Back in March of 2006 I wrote about Neomedia’s patent claims related to computer systems that rely on scanned inputs — they claimed that they owned the IP for all technologies and computer systems that perform processing based on scanning barcodes, 2D codes, words, and whatnot. Then took that one concept and applied for 12 different patents — see Same Book 8 Times, One Concept 12 Patents.
Neomedia used FUD to intimidate other companies and preclude innovation from others.
But thanks to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the U.S. Patent Office Rejected All Ninety Five NeoMedia Patent Claims (The via the Pondering Primate); from the Pondering Primate article:
NeoMedia Technologies, Inc., claimed to own rights to all systems that provide information over computer networks using database-like lookup procedures that rely on scanned inputs, such as a barcode. NeoMedia has used these claims not only to threaten and sue innovators in the mobile information space, but also to intimidate projects focused on increasing awareness among consumers about the social and environmental impact of the products they buy.
It is a very good day for physical to digital worlds connection companies…
ceo