It wasn't a bold campaign, the man's a coward and a piece of shit. He should be going to prison for trying to extort billions of dollars from technology companies.
I doubt RICO would stick or even blackmail or extortion. What would be the charge against him? Maybe there's some tax dodging going on, but something tells me he's been careful.
Being a scumbag, unfortunately, isn't enough to land someone in prison so that would leave other legal avenues to make future scumbaggery less profitable.
That does not mean I approve of his actions, but I think we can discuss them and the patent system without resorting to name calling, no?
While you may not approve of his actions, you seem to be defending them because he acted like an "alright person" a couple of times in a newsgroup. You're acting like he saw someone drop a $20 on the ground and took it for himself.
I think a lot of people, when presented with an opportunity to go for zillions of dollars would take it.
Well, yes, patent trolls are pretty common nowadays. This doesn't make their actions less terrible.
"That does not mean I approve of his actions"
I am against software patents and do not think he's doing something that makes the world a better place.
My point is merely that he's a human being who did something I don't like and not some evil monster. Sorry if that offends your sense of outrage.