Wikipedia

Ric Richardson

Frederick "Ric" Richardson (born 1962 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian inventor and notorious patent troll, recognised for his patent of a form of product activation used in anti-piracy. He is the inventor of record for a number of U.S. patents, including the Uniloc patent US5490216 and the Logarex patent 6400293. Richardson grew up in Sydney and currently resides in Byron Bay.

Frederick "Ric" Richardson
Born1962 (age 61–62)
Sydney, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Occupation(s)Inventor, founder
Known forSettling a large patent infringement case against Microsoft

He founded Uniloc, an npe, or non-practicing entity to commercialise[1] his invention, and in 2003 it became a licensing company that has sought to license some of the patents that he invented. Some of these patents date back to 1992. The machine fingerprinting technology is used to stop copyright infringement. He is now an independent inventor, and is seeking to develop technologies including ship designs, shark warning systems[2] and password replacement technology.[3]

Case of Microsoft vs. Uniloc

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In Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., a jury awarded Uniloc US$388 million against Microsoft for their infringement of a product activation patent licensed to Uniloc.[4] The application before the court to go to trial was originally blocked by a summary judgement for Microsoft.[5] A jury found that Microsoft products Windows XP, Office XP, and Windows Server 2003 infringed the Uniloc patent.[5] The presiding U.S. District Court Judge William Smith disagreed as a matter of law, overturning the jury's verdict and ruling in favour of Microsoft.[6] This ruling was appealed and reversed.[7] Microsoft later settled, paying an undisclosed amount.[8]

Independent Australian inventor

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Richardson has been profiled in two Australian Story episodes, sharing details about his initial $388 million jury win[9] in Rhode Island and the cases eventual settlement with Microsoft. In 2015, he collaborated with other NSW North Coast residents to examine the feasibility of a sonar-based alarm system in Byron Bay, designed to alert beach users about the presence of sharks.[10]

Richardson has been the subject of two Australian Story episodes covering his initial win of $388 million by a jury in Rhode Island. In 2015, he worked with other North Coast residents to investigate the use of a sonar-based alarm system for Byron Bay to alert beach users of large animals.

Haventec

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Haventec Pty Ltd
Haventec
IndustryEncryption and Network Security
Founded2016
Founder
  • Ric Richardson
  • Tony Castagna
Headquarters
Sydney, Australia
,
Australia
ProductsAuthentication and Personal Data security software
Websitewww.haventec.com

In 2016, Richardson co-founded a security technology company called Haventec[11] with Nuix chairman and interim CEO Anthony "Tony" Castagna. The company is commercialising an invention by Richardson that uses public keys in combination with a one-time password technique to prevent passwords from being stored or used on enterprise networks.

Another of Richardson's patented inventions is being used[12] by the company to allow consumers to automatically enter credit card details.

Richardson's password-less authentication and one-click payment systems both rely on the concept of reducing the opportunity for hackers to infiltrate an enterprise system.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ABC National News announces Uniloc deal with IBM". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  2. ^ Elloise Farrow-Smith (27 December 2015). "Byron Bay residents test shark sonar in bid to keep surfers safe". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  3. ^ Andrew Colley. "Microsoft patent victor Ric Richardson working on no-password security breakthrough". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  4. ^ "Australian Story - The Big Deal - Transcript". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  5. ^ a b Renai LeMay and Ina Fried (15 April 2009). "Aussie first wins US$388m MS suit". ZDNet Australia. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  6. ^ Moses, Asher (30 September 2009). "Aussie inventor's $445m Microsoft windfall wiped out". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  7. ^ Moses, Asher (8 January 2011). "Inventor wins Microsoft appeal". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Ric Richardson wins multi-million dollar legal battle with Microsoft". news.com.au. 15 March 2012.
  9. ^ "The Big Deal". ABC News. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Byron Bay residents test shark sonar in bid to keep surfers safe". ABC News. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Aussie security start-up Haventec ponders IPO after big wins". Financial Review. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  12. ^ Colley, Andrew (22 September 2016). "New one-click payment system could change internet transactions". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
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