Bonum Certa Men Certa

Software Patents Roundup: EPO, USPTO and Acacia

EPO



Let us begin this with the EPO (or Europe), whose shaky state has increasingly become grounds for concern. To give you an idea of the EPO's view of those who protest against software patents, read this.

European patent chief paves the way for change



[...]

She is dismissive of some of the criticism leveled at the patent system and specifically at the EPO from parts of the open-source and free software movements.

"There's a high degree of emotion, but a low degree of light," she said, referring to both sides in the intense lobbying when the European Union was debating a proposed law on software patentability that was scrapped in 2005.


There is more information about the EC's potentially tactless moves with regards to standards and software patents.

The European Commission is organizing next week in Brussels a conference on "European ICT standardisation policy at a crossroads: A new direction for global success". Among the papers in discussion for this conference, one paper suggests to allow RAND standards as general policy. The European Commission seems to listen to the big industry who contributed to the discussion paper. RAND standards (such as h264 or MPEG2) are a way to exclude FLOSS developers, because they require royalty payments that developers cannot afford.


Just recall the flak they were getting some months ago [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11] after implicitly excluding Samba in a settlement with Microsoft.

The worrisome Community Patent is back in the scene again, which isn't encouraging news.

Europe's relations with China in respect of IP rights, the perspectives of introducing the Community Patent and the question of a central European court for patents were discussed during a visit by a high-level German-French delegation to the EPO today.


USPTO



Over in the United States, the Bush administration continues to discuss the issues, but based on the wording in CNET, this isn't too hopeful.

The administration's key concern is a section that it argues waters down the ability of judges to award damages in patent suits as they see fit, potentially depriving patent holders of the right to obtain the compensation they deserve. Right now, the Senate bill doesn't give judges or juries enough discretion in deciding how much to award, Dudas said. That's been arguably the biggest sticking point all along among supporters and opponents of the bill.


The reexamination process which the EFF has been relying on is apparently at jeopardy because an explicit request is made to for the US Senate defend it.

EFF's Patent Busting Project is one of a number of public-interest projects that use the reexamination process to defend the public against the most dubious patents. Four of our five petitions for reexamination have been granted, and EFF expects the last will be after the PTO has had an opportunity to review it (it was filed last week). One of the first reexamination requests submitted by EFF has already resulted in the PTO revoking the patent.


Illustrating the severity of the problem, here is another trivial patents that uses sophisticated language to describe interactive/customised wallpaper/menus. Needless to say, none of his is new or ingenious.

A new BlackBerry Patent application entitled System and Method for Adaptive Theming Of A Mobile Device describes ways that a BlackBerry wireless carrier or third-party theme screen developer could configure, or reconfigure, a subscriber’s BlackBerry theme remotely.


Acaciasoft on the Attack



Our good 'buddy' Acacia, which is also a Microsoft buddy [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10], appears to be relentlessly continuing its crusade.

Acacia Research Corporation today announced that its subsidiary, Mobile Traffic Systems Corporation (MTS), has settled patent litigation against Cobra Electronics Corporation that was pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. With this settlement MTS has entered into a license agreement with Cobra Electronics.


The likes of Ray Niro [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Meet J. Carl Cooper, a Patent Troll (Plus Other Patent News)] must be bursting with laughter at the sight of a broken system that is coughing out cash at the direction of those who are heartless enough to abuse it. These are also the people who haven't made a single invention in their lives. They sue for a living.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
 
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Seem to Have Had Only One Litigation Client in 2025, He Was Previously Charged, Just Like the Serial Strangler From Microsoft (Whom They Now Represent)
Karma is superstition, regulators are not
Project 2030 to Cover How "Project 2025"-Styled Anti-Media Zealots From America Targeted Techrights and Tux Machines
The common denominator is also their attacks on women
Brett Wilson LLP Failed to Meet Deadlines Set by Judge 7 Months Earlier, Tried to Ruin Our Holiday, Then Had the Audacity to Ask Us for Over 3,000 Pounds for Its Own Lateness
As a matter of principle we will never respond to assassin while we are on holiday
On Claims That After Bluewashing Red Hat Will Increasingly Become an Indian Company
Discussed this week (long and detailed)
Americans Attacking British Sites Only Months After They Leave America
We find it kind of funny if not ironic that this site, originally an American site, got legal harassment only from Americans and only months after it had moved to the UK
Despite Losing Over a Quarter Million Dollars a Year Software in the Public Interest (SPI) Gives Helping Hand to Libreboot
SPI's financial state depends a lot on its public image or its reputation
Slopwatch: Google Helps Plagiarism and Sends Traffic to Ripoff Artists
That Google as a company helps spamfarms is noteworthy
If You Want to Know the Future, Listen to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Andy Farnell
We're sure the FSF will have plenty of its own output
Links 18/09/2025: A Taliban Ban on Internet Access and Troubled US Job Market
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2025: Computer Literacy and Accessing Alhena's Database
Links for the day
Links 18/09/2025: US War on Media (Truth Banned, Cancel Culture by the Hard Right), NYT Chief Executive Warns Cheeto is Deploying ‘Anti-press Playbook'
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 17, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 17, 2025