TED2012
Drew Curtis: How I beat a patent troll
Drew Curtis: Kako sam pobijedio patentskog trola
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Drew Curtis, osnivač stranice fark.com, priča priču o borbi protiv tužbe tvrtke koja je imala prava na patent "za kreiranje i distribuciju vijesti putem emaila." Kroz priču s nama dijeli nevjerojatne podatke o rastućem pravnom problemu neozbiljnih patenata.
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
Last January, my company, Fark.com, was sued
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Prošlog siječnja moju je tvrtku, Fark.com,
00:19
along with Yahoo, MSN, Reddit,
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kao i Yahoo, MSN, Reddit,
00:22
AOL, TechCrunch and others
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AOL, TechCrunch i druge
00:25
by a company called Gooseberry Natural Resources.
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tužila tvrtka Gooseberry Natural Resources .
00:28
Gooseberry owned a patent
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Gooseberry posjeduje patent
00:30
for the creation and distribution
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za stvaranje i distribuciju
00:32
of news releases via email.
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vijesti putem e-maila.
00:35
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
00:38
Now it may seem kind of strange that such a thing can actually be patented,
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Možda vam je čudno da se tako nešto
zaista može zaštititi patentom,
zaista može zaštititi patentom,
00:41
but it does happen all the time.
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ali to se uistinu stalno događa.
00:43
Take something already being done
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Uzmete nešto što već postoji
00:45
and patent it for an emerging technology --
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i patentirate to za tehnologiju u nastajanju --
00:47
like phone calls on the internet
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poput telefonskih poziva putem interneta
00:50
or video listings for TV shows
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ili video liste TV programa
00:53
or radio but for cellphones,
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ili radija, ali za mobitele,
00:55
and so on.
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i tako dalje.
00:57
The problem with these patents
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Problem s tim patentima
00:59
is that the mechanisms are obscure
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jest taj da su mehanizmi nejasni,
01:01
and the patent system is dysfunctional,
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a sustav patenta disfunkcionalan,
01:03
and as a result, most of these lawsuits end in settlements.
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pa je rezultat taj da većina
takvih tužbi završi nagodbom.
takvih tužbi završi nagodbom.
01:06
And because these settlements are under a non-disclosure agreement,
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A budući da su te nagodbe tajne,
01:09
no one knows what the terms were.
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nitko ne zna pod kakvim su uvjetima sklopljene.
01:11
And as a result, the patent troll can claim
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Kao rezultat toga, vlasnik patenta može tvrditi
01:13
that they won the case.
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da je dobio slučaj.
01:16
In the case of Gooseberry Natural Resources,
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U slučaju Gooseberry Natural Resources,
01:18
this patent on emailing news releases
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taj patent na vijesti poslane emailom
01:20
had sort of a fatal flaw
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imao je, na neki način, jednu fatalnu manu
01:22
as it pertained to myself,
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kako se meni činilo,
01:24
and that was that in the mainstream media world
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a to je da u svijetu mainstream medija
01:26
there is only one definition for news release,
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postoji samo jedna definicija vijesti,
01:29
and it turns out that is press release --
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a to je tiskovni izvještaj --
01:31
as in P.R.
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kao u PR-u.
01:33
Now my company, Fark,
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Moja tvrtka, Fark,
01:35
deals with news, ostensibly,
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bavi se vijestima, načelno,
01:37
and as a result
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te stoga
01:39
we were not in violation of this patent.
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mi ne kršimo ovaj patent.
01:41
So case closed, right?
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Slučaj zatvoren, zar ne?
01:43
Wrong.
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Ne.
01:45
One of the major problems with patent law is that,
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Jedan od najvećih problema
s patentnim zakonom jest taj
s patentnim zakonom jest taj
01:47
in the case that when you are sued by a patent troll,
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da kad vas tuži patentski trol,
01:50
the burden of proof that you did not infringe on the patent
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teret dokazivanja da patent nije prekršen
01:53
is actually on the defendant,
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leži na optuženiku,
01:55
which means you have to prove
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što znači da morate dokazati
01:57
that you do not infringe on the patent they're suing you on.
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da ne kršite patent za koji vas tuže.
02:00
And this can take quite a while.
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A za to može biti potrebno puno vremena.
02:03
You need to know that the average patent troll defense
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Morate znati da prosječna
obrana od patentskog trola
obrana od patentskog trola
02:06
costs two million dollars
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stoji dva milijuna dolara
02:08
and takes 18 months when you win.
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i traje 18 mjeseci kad pobijedite.
02:11
That is your best case outcome
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To je najbolji mogući ishod
02:13
when you get sued by a patent troll.
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kad vas tuži patentski trol.
