Eolas' Convenient Move To Texas

from the oh-look-at-that... dept

Last week, we noted that Eolas had received a new patent, a continuation on its browser plug-in patent, and appears to be claiming that it applies to most forms of web embeds, and has sued a ton of big name companies. While most were big name websites (Google, Yahoo, eBay, etc) there were a few that were odd, including retailer J.C. Penney and IT services provider Perot Systems (in the process of being bought by Dell). Well, the ever resourceful Joe Mullin points out that, of course, these firms just so happen to be located in Texas, which helps Eolas come up with a reason why its lawsuit should be in Texas. Even more interesting? Eolas -- despite coming out of UC Berkeley, and basically being one guy who's now based in Chicago -- conveniently reincorporated in East Texas. Wonder why? Especially, with judges now transferring at least a few of the many East Texas patent trials to more convenient locations, East Texas lawyers are coming up with all sorts of neat tricks to convince judges to keep the lawsuits right there.

11 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Too Much Free Time

by Mike Masnick

Wed, Jun 25th 2008 2:40am

Mock Outrage Over An Ad You Paid For? Reverse Streisand Effect

from the oh-come-on dept

As the concept of The Streisand Effect has become more and more well known, the question I'm most frequently asked is whether or not a company stupidly demanding something be taken down is really being done by someone that understands the likely result and is just using the resulting "attention" to their advantage -- that is, are they pulling a "reverse Streisand Effect." It's often pretty difficult to sort out these cases from the real Streisand Effect, and when in doubt, it's often best to just assume the simplest explanation that the company really was acting stupidly.

However, in this latest case, I'm really not sure -- and am starting to suspect a Reverse Streisand Effect by J.C. Penney to promote a new viral video. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that J.C. Penney is pissed off at its ad firm Saatchi & Saatchi for "leaking" a "fake" ad that "appears to be endorsing teen sex." The ad involves a young boy and girl practicing getting dressed as quickly as possible before the boy goes over to the girl's house to hang out in the basement, while the girl's mother is upstairs. Supposedly J.C. Penney "instructed Saatchi to take any action it can to have the ad removed from the Internet."

Uh huh. And now, suddenly, that ad is all over the internets. The whole thing smacks of mock outrage with a demand to takedown content knowing that it will only spread far and wide. So what do people think? Is this a Reverse Streisand Effect or is J.C. Penney just clueless?

23 Comments | Leave a Comment..

Search Techdirt

And now, a word from our Sponsors..

15% off discount for Techdirt Readers

Popular Posts

Poll

Add Techdirt RSS To Your Reader

Subscribe to Techdirt's Daily Email Newsletter

Older Stuff

Monday
12:18pm:	Label Exec Arrested For Not Using Twitter To Disperse Crowd At Mall To See Singer (53)
11:01am:	Spanish Court Dismisses Complaint From Nintendo Against Counterfiet DS Cartridges, Since They Add Functionality (12)
9:55am:	Dear PR People: If Your Exec Has A Comment, Our Comments Are Open (25)
8:44am:	What Kind Of Mickey Mouse (And Donald Duck) Lawsuits Are These? (23)
7:30am:	Prosecutors Ending Lawsuit Against Lori Drew (13)
6:06am:	Dear Rupert: You Don't Succeed By Making Life More Difficult For Users (70)
4:20am:	ESPN Writer Suspended From Twitter (59)
2:10am:	School Can't Handle Critical Community Message Board; Sends Legal Nastygram (21)
Friday
7:39pm:	Liberian Laws Are A Secret Due To Copyright; Even The Gov't Doesn't Have Them (43)
6:56pm:	Lily Allen: It's Ok To Sell My Counterfeit CDs, Just Don't Give My Music For Free (97)
6:10pm:	EFF Looks To Bust Bogus Podcasting Patent; Needs Prior Art (34)
5:28pm:	Google Blocking Set Top Boxes From Showing YouTube Unless They Pay Up? (64)
4:44pm:	Entertainment Industry: Yes, Please Keep Negotiating Secret Copyright Treaty To Save Our Asses (43)
4:02pm:	If Google's Book Scanning Violates Copyright Law, What About The AP's Book Scanning? (21)
3:05pm:	iPhone App Developer Backlash Growing (49)
2:14pm:	Norwegian Band Told It Can't Post Its Own Music To The Pirate Bay, Even Though It Wants To (24)
1:08pm:	If You Only Share A Tiny Bit Of A File Via BitTorrent, Is It Still Copyright Infringement? (79)
12:00pm:	UK Digital Economy Bill As Bad As Expected; Digital Britain Minister Flat Out Lies About ISP Support (25)
10:57am:	NPR's Daniel Schorr Blames The Internet For Ft. Hood Shootings (37)
9:49am:	No, ACTA Secrecy Is Not 'Normal' -- Nor Is It A 'Distraction' (28)
8:33am:	Murdoch's The Times Accused Of Blatant Copying, Just As It Tells The World You Should Pay For News (28)
7:15am:	Copyright Extension Moves To Japan (24)
5:46am:	Canadian Ebook Store Offers 'Free' Public Domain Ebooks -- Claims Copyright Says You Can Only Make 1 Copy (27)
4:01am:	There Are Lots Of Ways To Fund Journalism (14)
1:49am:	Winner Takes All, Long Tails And The Fractilization Of Culture (10)
Thursday
10:37pm:	The Lobbyists' Ability To Control The Message (29)
8:11pm:	In Going Free, London Evening Standard Doubles Circulation While Slashing Costs (27)
6:10pm:	Senate Exploring Med School Profs Putting Names On Ghostwritten Journal Articles In Favor Of Drugs (22)
4:52pm:	What Does It Say When A Comedy Show Does More Fact Checking Than News Programs? (56)
3:33pm:	Nordic Music Week: Optimism Galore And Found Songs (11)

Quick Links

Current Insight Community Cases

Eolas' Convenient Move To Texas

from the oh-look-at-that... dept

Mock Outrage Over An Ad You Paid For? Reverse Streisand Effect

from the oh-come-on dept

Which Internet Concern Worries You The Most?

Techdirt's Daily Email Newsletter

Monday

Friday

Thursday

More