Cloudflare • Patent • Patent troll • Patent infringement • Prior art

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The digital world is abuzz with the recent victory of Cloudflare over a patent troll, Sable Networks. This victory is not just a win for Cloudflare, but a significant blow to the practice of patent trolling.

 

Cloudflare’s unique defense strategy against meritless patent infringement claims, known as Project Jengo, has proven effective once again. Launched in 2017, Project Jengo offers substantial rewards to an army of bounty seekers who help find prior art. Prior art refers to evidence that a patented invention was already known or used before the patent was granted.

 

In this case, Sable Networks had accused Cloudflare of infringing on patents that were filed around the turn of the century. These patents addressed hardware-based router technology of the day, which is vastly different from the modern-day software-defined services delivered on the cloud by companies like Cloudflare.

 

Through Project Jengo, Cloudflare was able to gather a wealth of prior art submissions, which helped them invalidate significant parts of three Sable patents. This effectively reduced Sable’s lawsuit from around 100 claims spanning four patents to a single claim on a single patent.

 

This victory is a testament to Cloudflare’s commitment to fighting back against patent trolls and protecting innovation. It sends a strong message to patent trolls and serves as a beacon of hope for other companies facing similar lawsuits.

 

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Cloudflare’s approach to dealing with patent trolls through crowd-sourced prior art is a viable long-term solution? Share your views in the comments below.

 

Read more:

• https://blog.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-defeats-patent-troll-sable-at-trial
• https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/02/cloudflare-beats-patent-troll-tying-cloud-services-to-old-router-hardware/
• https://www.theregister.com/AMP/2024/02/12/cloudflare_patent_troll/