02.10.11

Gemini version available ♊︎

USPTO Has Patents Blocking American Innovation, Brainwashed European Minority Wants to Emulate This Mess

Posted in America, Europe, Microsoft at 5:30 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Board room

Summary: Patent system leniency in the United States is causing legal chaos; the FSFE and FFII try to stop it from entering Europe ushered by lobbyists, countering a Microsoft mobbyist (Florian) in the process

A MAJOR shakeup in the patent world may be catalysed or caused in part by the LG-Sony patent fight, which is proving yet again that the patent system harms customers. It also helps drive companies outside regions which are zealous about patent ‘enforcement’ (taxing or removing products from the market).

TechDirt says that “The White House Wants Advice On What’s Blocking American Innovation”. Except for hostility towards science (including learning of evolution, as indicated in our daily links this week), there is the issue of excessive monopolisation, even of simple algorithms. To quote the concluding words from TechDirt:

I doubt my input will get read or, if read, anyone will care, but at least it’s worth a shot. Unfortunately, to date, it’s appeared that the administration is under the sway of lobbyists, who still pretend that the patent system of today really does increase innovation, and, thus, I can’t imagine they’ll be open to looking at the actual research on the issue or tackling the real problems of the patent system.

One need not look so far back to witness spurious patent battles because the case of TiVo and EchoStar is back to the headlines. Here is the TiVo statement and the DISH Network statement. There is a lot of accompanying coverage [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] and the endless fight goes on and on. Microsoft it also trying to embargo TiVo as part of its new strategy.

There is an ongoing debate about whether or not this mess can penetrate Europe, where such incidents are still very rare (and patent trolls are very scarce). The ‘EU patent’ is currently the main risk factor, so the FFII is fighting it back and the FSFE is trying to stop this too. A patent lawyer from Europe writes:

A decisive few weeks for the future of the European patent system; ECJ decision due on 8th March http://t.co/YcZ1OXU @iam_magazine

The article is accessible to subscribers only (echo chamber) and the President of the FFII says:

18 countries have now declared they want to go on EU patent close cooperation.

Then, Microsoft Florian started intervening, for example by chatting with Jan Wildeboer (Red Hat) and the President of the FFII. While the latter said that “If the harmful German decisions stays in Germany, I am fine with it [FUD from Florian], but the EUPC will expand them to the EU”

The mobbyist replied with more FUD: “UK isn’t much better. We’ll see what they do in the Apple/Nokia case in London.”

There is more of that sort of junk from Florian and the FFII’s representative breaks it apart by writing: “Damage control it is called. Time for a new directive.”

Notice how Microsoft apologists are defending the EU patent. It says a lot about how harmful it can be to Free/libre software.

Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Reddit
  • email

Decor ᶃ Gemini Space

Below is a Web proxy. We recommend getting a Gemini client/browser.

Black/white/grey bullet button This post is also available in Gemini over at this address (requires a Gemini client/browser to open).

Decor ✐ Cross-references

Black/white/grey bullet button Pages that cross-reference this one, if any exist, are listed below or will be listed below over time.

Decor ▢ Respond and Discuss

Black/white/grey bullet button If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

2 Comments

  1. patent litigation said,

    February 15, 2011 at 1:59 am

    Gravatar

    The recent Intellectual Ventures suits present just one example showing that the NPE (“patent troll”) business model is fast becoming dominant in the world of IP. Thomas Edison held over 1,000 patents, but practiced none of them. He invented, which is what he did best, and let others manufacture products from his inventions. If an inventor cannot sue for patent infringement and recover damages, they why should anyone invent anything? Only vigorous patent enforcement rewards inventors for their inventions and incentivizes others to invent.

    Dr. Roy Schestowitz Reply:

    I humbly disagree. Most inventions are just enhancements of several existing inventions (Edison is known for this) and people profit from good execution of ideas, not exclusion. Monopolies like patents are putting a burden on each inventor, so think about one’s ability to practice when hundreds of thousands of people with patents breathe down one’s neck. Patents are a two-edged sword.

DecorWhat Else is New


  1. Links 23/03/2023: Sparky 2023.03 Special Editions and SUSE Changes CEO (Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen)

    Links for the day



  2. Links 23/03/2023: Linux 6.2.8 and XWayland 23.1.0

    Links for the day



  3. IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 22, 2023

    IRC logs for Wednesday, March 22, 2023



  4. Apple 'Porn' Filter

    Guest post by Ryan Farmer: Apple and US State Governments Developing System to Require People to Report Themselves for Watching Porn.



  5. 3.5 Years Later Gemini Protocol and Geminispace Are Still 100% Community-Controlled

    Community-centric alternatives to the World Wide Web have gained traction; one of them, Gemini Protocol, continues to grow in 2023 and we're pleased to report progress and expansion



  6. Windows Falls to 16% Market Share in India (It was 97% in 2009), Microsoft Layoffs Reach India Too

    This month’s picture from the world’s most populous nation does not look good for Microsoft (it looks good for GNU/Linux); anonymous rumour mills online say that Microsoft isn’t moving to India but is actually firing staff based in India, so it’s a case of shrinking, not offshoring. When even low-paid (much lower salaries) staff is discarded it means things are very gloomy.



