Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Patent Microcosm's Failed Push for Software Patents Resurgence in the US and Similar Attempts in India and China

Only China still makes it easy to receive and assert (in a court) software patents

Panda in Asia



Summary: A roundup of developments regarding software patents around the world, ranging from legal actions in the US to misleading coverage from sites connected to the patent 'industry' and objections from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

THERE is no lack of ridiculous patents at the USPTO, as we have just demonstrated with a new example. Regarding the EFF’s "Stupid Patent of the month" which we wrote about before (last week), Joe Mullin wrote:



Paying for a ride to get around town isn't new. The first gas-powered taxicabs date to the beginning of the 20th century, and the horse-drawn "hackney coaches" of London date to the 17th century. In the vehicle-for-hire business, it's all about efficiency and execution, not "invention."

That long history notwithstanding, the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted patents that claim monopoly rights to, essentially, calling up a taxi—on a computer.


As we stated last week, that is a software patent, just like the patents that Oracle and Microsoft have just been sued over. As The Register reported just four days ago:

The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) and Saint Matthew Research (SMR) on Tuesday filed lawsuits against Microsoft and Oracle alleging the infringement of database patents.

The UTRF exists to commercialize intellectual property arising from research at the University of Tennessee; SMR is a California-based limited liability company with an exclusive license to the patents at issue.


The matter of fact is, none of this would happen if the USPTO hadn't granted so many software patents. Thankfully, however, the courts are doing their job and eliminating such patents one by one. Legal firms are now cataloging opportunities for skirting the law ("7 Post-Alice patent cases that survived 101 rejections – Clearing some cloud of doubts on software patent eligibility") and patent maximalists in the form of 'news' site ask, "SCOTUS To Solve The Post-Alice Puzzle?"

It's not a puzzle, it's a determination, and SCOTUS isn't revisiting it any time soon (maybe never). That's just wishful thinking or lobbying by the patent microcosm. They try to pressure the Justices to undo Alice.

There is no lack of examples of lobbying, even from the past week alone. 4 days ago one 'news' site of patent maximalists wrote supposed 'advice' for those seeking a patent. Here is a portion:

For startups in the early stages of development, securing a patent can be an easy thing to put off or forgo altogether. In the legal technology community, however, getting proprietary technology patented is perhaps not such a bad idea, especially where software development is concerned.


No, it's horrible advice. To pursue software patents right now would be a waste or time and money. Moreover, for startups (as stated above) it would barely help; they would be outnumbered by patents of very large firms (like IBM) and defenseless in the face of patent trolls.

Over at Patently-O a few days ago there was this article about Section 101 which said this:



In Blue Spike v. Google, the patentee has asked the Supreme Court to further elucidate its test for eligibility under Mayo, Alice, and Myriad with the following three questions presented.

May patentable subject matter under €§ 101 properly be assessed by over-generalizing patent claims to a “gist”? May a district court properly assess patentability under €§ 101 prior to authoritatively construing the patent’s claims? May a district court adjudicating a motion for judgment on the pleadings on €§ 101 patentability grounds properly consider questions of patent enablement under 35 U.S.C. €§ 112?

We have an interesting case here where the district court expressly stated its approach to Mayo/Alice Step 1 is to distill the claimed invention to its “gist” and ask whether that gist is an abstract idea.

In its lawsuit against Google, Blue Spike asserted five related patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 7,346,472 (the “’472 Patent”), 7,660, 700 (the “’700 Patent”), 7,949,494 (the “’494 Patent”), 8,214,175 (the “’175 Patent”), and 8,712,728 (the “’728 Patent”). Looking at asserted claim 1 of the ‘472 patent as an example: the claim requires comparing a query signal with a reference signal. The process involves creating an “abstract” (essentially a hash or digital fingerprint) of each signal that uses “perceptual qualities” of each signal, and then comparing those abstracts.


We wrote about this case before. The EFF called the firm a "patent litigation factory" and there is no way to respond to it other than challenge the patents one by one. That's where Alice comes in and becomes rather handy.

Speaking of the EFF, it wants the patent microcosm to leave Michelle Lee alone (she is defended by patent reformers) and told in an announcement that "Congress Should Leave Alice Alone". The EFF's Vera Ranieri wrote:

Since Alice, lower courts have routinely invalidated some of the worst abstract and vague patents. We've highlighted many of these abstract patents in our Stupid Patent of the Month series. There was also the patent on a "picture menu" that was used to sue over 70 companies. And the patent on using labels to store information in a data structure that, on being invalidated as abstract, ended an astonishing 168 cases.

Recently, we've heard that certain patent owners are lobbying Congress to modify 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 and legislatively overrule Alice. Many of these advocates like to claim that the software industry and innovation have been seriously harmed by Alice. But what has really happened?