02:15
Now I had hoped to team up with some of these larger companies
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Nadao sam se da ću se udružiti
s nekom od ovih većih tvrtki
s nekom od ovih većih tvrtki
02:18
in order to defend against this lawsuit,
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kako bih se obranio od ove tužbe,
02:20
but one-by-one they settled out of the case,
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ali sve su se redom nagodile,
02:23
even though -- and this is important --
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iako -- ovo je važno --
02:25
none of these companies
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nijedna od tih tvrtki
02:27
infringed on this patent -- not a one of them.
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nije prekršila ovaj patent -- nijedna.
02:30
And they started settling out.
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Počeli su s nagodbama.
02:32
The reason they settled out
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Razlog zbog kojeg su se nagodili
02:34
is because it's cheaper to settle than to fight the lawsuit --
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jest taj što je jednostavnije nagoditi se
nego se boriti protiv tužbe --
nego se boriti protiv tužbe --
02:36
clearly, two million dollars cheaper in some cases,
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ponekad je jeftinije za dva milijuna dolara,
02:39
and much worse if you actually lose.
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a mnogo je gore ako izgubite.
02:41
It would also constitute a massive distraction for management of a company,
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To bi također stvorilo velike probleme
za menadžment tvrtke,
za menadžment tvrtke,
02:44
especially a small eight-man shop like my company.
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posebno u maloj tvrtki
s osam zaposlenika, kao što je moja.
s osam zaposlenika, kao što je moja.
02:47
Six months into the lawsuit,
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Nakon šest mjeseci procesa tužbe,
02:49
we finally reached the discovery phase.
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napokon smo došli do faze otkrivanja.
02:51
And in discovery phase,
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U toj fazi
02:53
we asked the patent troll to please provide
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tražili smo patentskog trola da pokaže
02:55
screenshots of Fark
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slike Farka
02:57
where the infringement of their patent
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gdje zaista dolazi
02:59
was actually occurring.
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do kršenja njihovog patenta.
03:01
Now perhaps it's because no such screenshots actually existed,
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Možda je zato što takve slike nisu postojale
03:05
but suddenly Gooseberry wanted to settle.
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Gooseberry odjednom htio nagodbu.
03:07
Their attorney:
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Njihov odvjetnik:
03:09
"Ah, yes. My company's having a reorganization on our end."
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"Ah, da. Moja se tvrtka reorganizira s naše strane."
03:13
Never mind the fact
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Zanemarite činjenicu
03:15
that the address led to a strip mall somewhere in Northern L.A.
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da je adresa vodila u trgovački centar
negdje u sjevernom dijelu Los Angelesa,
negdje u sjevernom dijelu Los Angelesa,
03:17
with no employees.
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i to bez zaposlenika.
03:19
"And we'd like to go ahead and close this out.
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"Htjeli bismo ovo završiti.
03:21
So would you mind giving us your best and final offer?"
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Možete li nam dati svoju najvišu i konačnu ponudu?"
03:25
My response:
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Moj odgovor:
03:27
"How about nothing?!"
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"Što kažete na ništa?!"
03:29
(Applause)
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(Pljesak)
03:34
We didn't have high hopes for that outcome.
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Nismo se nadali takvom ishodu.
03:36
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
03:38
But they settled.
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Ali nagodili su se.
03:40
No counter offer.
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Bez protuponude.
03:42
Now, as mentioned before,
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Kako sam već spomenuo,
03:44
one of the reasons I can talk to you about this
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jedan od razloga zašto mogu
s vama o ovome razgovarati
s vama o ovome razgovarati
03:46
is because there's no non-disclosure agreement on this case.
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jest taj što u ovom slučaju
nema ugovora o tajnosti.
nema ugovora o tajnosti.
03:48
Now how did that happen?
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Kako se to dogodilo?
03:50
Well during the settlement process, when we received our copy, I struck it.
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Tijekom procesa nagodbe, kad smo
primili svoj primjerak, pogodio sam.
primili svoj primjerak, pogodio sam.
03:53
My attorney said, "Nah, no chance of that working."
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Moj odvjetnik je rekao, "Ne, nema šanse da će to upaliti."
03:56
It came back signed.
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Vratilo se potpisano.
03:58
Now why? You can call them.
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Zašto? Možete ih nazvati.
04:01
They're not under NDA either.
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Ni oni nisu pod ugovorom o tajnosti.
04:03
Now what did I learn from this case? Well, three things.
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Što sam naučio iz ovog slučaja? Tri stvari.
04:06
First of all, if you can,
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Prvo, ako možete,
04:09
don't fight the patent, fight the infringement.
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ne borite se protiv patenta, borite se protiv kršenja.
04:12
Patents are very difficult to overturn.
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Patente je vrlo teško osporiti.
04:14
Infringement is a lot easier to disprove.
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Kršenje je mnogo lakše osporiti.
04:17
Secondly, make it clear from the beginning
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Kao drugo, neka od početka bude jasno
04:19
that either you have no money at all
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da ili uopće nemate novca,
04:21
or that you would rather spend money with your attorney fighting the troll
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ili ćete novac radije potrošiti na borbu s trolom
04:25
than actually giving them the money.
