Apple, Google, Facebook, eBay, AOL, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo and YouTube have all been put on notice that they copied Mr. Allen’s homework and unless they each buy him a candy bar during recess, he’s going to tell the teacher. Curiously, while the patents in question could conceivably be applied against any company with an online presence, noticeably absent from Allen’s hit list are his former homeboys Microsoft and Seattle-based Amazon, so clearly, in Allen’s mind, some infringers are more equal than others.
The burning question on everyone’s minds is, exactly what could have possessed Allen to go from tech titan to patent troll? Personally, we think Paul’s gone over onto the attack to compensate for the godawful performance put on so far this pre-season by the (Allen-owned) Seattle Seahawks’ defense – the starters have ONE sack, for fuck’s sake – and everyone knows that the best defense is a good offense. Read more.