Patent Busting Project Start forming your patent busting posses! Here are the EFF Patent Busting Project's ten most-wanted patents—the ones that pose the biggest threat to the public domain. Thanks to all of your submissions in the patent busting contest, we've identified ten of the worst Internet and software-related patents in the U.S. What makes these patents among the worst of the bunch? Try the fact that their owners are threatening and filing suits against small businesses, individuals and nonprofits, not to mention the threats to free expression and innovation that each of them pose. From here on out, EFF's team of lawyers and technologists will be tracking down prior art and preparing to petition the Patent and Trademark Office for revocation of these offenders' patents. To do this, we'll need your help to find prior art and get the busting process underway. Check out each patent and see how you can help bust it by clicking on the images below.

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Wanted by EFF Marshals
Acacia Research Acacia Research:
Audio and video receiving and transmission system; threatening dozens of small companies, including many home-grown adult websites		 Clear Channel Clear Channel Entertainment:
System and method of creating digital recordings of live performances; claims to own a monopoly on all-in-one technologies that produce post-concert live recordings on digital media
 
Acceris Acceris:
Method and apparatus for implementing a computer network/internet telephone system; threatening 14 VoIP companies with expensive legal disputes if they do not pay licensing fees		 Sheldon Goldberg Sheldon F. Goldberg:
System and method for playing games on a network; threatening small online gaming websites
 
Ideaflood/Hoshiko Ideaflood/Hoshiko:
System apparatus and method for hosting and assigning domain names on a wide area network; Threatening community site LiveJournal, with 3 million users who each have their own subdomain 		Neomedia Neomedia Technologies:
System and method for automatic access of a remote computer over a network; threatening small info-aggregating companies such as ScanBuy, AirClic, Inc., and LScan Technologies
 
Test.com Test.com:
Method for administering tests, lessons, assessments; claims it should receive licensing fees from companies, universities or individuals that administer tests over the Internet 		Nintendo Nintendo:
Software implementation of a handheld videogame hardware platform; threatens reverse engineering of videogames to promote interoperability and emulation by hobbyists
 
Firepond Firepond/Polaris:
System that uses natural language processing to respond to customers' online inquiries by email; patent uses basic natural language processing techniques taught in introductory computer science courses		 Seer Systems Seer Systems:
System and method for generating, distributing, storing and performing musical work files; currently threatening small companies trying to innovate in this field