不清
01:01
and the patent專利 system系統 is dysfunctional功能失調,
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還有專利系統的不健全
01:03
and as a result結果, most of these lawsuits訴訟 end結束 in settlements定居點.
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結果導致大部分的訴訟都以和解收場
01:06
And because these settlements定居點 are under a non-disclosure非公開 agreement協議,
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又因爲和解的保密條款
01:09
no one knows知道 what the terms條款 were.
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沒有人知道和解的内容是什麽
01:11
And as a result結果, the patent專利 troll拖釣 can claim要求
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所以這些專利蟑螂
01:13
that they won韓元 the case案件.
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可以宣稱他們贏了官司
01:16
In the case案件 of Gooseberry醋栗 Natural自然 Resources資源,
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在Gooseberry Natural Resources 的例子裏
01:18
this patent專利 on emailing電子郵件 news新聞 releases發布
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用電子郵件發送新聞稿的專利
01:20
had sort分類 of a fatal致命 flaw缺陷
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在我看來
01:22
as it pertainedpertained to myself,
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有一個致命的缺陷
01:24
and that was that in the mainstream主流 media媒體 world世界
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這個缺陷就是在主流媒體中
01:26
there is only one definition定義 for news新聞 release發布,
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對發佈新聞稿的定義只有一個
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and it turns out that is press release發布 --
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就是報道新聞的文字稿
01:31
as in P.R.
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也就是公關學裏對新聞稿的定義
01:33
Now my company公司, FarkFARK,
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而我的公司 Fark
01:35
deals交易 with news新聞, ostensibly表面上,
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很明顯 只在處理新聞
01:37
and as a result結果
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而不是新聞稿 所以
01:39
we were not in violation違反 of this patent專利.
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我們並沒有侵犯這個專利
01:41
So case案件 closed關閉, right?
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所以官司可以了結 對不對?
01:43
Wrong錯誤.
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01:45
One of the major重大的 problems問題 with patent專利 law is that,
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專利法一個大問題是
01:47
in the case案件 that when you are sued起訴 by a patent專利 troll拖釣,
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當你被一個專利蟑螂告的時候
01:50
the burden負擔 of proof證明 that you did not infringe違犯 on the patent專利
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去舉證沒有侵犯該專利的責任
01:53
is actually其實 on the defendant被告,
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是落在被告的身上
01:55
which哪一個 means手段 you have to prove證明
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也就是說你要去證明
01:57
that you do not infringe違犯 on the patent專利 they're suing起訴 you on.
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你沒有侵犯他們所提出的專利
02:00
And this can take quite相當 a while.
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這很花時間
02:03
You need to know that the average平均 patent專利 troll拖釣 defense防禦
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大家要知道 處理專利蟑螂控告的案件
02:06
costs成本 two million百萬 dollars美元
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每件平均要花2百萬美元
02:08
and takes 18 months個月 when you win贏得.
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就算你最後勝訴 這個司法過程共需要18個月
02:11
That is your best最好 case案件 outcome結果
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這還是被專利蟑螂起訴的
02:13
when you get sued起訴 by a patent專利 troll拖釣.
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最佳結局
02:15
Now I had hoped希望 to team球隊 up with some of these larger companies公司
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我那時想跟一些大公司聯手
02:18
in order訂購 to defend保衛 against反對 this lawsuit訴訟,
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來共同打這個官司
02:20
but one-by-one一個接一個 they settled安定 out of the case案件,
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但是他們一個接一個地選擇和解
02:23
even though雖然 -- and this is important重要 --
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但重點是
02:25
none沒有 of these companies公司
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沒有任何一家公司
02:27
infringed侵權 on this patent專利 -- not a one of them.
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有侵犯到這個專利 完全沒有
02:30
And they started開始 settling解決 out.
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他們就這樣和解了
02:32
The reason原因 they settled安定 out
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他們這麽做的原因是
02:34
is because it's cheaper便宜 to settle解決 than to fight鬥爭 the lawsuit訴訟 --
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和解所需的費用比訴訟少
02:36
clearly明確地, two million百萬 dollars美元 cheaper便宜 in some cases,
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因為即使你贏了, 你也要付200萬美元的訴訟費
02:39
and much worse更差 if you actually其實 lose失去.
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而如果官司輸了, 你就要賠更多的錢
02:41
It would also constitute構成 a massive大規模的 distraction娛樂 for management管理 of a company公司,
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同時, 法律訴訟會嚴重打亂公司的管理節奏
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especially特別 a small eight-man八人 shop like my company公司.
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特別是我這種只由8人組成的小公司來說
02:47
Six months個月 into the lawsuit訴訟,