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nego da im taj novac date.
04:27
Now the reason this works
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Razlog zbog kojeg ovo funkcionira
04:29
is because patent trolls
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jest taj što su patentski trolovi
04:31
are paid a percentage of what they're able to recover in settlements.
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plaćeni od postotka iznosa koji dobiju kroz nagodbe.
04:34
If it becomes clear to them that they cannot recover any money,
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Ako im bude jasno da ne mogu dobiti nikakav novac,
04:37
they become less interested in pursuing the case.
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postaju manje zainteresirani za slučaj.
04:40
Finally, make sure that you can tell them
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Na kraju, budite sigurni da im možete reći
04:42
that you will make this process
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da ćete ovaj proces
04:44
as annoying and as painful
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učiniti što napornijim, bolnijim
04:46
and as difficult as possible for them.
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i težim za njih.
04:49
Now this is a tactic that patent trolls are supposed to use on people
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To je taktika koju bi patentski trolovi
trebali primjenjivati na ljude
trebali primjenjivati na ljude
04:51
to get their way.
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kako bi dobili što žele.
04:53
It turns out, because they're paid on contingency,
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Budući da su plaćeni u postotku,
04:55
it works really, really well in reverse.
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izgleda da to funkcionira vrlo dobro
i u suprotnom smjeru.
i u suprotnom smjeru.
04:57
Don't forget that.
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Ne zaboravite to.
04:59
So what does all this mean?
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Što sve ovo znači?
05:01
Well to sum up,
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Da zaključimo,
05:03
it boils down to one thing:
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sve se svodi na jednu stvar:
05:05
Don't negotiate with terrorists.
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Ne pregovarajte s teroristima.
05:08
(Applause)
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(Pljesak)
05:13
Patent trolls have done more damage to the United States economy
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Patentski trolovi čine više štete gospodarstvu SAD-a
05:16
than any domestic or foreign
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nego bilo koja domaća ili strana
05:18
terrorist organization in history
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teroristička organizacija u povijesti
05:21
every year.
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svake godine.
05:24
And what do they do with that money?
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A što čine s tim novcem?
05:27
They plow it right back into filing more troll lawsuits.
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Troše ga na ulaganje novih tužbi.
05:31
Now this is the point in the Talk
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Ovo je trenutak u mojem govoru
05:33
where I'm supposed to come up with some kind of a solution for the patent system.
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kad bih trebao naći neko rješenje za sustav patenata.
05:36
And the problem with that
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A tu je problem
05:38
is that there are two very large industry groups
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što postoje dvije velike industrijske grupe
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that have different outcomes in mind
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koje imaju različite ideje
05:42
for the patent system.
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za sustav patenata.
05:44
The health care industry
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Zdravstvena industrija
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would like stronger protections for inventors.
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voljela bi bolju zaštitu za izumitelje.
05:48
The hi-tech industry
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Hi-tech industrija
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would like stronger protections for producers.
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htjela bi jaču zaštitu za proizvođače.
05:52
And these goals aren't necessarily diametrically opposed, but they are at odds.
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Ti ciljevi nisu dijametralno suprotni,
ali donekle se isključuju.
ali donekle se isključuju.
05:55
And as a result, patent trolls can kind of live in the space in between.
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I zato patentski trolovi uspijevaju u međuprostoru.
05:59
So unfortunately I'm not smart enough
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Na žalost, nisam dovoljno pametan
06:01
to have a solution for the patent troll problem.
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da bih imao rješenje za problem patentskih trolova.
06:04
However, I did have this idea,
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No, imao sam ovu ideju,
06:07
and it was kind of good.
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i bila je dobra.
06:10
And I thought, "I should patent this."
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Pa sam pomislio: "Morao bio ovo patentirati."
06:12
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
06:15
Behold, patent infringement via mobile device --
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Pogledajte, kršenje patenta putem mobilnog uređaja --
06:20
defined as a computer which is not stationary.
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definiran kao računalo koje nije stacionarno.
06:24
My solution: award me this patent
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Moje rješenje: dodijelite mi ovaj patent
06:26
and I will troll them out of existence.
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i istrijebit ću ih.
06:28
Thank you.
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Hvala vam.
06:30
(Applause)
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(Pljesak)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Drew Curtis - Web entrepreneurDrew Curtis is the founder and administrator of Fark.com.
Why you should listen
In 1993, while a student in England, Drew Curtis began sending links to his friends. Over time that grew until he founded a website for the links: Fark.com. The site has now grown into one of the largest, and most irreverant, news aggregators on the web.
Along with managing Fark.com, Curtis speaks on behalf of other entrepreneurs targeted by "patent trolls" -- an epithet for companies or law firms that file aggressive, broad patent lawsuits against other companies.
Download a .zip file of Drew Curtis and Fark's court documents >>
Drew Curtis | Speaker | TED.com