Uniloc
Uniloc Corporation is a computer security and copy protection software company founded in Australia in 1992 that develops "try and buy" software distributed via magazines and preinstalled on new computers. It is best known for its controversial patent lawsuits which has led many to consider the company a "patent troll".
The Uniloc technology is based on a patent granted to the inventor Ric Richardson who is also a principal in the Uniloc Company. The original patent application was dated late 1992 in Australia and granted in the USA in 1996 and covers a technology popularly known as product activation, try and buy software and machine locking.
In 1993 Uniloc distributed "Try and Buy" versions of software for multiple publishers via a marketing agreement with IBM. An initial success was the sale of thousands of copies of a software package (First Aid, developed by Cybermedia) distributed on the front cover of Windows Sources magazine in 1994.
Later Uniloc worked with US magazine publisher Ziff Davis to distribute unlockable versions of software on the front cover of their magazines including Windows Magazine.
In 1997 a US subsidiary was set up called Uniloc PC Preload to produce preloaded unlockable editions of popular software products on new PCs. Distribution agreements were executed with eMachines and Toshiba. Family PC magazine also produced two months of magazines featuring unlockable software from Uniloc PC Preload on the cover in 2000.
In 2003, Uniloc Corporation set up a US subsidiary called Uniloc USA, which operates out of Rhode Island and Southern California. The company is currently licensing its patented technology to software publishers and entertainment companies including Sega.
As of 2010[update], Uniloc had sued 73 companies that it alleges have violated one of its copy-protection patents. According to Uniloc, 25 of those companies settled with it out of court. Due to the abstract nature of its patents, and its litigious activities, Uniloc has been deemed a "patent troll" by critics.
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