04.23.10

USPTO Starts Rejecting Software Patents While Germany Mistakenly Overrides the Law and Approves Microsoft’s

Posted in America, Europe, GNU/Linux, Law, Microsoft, Patents, TomTom at 6:57 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Software patents apparently encounter new barriers in the USPTO, whereas in Europe there is a reversal which seems to contradict EPO rules

Microsoft’s business model currently depends on software patents, which is why it has hired lobbyists and recruited front groups to lobby for them all around the world. Yesterday we used Hugo Lueders (CompTIA) as an example, not a scapegoat. CompTIA has lobbies for software patents in Europe even this month.

According to Benjamin Henrion, the president of the FFII (Europe-based), having seen some months ago that the Bilski decision started killing software patents, there might be more of the same. Henrion points to this news and asks: “USPTO starts rejecting software patents?”

From the source:

BPAI Remanding Cases Involving Computer-Oriented Means-Plus-Function Claims

In Ex party Rodriguez, the BPAI rejected a patent applicant’s means-plus-function (MPF) claims as indefinite for failing to provide any corresponding structures in the specification beyond a general purpose computer. That decision followed the Federal Circuit’s Aristocrat holding that “simply disclosing a computer as the structure designated to perform a particular function does not limit the scope of the claim to ‘the corresponding structure, material, or acts’ that perform the function, as required by section 112 paragraph 6.”

This is important news because it’s a software patent on the face of it. A few days ago we saw a film about In Re Bilski being released [1, 2] and there are long discussions about it these days [1, 2]. There is increasing pressure to see the end of software patents.

Ironically, while the US seems to be moving in a better direction, Germany messes up royally by upholding Microsoft’s FAT patent after it was rejected. [via]

The German appeal court has overturned a decision by the German Federal Patent Tribunal to declare Microsoft’s patent for the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system invalid. In judgement number X ZR 27/07, handed down on Tuesday, the tenth civil division of the Karlsruhe-based court confirmed the enforceability of the company’s commercial rights in Germany. It has not yet published its reasoning, but has confirmed the decision in a short press release (German language link).

Some readers have told us about this disruptive development because it relates to the TomTom case and it affects Linux. On the face of it, Scharen is involved but it might be Richter Scharen, not Uwe Scharen, whom we consider to be in Microsoft's fold. █

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Permalink Mail Send this to a friend

If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

Pages that cross-reference this one

What Else is New

Links 24/8/2019: Wayland’s Weston 7.0 and More

Links for the day
Outsourcing to Microsoft and Openwashing as a Service (OaaS): This is the Linux Foundation in 2019

The concept of "Open" at the Linux Foundation gives room for thought; are things really being opened or mostly marketed as "Open" and, if so, is the Foundation more like a marketing agency?
Links 23/8/2019: Wine 4.0.2 Released, Removing Qt 4 From Ubuntu

Links for the day
Links 22/8/2019: KDE ISO Image Writer, GNU Parallel ‘Jesper Svarre’

Links for the day
Guarding and Rescuing the FSF Titanic: A Free (as in Freedom) Library, and Federation of Advocates

"This library is not just for cultural works, but also for software."
Linux Foundation's Linux.com in 2019: Zero Articles (Nothing Original) and a Terrible, Rookie New Design

Linux.com has become a curated syndicator of news (edited by one single Microsoft proponent); the site has also eliminated its traditional design in favour of something only 'hipsters' can appreciate
Managing IP as Team UPC's Megaphone and Lobbying Front

Managing IP is lying on behalf of Team UPC yet again; the site's long history promoting the UPC hasn't ended even when prospects of the UPC are slim to none
No More Rights for EPO Staff?

