Thread: IBM Patents "Protection Racket" Abusal of US Patent System

I really hope they get this, too

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...DN/20070244837

A system and methods for extracting value from a portfolio of assets, for example a patent portfolio, are described. By granting floating privileges described herein, a portfolio owner can extend an opportunity for obtaining an interest in selected assets from the portfolio to a client who lacks the resources to accumulate and maintain such a portfolio, in return for an annuity stream to the portfolio owner.

A new paradigm for exploiting the inherent value within a large asset portfolio, such as a portfolio of intellectual property asserts (e.g., patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets) is described that goes beyond the normal licensing and sale activities known and practiced in the prior art.