  7. Links 22/03/2023: GNOME 44 “Kuala Lumpur”

    Links for the day



  8. Microsoft Has Also Infiltrated the OSI's Board of Directors After Rigged Elections

    Weeks ago we warned that this would happen and for the third or fourth time in 2 years the OSI’s election process broke down; today the Open Source Initiative (OSI) writes: “The polls just closed, the results are in. Congratulations to the returning directors Aeva Black…” (Microsoft employee)



  9. Links 22/03/2023: Official Thunderbird Podcast Starts

    Links for the day



  10. IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 21, 2023

    IRC logs for Tuesday, March 21, 2023



  11. Many More Microsoft Layoffs Later Today

    Yesterday we shared rumours about Microsoft layoffs being planned for later today (there were 3 waves of layoffs so far this year). There are several more people here who say the same. How much noise will Microsoft make in the “media” in order to distract? Will the chaffbot "ChatGPT" help create enough chaff?



  12. Links 21/03/2023: JDK 20 and GNOME 43.5

    Links for the day



  13. Germany's Lobbyists-Infested Government Sponsors the War on Ukraine via the European Patent Office (EPO)

    The chief UPC ‘judge’ is basically seeking to break the law (and violate constitutions, conventions etc.) to start a kangaroo court while dodging real courts, just like Vladimir Putin does



  14. [Meme] The Meme That Team UPC (the Collusion to Break the European Laws, for Profit) Threats to Sue Us For

    António Campinos and Team UPC are intimidating people who simply point out that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) is illegal and Klaus Grabinksi, shown above, strives to head a de facto kangaroo court in violation of constitutions and conventions (the UK does not and cannot ratify; Ireland hasn’t even held a referendum on the matter)



  15. Microsoft is Sacking People Every Month This Year, Even Managers (While Sponsored Media Produces Endless Chatbot Chaff)

    Lots of Microsoft layoffs lately and so-called ‘journalists’ aren’t reporting these; they’re too busy running sponsored puff pieces for Microsoft, usually fluff along the “hey hi” (AI) theme



  16. 3 Months Late Sirius 'Open Source' Finally Deletes Us From the Fraudulent 'Meet the Team' Page (But Still Lists Many People Who Left Years Ago!)

    Amid fraud investigations the management of Sirius ‘Open Source’ finally removed our names from its “Meet the Team” page (months late); but it left in the page about half a dozen people who left the company years ago, so it’s just lying to its clients about the current situation



  17. Amid Fraud at Sirius 'Open Source' CEO Deletes His Recent (This Month) Past With the Company

    Not only did the Sirius ‘Open Source’ CEO purge all mentions of Sirius from his Microsoft LinkedIn account; he’s racing against the clock as crimes quickly become a legal liability



  18. Web Survey Shows Microsoft Falling Below 15% Market Share in Africa, Only One Minuscule African Nation Has Windows Majority

    A Web survey that measured Microsoft Windows at 97% in Africa (back in 2010) says that Windows has become rather small and insignificant; the Microsoft-sponsored mainstream media seems to be ignoring this completely, quite likely by intention...



  19. Rumours of More Microsoft Layoffs Tomorrow (Including Managers!), Probably Azure Again (Many Azure Layoffs Every Year Since 2020)

    Amazon is laying off AWS staff and Microsoft has been laying off Azure staff for 3 years already, including this year, so it seems like the “clown computing” bubble is finally bursting



  20. [Meme] EPO's Management Brainstorm

    The story behind a misleading slogan told above



  21. The Photo Ops Festival of the Funky President António Campinos and Revolt From the Patent Examiners Whom He Perpetually Oppresses

    European Patents are being granted for no reason other than application and renewal fees, awarding European monopolies to companies that aren't even European (only about a third are actually European); staff of the EPO is fed up as it regards or views all this as an extreme departure from the EPO's mission (and it's also outright illegal)



  22. Links 21/03/2023: Trisquel GNU/Linux 11.0 LTS

    Links for the day



  23. Back Doors Proponent Microsoft Infiltrates Panels That Write the Security Regulations, Press Fails to Point Out the Obvious

    Cult tactics and classic entryism serve Microsoft again, stacking the panels and basically writing policy (CISA). As an associate explained it, citing this new example, Stanford “neglects to point out the obvious fact that Microsoft is writing its own regulations.”



  24. IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 20, 2023

    IRC logs for Monday, March 20, 2023



  25. Links 20/03/2023: Curl 8.0.0/1 and CloudStack 4.18.0.0 LTS

    Links for the day



  26. Standard Life (Phoenix Group Holdings): Three Weeks to Merely Start Investigating Pension Fraud (and Only After Repeated Reminders From the Fraud's Victims)

    As the phonecall above hopefully shows (or further elucidates), Standard Life leaves customers in a Kafkaesque situation, bouncing them from one person to another person without actually progressing on a fraud investigation



  27. Standard Life Paper Mills in Edinburgh

    Standard Life is issuing official-looking financial papers for companies that then use that paperwork to embezzle staff



  28. Pension Fraud Investigation Not a High Priority in Standard Life (Phoenix Group Holdings)

    The 'Open Source' company where I worked for nearly 12 years embezzled its staff; despite knowing that employees were subjected to fraud in Standard Life's name, it doesn't seem like Standard Life has bothered to investigate (it has been a fortnight already; no progress is reported by management at Standard Life)



  29. Links 20/03/2023: Tails 5.11 and EasyOS 5.1.1

    Links for the day



  30. Links 20/03/2023: Amazon Linux 2023 and Linux Kernel 6.3 RC3

    Links for the day


RSS 64x64RSS Feed: subscribe to the RSS feed for regular updates

Home iconSite Wiki: You can improve this site by helping the extension of the site's content

Home iconSite Home: Background about the site and some key features in the front page

Chat iconIRC Channel: Come and chat with us in real time

Recent Posts