The oppression and the crackdown on labour rights in Europe's second-largest institution has deepened to the point where staff is paid as little as is legally possible
Links 22/8/2019: GNOME 3.33.91, Systemd 243 RC2, Cockpit 201, Ubuntu Touch OTA-10, FreeIPMI 1.6.4

Links for the day
Some Patent Attorneys Dislike Techrights Not Because It's Wrong But Because Software Patents Are Wrong (and Sometimes Illegal)

Odd rants which misuse common law and ignore alleged Fair Use (and misinterpretation of copyright law, for censorship purposes) would have people believe that we're wrong; but it's more likely that the person in question is jealous, insecure, or offended by our stance on patent scope, which is very much rooted in the law itself (and the views widely held by software developers globally)
Guarding and Rescuing the FSF Titanic: Distro-libre and feature-schema

"Every time a distro does not suit a user's purposes, and it is less work to adapt the distro on one's own than to affect the distro in any other way, a distro is born."
Links 21/8/2019: Dell's XPS 13, Mesa 19.2 RC1, Librem Update

Links for the day
Links 21/8/2019: Open Source POWER, Alpine 3.10.2, Netrunner 19.08

Links for the day
Edward as a Nodder to Team UPC Kool-Aid

Bristows LLP is at it again and it's getting pathetic, not just dishonest as usual
Guest Post: António Campinos' European Patent Office Redefines Modern Slavery in the Heart of Europe in 2019

The European Patent Office’s (EPO) President António Campinos — like his predecessor Battistelli — emulates Chinese labour practices
Guarding and Rescuing the FSF Titanic: There is More Than One Iceberg Ahead

"This strategy is not far from when Microsoft talked about "de-commoditizing protocols" in the late 90s, as part of their plans to control, dominate, and end Open Source and Free software."
EPO Cannot Handle Patent Justice With a Backlog of About 10,000 Cases at the Boards of Appeal

The EPO's long war on judges and on the law has proven to be costly; it's difficult to pretend that the EPO functions like a first-world legal framework
The European Patent Office Increases Surveillance: Can't Get Food Without Being Spied on

The infamous "War on Cash" has been 'won' at Europe's second-largest institution, where people's diet can now be monitored and indefinitely retained on the system
To GNU/Linux, the Operating System, GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft) is Not the Threat. Microsoft is.

Don't let Microsoft get away with its bogus narration; GNU/Linux is primarily under attack from Microsoft, whereas Software Freedom in general is under attack from many directions
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has the Full Support of Techrights

Our support for the FSF is strong enough that we want to occasionally suggest improvements; there are growing frictions designed to isolate the FSF and cause self-restraint/censorship
Why We Support Phoronix (Whereas Some Others Do Not)

Some people try to characterise Michael Larabel as the 'bad boy' of Linux even though Michael is probably the hardest working Linux journalist out there
Guarding and Rescuing the FSF Titanic: The Simplest Ways that AI will Change Computing

"AI is already used to help kill people. We should be cautious, and know that the best rules we come up with (like no doing magic outside the school grounds) won't be followed all the time."
Links 20/8/2019: DragonFlyBSD Developing DSynth

Links for the day
Guarding and Rescuing the FSF Titanic: Narcissism in The Community

"Narcissists are drawn to intelligent people. They take great pleasure in attacking, controlling and defeating intelligent people because it makes them feel smarter and more important."
Breaking the Law Has Become the Norm at the European Patent Office

The European Patent Office’s ongoing practice of destroying critics/whistleblowers and crushing unions, judges, examiners etc. — as well as threats and bribery of the media — ultimately mean a perpetual state of lawlessness that, if it prevails, will let patent trolls raid the European economy and stall innovation
Links 20/8/2019: KMyMoney 5.0.6, Kdenlive 19.08

Links for the day
Guarding and Rescuing the FSF Titanic: Free Software in Education

"If everyone learns to code, then everyone gains some understanding of how to code in other languages."
Links 19/8/2019: Another Linux 5.3 RC, OpenSUSE's Richard Brown Steps Down, Slackware Creates Patreon Page, Qt 6 Initiated

Links for the day
Speaking Truth to Monopolies (or How to Write Guest Posts in Techrights)

We need to have more articles tackling the passage of all power — especially when it comes to software — to few large monopolies that disregard human rights or actively participate in their abolishment in the digital realm
Guarding and Rescuing the FSF Titanic: Free as in Speech

"While a new breed of so-called anarchists campaign against expression that even the state allows, people are also foolishly overplaying the relevance of the state to free speech issues -- as if it's not a freedom issue when a project is increasingly thought-policed, because the thought-policing isn't on a state level."