Summary: IEEE fuels some more Microsoft propaganda about patents as the patent system continues to disappoint the majority

AS patent systems become more litigious, the patent trolls find themselves able to sue more and more companies as a matter of routine. Here is one from this past week's news:

An intellectual property licensing company hit software maker Citrix Systems Inc. with a patent infringement suit in Florida on Monday, claiming the company’s popular GoToMeeting remote meeting software violates several patents for video conferencing technology.

This helps show how software patents get extensively exploited by patent trolls. Statistically, a correlation was also demonstrated. the American IEEE lobbies for software patents [1, 2] and once again helps Microsoft in its usual fashion, this time providing Microsoft with something to brag about. Microsoft writes: "The IEEE #patent scorecards recognize innovation via IP and MSFT continues to hold the #1 position for software bit.ly/uB1EN4"

Software patents and Microsoft are closely related issues. This whole ideas of treating patents like trophies is merely helping monopolies, not innovation. To quote:

Though Digimarc obtained just 66 U.S. patents in 2010 -- No. 1 Microsoft had 3,117 -- IEEE, a technology trade group, said the volume of patents isn't as important as their impact, such as how frequently they were cited.

Cited as prior art? This merely shows how silly software patents really are. They are the bringing together of prior ideas and applications of these ideas. Does that merit a monopoly? Going back to the drawing board is essential because the system lost sight of its goals; it is a hen house run by the fox (patent lawyers and their biggest clients).

When Orwellian behaviour analysis becomes a Microsoft patent, then the benefit of patents to society are only further doubted. Apple gets its own Orwellian patent on tracking people, so it is not much better. ⬆