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進入司法程序的第6個月
02:49
we finally最後 reached到達 the discovery發現 phase.
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終於到了舉證的階段
02:51
And in discovery發現 phase,
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在舉證的階段
02:53
we asked the patent專利 troll拖釣 to please provide提供
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我們要求專利蟑螂拿出
02:55
screenshots截圖 of FarkFARK
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我們公司
02:57
where the infringement侵害 of their patent專利
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侵犯他們專利
02:59
was actually其實 occurring發生.
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實際例子的截圖
03:01
Now perhaps也許 it's because no such這樣 screenshots截圖 actually其實 existed存在,
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或許是因爲這樣的截圖根本不存在
03:05
but suddenly突然 Gooseberry醋栗 wanted to settle解決.
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Gooseberry突然說要和解
03:07
Their attorney律師:
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他們的律師說
03:09
"Ah, yes. My company's公司 having a reorganization重組 on our end結束."
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“喔。 因爲我們公司内部正在重整,”
03:13
Never mind心神 the fact事實
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但事實是
03:15
that the address地址 led to a strip跳閘 mall購物中心 somewhere某處 in Northern北方 L.A.
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這個公司位於洛杉磯北部的某購物中心
03:17
with no employees僱員.
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那裏根本就沒人在辦公
03:19
"And we'd星期三 like to go ahead and close this out.
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“所以我們希望快快解決這個案件,展望未來,
03:21
So would you mind心神 giving us your best最好 and final最後 offer提供?"
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所以可不可以告訴我 你們願意付多少和解金呢?"
03:25
My response響應:
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我的回答是:
03:27
"How about nothing?!"
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“零元,你看怎樣?!”
03:29
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
03:34
We didn't have high hopes希望 for that outcome結果.
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我們對這個價碼沒太多信心
03:36
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:38
But they settled安定.
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但是他們同意和解
03:40
No counter計數器 offer提供.
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而且沒有討價還價
03:42
Now, as mentioned提到 before,
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我剛剛也提到
03:44
one of the reasons原因 I can talk to you about this
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我今天還能在這裡跟大家談這個案子
03:46
is because there's no non-disclosure非公開 agreement協議 on this case案件.
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原因是這個和解沒有保密條款
03:48
Now how did that happen發生?
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為甚麼呢?
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Well during the settlement沉降 process處理, when we received收到 our copy複製, I struck來襲 it.
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這是因為 在我們收到和解書時候 我把它劃掉了
03:53
My attorney律師 said, "Nah, no chance機會 of that working加工."
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我的律師說: “對方不大可能會同意啊。”
03:56
It came來了 back signed.
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但 對方簽了那份和解書
03:58
Now why? You can call them.
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爲什麽會這樣?你可以打電話問他們
04:01
They're not under NDANDA either.
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他們也不受保密條款的限制
04:03
Now what did I learn學習 from this case案件? Well, three things.
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那麽我從這個案子學到了什麽?三件事
04:06
First of all, if you can,
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第一 可以的話
04:09
don't fight鬥爭 the patent專利, fight鬥爭 the infringement侵害.
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不要從專利上下手 要從專利侵害上下手
04:12
Patents專利 are very difficult to overturn顛覆.
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否決專利訴訟很困難
04:14
Infringement侵害 is a lot easier更輕鬆 to disprove駁斥.
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但專利侵害則比較容易提出反證
04:17
Secondly其次, make it clear明確 from the beginning開始
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第二 一開始就講清楚
04:19
that either you have no money at all
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說你根本沒半毛錢
04:21
or that you would rather spend money with your attorney律師 fighting戰鬥 the troll拖釣
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或是說你寧願花錢告垮專利蟑螂
04:25
than actually其實 giving them the money.
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也不願把錢給他們
04:27
Now the reason原因 this works作品
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爲什麽這會有用
04:29
is because patent專利 trolls巨魔
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是因爲專利蟑螂
04:31
are paid支付 a percentage百分比 of what they're able能夠 to recover恢復 in settlements定居點.
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能在和解金上抽成
04:34
If it becomes clear明確 to them that they cannot不能 recover恢復 any money,
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如果他們覺得在這個案件上得不到錢
04:37
they become成為 less interested有興趣 in pursuing追求 the case案件.
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他們就不會有興趣告到底
04:40
Finally最後, make sure that you can tell them
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最後一點 明白地告訴他們
04:42
that you will make this process處理
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說你會盡全力把訴訟過程
04:44
