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Comment by gpm | Hacker News Reader

I wouldn't trust FOSS patents and the author Florian Mueller as far as I could throw him. He has a long history of being a paid shill, lying about it, and being flat out wrong.

(Paid by oracle) http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20120419070127103

(Paid by microsoft) http://techrights.org/2012/08/18/vile-lobbyist/

(Paid by apple? I can't find other/primary sources to back up this claim though it does seem likely.) https://mrpogson.com/2012/08/21/apples-paid-shillconsultant-...

(More examples of him being wrong) http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20120820111527257

Refuting legal arguments takes time and expertise I don't have. He's good at his job, and I have no knowledge about this case. So while I put no faith whatsoever in his analysis I can't tell you how it is wrong, and yes this is an ad hominem.

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I didn’t spend time to read all articles related to him. But I read his blog from time to time notably because of his Oracle vs Google coverage. While he may not be impartial (and who really is?) he impressed me quite a few time notably when he was consistently stating against all odds and other analysts that ruling against copyrightability of Java API would be overturned on appeal.

He was right, and even if at time everybody was mad because it hurt Android. I think this ruling was ultimately a good thing for FOSS.

He was also one of the first to criticize half-FOSS approach of Android. Whereas today everybody seems to regret that we still lack a popular real FOSS OS for smartphone.

One can only wonder now if Firefox OS or another could have superseeded Android should Google reinterpretation of Java copyright had been deemed unfair sooner.

PS: sorry for this long rant about your ad-hominem. Next time I’d better simply downvote.

I'm strongly of the opinion that that is a case of a stopped clock being right twice a day. If you say every argument Oracle makes will go in favor of Oracle, and Oracle wins an argument, of course you will have predicted it.

You have to remember that Oracle mostly lost that case, and he was consistently predicting they would win. The copyright portion was a sideshow to the patent portion (originally) and only became a focus when they lost the patent side of things.

Either way, I appreciate the reply.

PS:

For those interested, there is still a possible supreme court appeal pending for the copyright side of the case. I'm not too familiar with supreme court scheduling but I think we should find out if cert is granted (the supreme court will hear the case) in March or April. Google files by January 25th, Oracle briefs in February (30 days after Google, though it's possible they will get an extension), Google files a reply brief (~10 days), then Cert review occurs. https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/do...

The supreme court only grants cert in ~1% of cases, so assuming they deny cert this then goes back to the district judge for yet another trial on damages and probably new motions for attorney's fees. It wouldn't surprise me to find that one (or both) parties find something to appeal about that damages trial too.

This case started way back in 2010, the justice system moves very slowly...

Thank you! I still remember when news sources always quoted him as a "patent expert" during the Oracle vs Android/Google battle and it was so obvious he was as far from a nonpartisan expert as one can be.

Reading the techrights post right now. Thankyou for posting this.

You're sourcing Techrights to denounce someone else? And Groklaw was run by a completely anonymous person who was suspected of being paid by IBM and Google.

Groklaw was not paid by google, court filing by Google: http://www.groklaw.net/pdf3/OraclevGoogle-1237.pdf

Groklaw was not paid by IBM, court filing by IBM: http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/IBM-621-E19.pdf

Groklaw was run by Pamela Jones, a paralegal. This can be verified by checking the footer on every page on Groklaw, or alternatively the above IBM court filing.

You will have to be more specific about your techrights complaints. I'm not aware of any issues with the site, but I admit that unlike Groklaw I do not have much knowledge about their integrity.

You can find many alternative sources saying that Mueller was paid by Microsoft (and also that Mueller was paid by Oracle), here is one: https://gigaom.com/2011/10/18/419-is-patent-expertblogger-fl...

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