Currently, five of the top 10 companies by market capitalization are information technology focused, a significant shift from ten years ago when only Microsoft made the cut. Tesla, who famously announced they were abandoning patents, is now the highest valued U.S. car maker. The 2017 Silicon Valley Report from Joint Venture Silicon Valley noted “seven straight years of economic expansion” in the Bay Area, a region known for its innovation.

Smaller innovators are also going strong. The Kauffman Index of Startup Activity shows a sharp increase in activity between 2014, the year Alice was decided, and 2016. Employment in the innovation and information products field in Silicon Valley grew by 5.2% between 2015 and 2016, more than any other category, and venture capital investment remains strong. Thus if Alice were in fact "decimating" the industry as one judge on the Federal Circuit predicted, there is little evidence of it. To be clear, this isn’t to say that Alice is the only reason the industry is thriving, but it is a reminder that software patents and the software industry are not the same thing.


Later on in Twitter they added: "Abstract patents harm innovation. Congress should not undo court case limiting them" (nice to see the EFF adding its weight to this).

An immature response from the patent microcosm, as usual, was attacking the EFF rather than its message. One of them wrote about the "EFF's mission" that it is "proudly serving our corporate masters to make it easier to steal other people's IP..."

As Benjamin Henrion told him, "the patent industry wants to abolish 101 and patent everything..."

Yes, it's the patent 'industry' which wants to "steal" everything from developers like us. When we try to gain back control they say that we "steal". Steal what? The right to write our own code, in our own way, in our programming language of choice?

Thankfully, in addition to this new case mentioned earlier, there is the Nintendo case that we wrote about last week. As expected, the patent microcosm tried hard to ignore it (almost no site mentioned the outcome) and Watchtroll did not just attack the judge, for a change. Watchtroll has in fact neglected to mention the case, instead allowing John M. Rogitz from Rogitz & Associates to do a little piece. Here is what he wrote about it:

In fact, when discussing those cases the Federal Circuit went so far as to note that Claim 1 “does not even require a computer” and “the invention can be practiced verbally or with a telephone.” Even where RecogniCorp’s Claim 36 recited use of a computer, “it does exactly what we have warned it may not: tell a user to take an abstract idea and apply it with a computer.”


This would have been all over the blogs of patent maximalists if the outcome was in their favour. But as usual they're cherry-picking. So much for integrity and honesty.

Managing IP, which obviously said nothing about the above case, has instead mentioned another case from the same court, namely Helsinn. Michael Loney wrote that "the Federal Circuit has ruled the America Invents Act did not change the meaning of “on sale” and the bar applies if the existence of the sale is public, even if the details of the invention are not publicly disclosed..."

Where were IP Kat, IAM, Patently-O and so on? It has been 9 days since the judgment (nearly ten days in fact) and nothing is being mentioned about it. Dennis Crouch certainly found time to entertain extremists and corporate lobbyists with USTR’s 'Special' 301 'Report' (meddling in other nations' affairs). Why nothing about RecogniCorp and Nintendo?

IAM and Managing IP have instead resorted to all sorts of sponsored nonsense from China (China's Supreme People's Court rules in patent infringement retrial) and from India, where LexOrbis tells the Indian Patent Office examiners how to do their job (it keeps lobbying a lot for software patents recently, without even understanding how they work). The audacity of them, joining IAM's endless lobbying for software patents in India. Here are some recent examples of IAM doing this so far this year:



The very latest from IAM about India is "Indian smartphone upstart says its patent prowess will put it way ahead of domestic rivals", i.e. more patent maximalism in India.

When will they even give a mere impression of balance? Managing IP has another strategy for patent maximalism in China, stating that "China is often criticised for failing to adequately protect intellectual property rights and it's said that systemic issues plague its IP regime, leaving foreign IP owners at the mercy of an unpredictable system." It did another article about China a few days ago.

Remember that China has already been pressured to grant software patents and a month ago, on April first (interesting choice of date), it further reinforced or reiterated support for software patents.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Leaks and Whistleblowers: Our Plan for Today
Society simply cannot advance when too many people self-censor
The Same People Who Attacked Richard Stallman (RMS) Are Attacking Daniel Pocock to Discourage People From Listening to His Information
Pocock is being demonised for the same reasons and by the same people who attack RMS
We Are Safe in a Modern "Tech" Society, Right?
People are safer if they control their own computing
The Way Things Are Going, They May Soon Stop Saying "Web Address" and Instead Say "Chrome Address"
The Web isn't built or based around open Web standards anymore. It's centered around user-agent.
Microsoft as a Golden Cage
"I was laid off by Microsoft and can't find a job. I'm weeks away from giving up my apartment and moving across the country to live with family."
Weekend Discussion About How IBM's Bluewashing of Red Hat Will Cause "Enshittification" for Users
"I worked at a software company that was acquired by IBM so I knew it was game over for RedHat the day they were acquired"
Brett Wilson LLP Getting Sued by Its Very Own Clients, a Legal Story That Has Made the Mainstream News (Law360)
Law360 or Law.com are about as mainstream as one can get in that "sector" (litigation 'industry')
 
