Bonum Certa Men Certa

G8 Leaders and Microsoft Chiefs Not Interested in Real Patent Reform

G8 summit members



Summary: Monopolies that are protected by controversial laws are mostly supported by super-rich businessmen and the leaders they help appoint

THANKS to Benjamin Henrion (FFII) we learn that the "EPO granted patent on the progress bar to Apple, now claims it is granting high quality patents" (he links to this EPO page which says "G8 leaders support a quality patent system").



As we explained earlier this week, to refer to the patent problem as a problem of "quality" rather than scope is to distract from the real issue that the EPO too has been having. This is why we do not consider the Wilcox move [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] to be a shrewd one. It can only help validate some software patent including some of Microsoft's, such as FAT.

"Except for desktop GNU/Linux companies such as Novell/SUSE/Attachmate and Xandros, those who pay Microsoft for Linux are Turbolinux LG, Fuji Xerox, Brother, Melco, Samsung, Kyocera Mita, I-O Data, and HTC."Using extortion with software patents Microsoft has been mostly successful in Asia. Except for desktop GNU/Linux companies such as Novell/SUSE/Attachmate and Xandros, those who pay Microsoft for Linux are Turbolinux LG, Fuji Xerox, Brother, Melco, Samsung, Kyocera Mita, I-O Data, and HTC. There is also Amazon (server and embedded in Kindle), which decided to pay its state neighbour Microsoft after many of its new managers got appointed from Microsoft Corp.

Whatever goes on in Washington (both the state and DC) matters a lot at the moment because Bill Gates and his buddy Nathan go from the state to DC to lobby a lot in favour of patents (Gates, for his part, rallies G8 leaders to give taxpayers' money to patent holders he invests in, as we explained before). Do not be distracted by the America Invents Act. This whole thing is a bogus 'reform' which resembles what we see in Europe -- one whose focus is all wrong:

The America Invents Act encourages innovation and promotes job creation. It switches the standard of patent approval from a “first to invent” to a “first inventor to file” system.


Sounds like it's good for businesspeople, not for scientists. So, of course politicians might support that. They know where campaign contributions come from.

The patent from Nathan (world's biggest patent troll and former Microsoft CTO) continues to bug Microsoft competitors and Groklaw is striving to shoot down this patent by cooperation within the community:

As we noted in the article yesterday, one of the more effective ways developers (and anyone else who believes Lodsys is overreaching) can respond is by identifying prior art that is relevant to Lodsys's claimed inventions. Lodsys has taken the position that its patent claims are very broad, and the problem with that position, as they will learn, is that it opens the floodgates wide for prior art that chips away at those broad claims. And that's where you come in.


More of the latest news about it can be found in the corporate media, which unlike coverage in TechEye and other contrarian sources, does not go far enough. It claims to inform rather than promote, but it ends up choosing cowardice, not just conformism.

What we find encouraging is that regulators have at least begun stepping up to address anticompetitive aspects of patents, even though they miss the real targets and Microsoft pushes them towards fake ones. To quote recently news [1, 2] where CPTN got mentioned:

Patents have become an increasingly potent tool in technology, as small companies sue larger ones for infringement, and large companies pay dearly to accumulate patents to protect themselves from future litigation. In April, the Justice Department forced a group of companies buying patents from Novell, including Apple and Microsoft, to license rather than buy some of the 882 patents and patent applications over worries about the impact on open-source software.


