News picks
Articles from other sources; copy title, first paragraph, and put URL in body of post.
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The High Court has overturned a decision of the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) to reject a patent application as being nothing more than software. The UK-IPO said that today's ruling is incompatible with other decisions and will appeal.
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by:  zoobab 1205878482|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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IBM is being sued for £3m by an American internet retailer because the store used an IBM e-commerce system which, it alleges, contained patented technology from two other companies.
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by:  ggiedke 1205862424|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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A judgment in the case of Symbian's Patent Application has been issued today by the High Court overturning an earlier decision of the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) to refuse the application because it relates to nothing more than a computer program.
Symbian's patent application describes how in a computer a library of functions (DLL), which can be called on by multiple application programs running on the computer, is accessed. In particular, it provides a way of indexing these library functions to ensure the computer will continue to operate reliably after changes are made to the library.
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by: zoobab 1205858623|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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In a press release, the UK-IPO has highlighted Mr Justice Patten's decision of today (not yet on BAILII) to overturn the UK-IPO's decision to refuse an application by Symbian, on the grounds that it consisted solely of a computer program. The application "describes how in a computer a library of functions (DLL), which can be called on by multiple application programs running on the computer, is accessed. In particular, it provides a way of indexing these library functions to ensure the computer will continue to operate reliably after changes are made to the library."
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by: zoobab 1205858564|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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The current patent system in the U.S. drains entrepreneurship and small-business growth, a new study shows. Problems include high litigation costs, a decline in patent quality and differences among nations in terms of patent law.
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by: ggiedke 1205858359|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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My intuition is that drug patents are ok, but software patents are bad. The authors' perspective supports this intuition. It is easier for drug patents to be based on clear boundaries and to satisfy the "notice function." I am trying to think about intellectual property in terms of the Coase theorem. Suppose I have come up with an invention, and I don't want you to use it. Either you could pay me to use it, or I could pay you not to use it. Does it matter which? From a utilitarian perspective, do we care whether the law puts its thumb on the scale of the inventor or the infringer?
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The awarded patents include U.S. Patent No. 7,331,035, which describes a “system and method for mobile software application development and deployment” and U.S. Patent No. 7,313,782, which describes a “method for distributing, integrating, and hosting a software platform.” The patent applications were filed in 2001.
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by: zoobab 1205856783|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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Just this morning we were lamenting the fact that the formerly anonymous Patent Troll Tracker had shut down his blog, but now we know why. It appears that two patent attorneys in East Texas have sued him and Cisco for defamation. One of the attorneys happens to also be the son of the judge who helped make Marshall, Texas famous as a favorite for patent holders. The details on the case suggest that this lawsuit may have been the reason that Rick Frenkel outed himself, as it was actually filed back in November and used as a way to unmask the Troll Tracker.
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A U.S. District Court of Delaware jury has found that Secure Computing, and its subsidiaries CyberGuard and Webwasher, infringed three patents that Finjan Software created over the past decade. [...] Finjan is partially owned by Microsoft, which purchased a non-exclusive worldwide license for some Finjan patents last year.
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by: zoobab 1205854674|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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The company spent $280,000 in the second half of 2007 to lobby Congress, according to a disclosure form posted online Feb. 15 by the Senate's public records office. [...] The Toronto-based company lobbied on legislation intended to improve patent quality and reduce litigation. Critics charge the bills would weaken patent protections. The House approved patent reform legislation last year, but it's pending in the Senate.
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Another day, another furious litigant claiming that an Apple product infringes on one of their patents. Today we've got ZapMedia, who's having some fun with a patent granted Tuesday by claiming that it covers tech used in both the iPod and iTunes. The patent describes a central media server and a "plurality of media player devices" that access the server over various networks -- but it was filed for on September 20th, 2005, which, you'll note, is after the 2003 launch of the iTunes Store.
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Not content with seeking to get consensus on the creation of a pan-European patent jurisdiction, the EU presidency, in the shape of the Slovenian government, is also attempting to reopen serious discussion on the creation of the Community patent.
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by: ggiedke 1205441471|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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The EU's 'Lisbon' goals of boosting R&D and scientific innovation are just "part of the story", Slovenia's Minister for Growth Ziga Turk told EurActiv in an exclusive interview. He believes the EU can make use of its global lead in fine arts to develop new products and services ahead of its competitors – but only if it makes progress on intellectual property and IT infrastructure.
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by: ggiedke 1205441170|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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A suit was filed Wednesday against Apple over the possibility that the iTunes music store and iPod are 'illegally using a patented method for distributing digital media over the Internet.' ZapMedia Services filed the suit, accusing the well-known OS and computer manufacturer of violating patents obtained just recently. 'The patents in question cover a way of sending music and other digital content from servers to multiple media players, a broad description that could also apply to a wide swath of other companies selling digital media and the devices to play it. ZapMedia said it met with Apple to discuss licensing, but Apple rebuffed the offer.'
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by: zoobab 1205437064|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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Zap Media, an Atlanta-based media services company, is finally suing Apple over iTunes and the iPod. At first blush, it would seem as if the group is nothing but another patent squatter trying to broaden the definitions of intellectual property, but a little digging shows that the company might actually have a case, though a tough one.
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by: zoobab 1205436643|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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Joe Mullen, reporter at IP Law & Business magazine and author of the Prior Art Blog has some additional information on the Ward/Albritton lawsuit against Frenkel and Cisco (see 271 Blog post below). As many have noticed already, the Ward complaint "making the rounds" is an amended complaint. According to the the case docket in Gregg County District Court (link), the case was originally filed as John Ward, Jr. v. John Doe et al. on Nov. 7, 2007, and it is presumed that the complaint was filed with the notion of deposing someone at Google, who oversees the Blogger.com sevice used by Frenkel.
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Is it surprising that Europe lags behind in competitiveness and innovation when companies continue to pay patent filing costs several times higher than for the US because the Members States can’t agree on language? SMEs are particularly penalised. [...] If agreement cannot be reached, perhaps the enhanced cooperation procedure might be used, with English as the sole language, which is acceptable to many Member States. The threat of this alternative might just be the spur to achieve an EU accord.
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by: zoobab 1205436248|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
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The decision is of great practical importance, since what is often sold is a computer program or a download over the internet. It can be sold either as a discrete item or as embodied in someone else’s program. Previously such claims would not be upheld in court if granted by the EPO, or even granted by the IPO. This left inventors relying on method claims and contributory infringement and resulted in exported programs being unprotected. That hiatus has now been closed, and not before time.
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The patents in question cover a way of sending music and other digital content from servers to multiple media players, a broad description that could also apply to a wide swath of other companies selling digital media and the devices to play it. ZapMedia applied for the patents in 1999. One was granted in March 2006, the other on Tuesday.
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InfoWorld: You have a legal defense fund. Should people have legal concerns about using Linux? Zemlin: Just like any other major software platform, there'll be patent trolls or opportunists who try to harm the platform. The SCO Group was a good example of that. In fact, the legal defense fund was created to assist in defense of the platform in the SCO lawsuit. And so that's a good example.
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