We all know that things have spiraled out of control when it comes to using patents and copyrights to pull in profits instead of actually creating something. Looks like the downward spiral picked up a little momentum lately.
Remember the case of the lawyer who wanted to copyright cease and desist letters? Well, looks like he found a judge to agree with him. Of course he announced the decision in a press release. While he has gotten a judge to agree that someone posting a c&d on a blog or website is a violation of copyright, he's gotten quite a slippery slope going in that downward spiral. I look for all of the RIAA and MPAA lawyers to quit working on their cases and start suing other lawyers for boilerplate copyright violations any day now.
And then there is the new smartphone patent issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Basically, the patent on a mobile entertainment and communications device, basically describes just about any smartphone you can think of these days. The company who holds the patent started tossing out lawsuits to the likes of Apple, Nokia, RIM, Sprint, Motorola, HTC, etc....
Both items brought to you by the sharp eyes at TechDirt.