Microsoft has also been crushing companies for patents like those it put in CPTN. We wrote about Microsoft's use of Nokia the other day. "These companies have all essentially become Novell," writes Sarah Lacy in relation to this sort of sweep-up of smaller companies (not necessarily their patents). Who on Erath would support such patents other than multinationals and politicians who serve their interests? People must stand up and speak out.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Comparing U.E.F.I. to B.I.O.S. (Bloat and Insecurity to K.I.S.S.)
By Sami Tikkanen
New 'Slides' From Stallman Support (stallmansupport.org) Site
"In celebration of RMS's birthday, we've been playing a bit. We extracted some quotes from the various articles, comments, letters, writings, etc. and put them in the form of a slideshow in the home page."
Thailand: GNU/Linux Up to 6% of Desktops/Laptops, According to statCounter
Desktop Operating System Market Share Thailand
António Campinos is Still 'The Fucking President' (in His Own Words) After a Fake 'Election' in 2022 (He Bribed All the Voters to Keep His Seat)
António Campinos and the Administrative Council, whose delegates he clearly bribed with EPO budget in exchange for votes
Adrian von Bidder, homeworking & Debian unexplained deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Sainsbury’s Epic Downtime Seems to be Microsoft's Fault and Might Even Constitute a Data Breach (Legal Liability)
one of Britain's largest groceries (and beyond) chains
 
People Don't Just Kill Themselves (Same for Other Animals)
And recent reports about Boeing whistleblower John Barnett
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 18, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 18, 2024
Suicide Cluster Cover-up tactics & Debian exposed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/03/2024: A Society That Lost Focus and Abandoning Social Control Media
Links for the day
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE: Plagiarism & Child labour in YH4F
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Linux Foundation Boasting About Being Connected to Bill Gates
Examples of boasting about the association
Alexandre Oliva's Article on Monstering Cults
"I'm told an earlier draft version of this post got published elsewhere. Please consider this IMHO improved version instead."
[Meme] 'Russian' Elections in Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
fake elections
Sainsbury's to Techrights: Yes, Our Web Site Broke Down, But We Cannot Say Which Part or Why
Windows TCO?
Plagiarism: Axel Beckert (ETH Zurich) & Debian Developer list hacking
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 18/03/2024: Putin Cements Power
Links for the day
Flashback 2003: Debian has always had a toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] You Know You're Winning the Argument When...
EPO management starts cursing at everybody (which is what's happening)
Catspaw With Attitude
The posts "they" complain about merely point out the facts about this harassment and doxing
'Clown Computing' Businesses Are Waning and the Same Will Happen to 'G.A.I.' Businesses (the 'Hey Hi' Fame)
decrease in "HEY HI" (AI) hype
Free Software Needs Watchdogs, Too
Gentle lapdogs prevent self-regulation and transparency
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE analogous to identity fraud
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 18/03/2024: LLM Inference and Can We Survive Technology?
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 17, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, March 17, 2024
Links 17/03/2024: Microsoft Windows Shoves Ads Into Third-Party Software, More Countries Explore TikTok Ban
Links for the day
Molly Russell suicide & Debian Frans Pop, Lucy Wayland, social media deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Our Plans for Spring
Later this year we turn 18 and a few months from now our IRC community turns 16
Open Invention Network (OIN) Fails to Explain If Linux is Safe From Microsoft's Software Patent Royalties (Charges)
Keith Bergelt has not replied to queries on this very important matter
RedHat.com, Brought to You by Microsoft Staff
This is totally normal, right?
USPTO Corruption: People Who Don't Use Microsoft Will Be Penalised ~$400 for Each Patent Filing
Not joking!
The Hobbyists of Mozilla, Where the CEO is a Bigger Liability Than All Liabilities Combined
the hobbyist in chief earns much more than colleagues, to say the least; the number quadrupled in a matter of years
Jim Zemlin Says Linux Foundation Should Combat Fraud Together With the Gates Foundation. Maybe They Should Start With Jim's Wife.
There's a class action lawsuit for securities fraud
Not About Linux at All!
nobody bothers with the site anymore; it's marketing, and now even Linux
Links 17/03/2024: Abuses Against Human Rights, Tesla Settlement (and Crash)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 16, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, March 16, 2024
Under Taliban, GNU/Linux Share Nearly Doubled in Afghanistan, Windows Sank From About 90% to 68.5%
Suffice to say, we're not meaning to imply Taliban is "good"
Debian aggression: woman asked about her profession
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/03/2024: Winter Can't Hurt Us Anymore and Playstation Plus
Links for the day