as annoying惱人的 and as painful痛苦
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弄得非常麻煩
04:46
and as difficult as possible可能 for them.
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令他們痛不欲生、雞犬不寧
04:49
Now this is a tactic戰術 that patent專利 trolls巨魔 are supposed應該 to use on people
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這本來是那些專利蟑螂
04:51
to get their way.
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為達到目的耍的技倆
04:53
It turns out, because they're paid支付 on contingency偶然性,
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但是因爲他們只有勝訴時才有酬勞
04:55
it works作品 really, really well in reverse相反.
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所以這個方法十分有效
04:57
Don't forget忘記 that.
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一定要記住這個
04:59
So what does all this mean?
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那麽這一切要告訴我們什麽?
05:01
Well to sum up,
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總結的來説
05:03
it boils down to one thing:
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可以用以下一句話來做結論
05:05
Don't negotiate談判 with terrorists恐怖分子.
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絕對不跟恐怖分子協商
05:08
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
05:13
Patent專利 trolls巨魔 have doneDONE more damage損傷 to the United聯合的 States狀態 economy經濟
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專利蟑螂每年對美國的經濟
05:16
than any domestic國內 or foreign國外
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所帶來的傷害比起任何時期
05:18
terrorist恐怖分子 organization組織 in history歷史
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國内國外的任何恐怖組織
05:21
every一切 year.
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都還要大
05:24
And what do they do with that money?
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那他們怎麽花那些和解金?
05:27
They plow it right back into filing備案 more troll拖釣 lawsuits訴訟.
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他們把和解金起訴更多的公司
05:31
Now this is the point in the Talk
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這個演講進行到這
05:33
where I'm supposed應該 to come up with some kind of a solution for the patent專利 system系統.
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我應該要為完善專利系統提出一些建議
05:36
And the problem問題 with that
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但問題是
05:38
is that there are two very large industry行業 groups
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目前有兩大工業
05:40
that have different不同 outcomes結果 in mind心神
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他們對專利系統
05:42
for the patent專利 system系統.
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有不同的主張和看法
05:44
The health健康 care關心 industry行業
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醫療衛生工業
05:46
would like stronger protections保護 for inventors發明家.
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希望對發明者有更多的保護
05:48
The hi-tech高科技 industry行業
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而高科技產業
05:50
would like stronger protections保護 for producers生產商.
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則希望對製造商有更多的保護
05:52
And these goals目標 aren't necessarily一定 diametrically截然 opposed反對, but they are at odds可能性.
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這兩個觀點不是對立的,但並不一致
05:55
And as a result結果, patent專利 trolls巨魔 can kind of live生活 in the space空間 in between之間.
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這導致專利蟑螂能在中間的灰色地帶生存
05:59
So unfortunately不幸 I'm not smart聰明 enough足夠
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所以很不幸地 我還不夠聰明
06:01
to have a solution for the patent專利 troll拖釣 problem問題.
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沒能想出對付專利蟑螂的辦法
06:04
However然而, I did have this idea理念,
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但是我倒是有個主意
06:07
and it was kind of good.
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我覺得挺不錯的主意
06:10
And I thought, "I should patent專利 this."
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我在想 我該給我的主意申請專利保護
06:12
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
06:15
Behold看哪, patent專利 infringement侵害 via通過 mobile移動 device設備 --
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大家小心了。為定義為非固定電腦的
06:20
defined定義 as a computer電腦 which哪一個 is not stationary靜止的.
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移動裝置申請專利
06:24
My solution: award me this patent專利
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我的解決方法是:將這個專利給我
06:26
and I will troll拖釣 them out of existence存在.
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我會用這個專利將專利蟑螂趕盡殺絕
06:28
Thank you.
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謝謝大家
06:30
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Wang-Ju Tsai
Reviewed by Carrie Kuok

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Drew Curtis - Web entrepreneur
Drew Curtis is the founder and administrator of Fark.com.

Why you should listen

In 1993, while a student in England, Drew Curtis began sending links to his friends. Over time that grew until he founded a website for the links: Fark.com. The site has now grown into one of the largest, and most irreverant, news aggregators on the web.

Along with managing Fark.com, Curtis speaks on behalf of other entrepreneurs targeted by "patent trolls" -- an epithet for companies or law firms that file aggressive, broad patent lawsuits against other companies.

Download a .zip file of Drew Curtis and Fark's court documents >>

More profile about the speaker
Drew Curtis | Speaker | TED.com