Arnaud Parreaux lost case defending rogue employer
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Mathieu Elias Parreaux declared bankrupt in Switzerland
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Breakdown of the Rule of Law and Patent Law in the European Union (EU)
The EPO cannot recruit suitably qualified patent examiners this way, let alone retain them
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: Good Films, Wizard of Earthsea, Upgrading the Steam Controller's Stick
Links for the day
It's Not Justice When One Side Denies the Other Side the Ability to Even Speak
At this stage, Brett Wilson LLP is in my humble opinion acting in contempt of the Court
Links 13/10/2025: Australian Catholic University Uses Slop to Libel Students, Canada Threatens to Kill Beluga Whales
Links for the day
How Not to Silence Tux Machines (It'll Only Backfire, Badly)
defending Microsoft while attacking this site
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT and Google News
It seems abundantly clear that Google News and Google in general participates in the slop epidemic
Vincent Danjean (not INTERPOL), Claire Bardel & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Christmas lynchings: Martin Krafft (madduck), Penny Leach (mjollnir) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: Birthdays and "Committee Unable to Contact Nobel Prize Winner"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 12, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, October 12, 2025
Your Typical Anti-Richard Stallman (RMS) Cancellist
"About the RMS cancellation"
Richard Stallman (RMS) Has Announced His Talk in Rome Less Than 20 Hours in Advance (and on a Sunday)
Why did he wait until the night before?
GNU Tools Cauldron Event in Portugal: Videos Now Available via Invidious
Go have a look
Slopwatch: GNU/Linux Sites That Became Slopfarms and Spamfarms
The Web is a mess and "Linux" or "Ubuntu" sites became part of the problem
Richard Stallman's Talk 25 Hours Away, Aula Magna Palazzo del Rettorato (CU001), Sapienza Università di Roma (Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5)
The talk is 25 hours away and we see some QR code for it
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: Watches, the Depression of 2026, Gamboling with Odds
Links for the day
Links 12/10/2025: 'False' DMCA Claims and Slop Facing Perils Again (the Hype Wears Off)
Links for the day
Microsoft Has Just Lost Privacy Case in Austria and Its Latest Moves Make a Complete Ban Seem Imperative
Microsoft is not a software company, it's a spying agency that uses software to collect data
The Register MS: Microsoft is the Security Expert, Not the Prime Culprit, So Buy More Microsoft
This front page feature is devoid of any actual substance, it's just Microsoft copypasta
Paris 'Love Nest' & Debian Outreachy: from Lycée Lakanal to ENS Cachan, Cr@ns, nepotism
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Stefano Zacchiroli (Zack) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Lucas Nussbaum & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: "Palm Computering", Further Exploration of Slide Rules, and Key Takeaways from The Well-Grounded Rubyist
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 11, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 11, 2025
Tomorrow: Founder of the Free Software Foundation and of GNU/Linux, Richard Stallman, Speaks in Roma (Rome), Italy at 4PM
GNU/Linux is more important than ever in this dystopian world
Microsoft and Apple Are Rare Topics in Geminispace
in Geminispace it's rather safe to assume everyone is into BSD, GNU/Linux, and sometimes retro
Qualcomm and Manchester United Appear to Have Dumped Microsoft (Qualcomm Now Invests More in Linux, Apparently)
It's a relief to no longer see Microsoft logos and brands on a local football club's gear (I'm not a Manchester United fan, but not a foe either)
As Guest of Honour in Rome, Founder of the Free Software Foundation to Speak ("Distinguished Lecture") After Introduction by Leonardo Querzoni
Happy hacking...
All Things Open is Proprietary
The OSI has become a front group of proprietary software openwashers, led and sponsored by proprietary giants
When Microsoft Lays Off Lots of Workers They Say It "Invests in AI" (a Lie), Now It's "Reshuffles" or "Microsoft Tightens"
Microsoft "news" by bots
"I saw Richard Stallman give a talk in the mid 80s, which began my fear and loathing of software patents" and "Richard Stallman was always right."
"By betraying the legacy of our ancestors, we’ve set ourselves on a path toward self-destruction — moral, intellectual, economic, and ultimately biological."
There Were Several Waves of Microsoft Shanghai Layoffs in 2025, Western Media Continues to Turn a Blind Eye to Chinese Layoffs of an Epic Scale
Sometimes select Taiwanese news sites (published in English) or automated translations are all we have
Brett Wilson LLP Spreads Trumpism to the United Kingdom, Looking to Profit From 'Legal Colonialism' (Overriding Sovereignty)
There's growing recognition of this conundrum worldwide
The Demise of Shopping in Person
In a world like this, how valued is the customer?
This Past Friday, "Nearly 700 People Came to Listen to RMS!" (Richard Stallman)
"Nearly 700 people came to listen to RMS!"
Distinguished Lecture by Richard Stallman This Coming Monday in Rome
After "Free software, Crucial for Freedom in a Digital World"
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT Churning Out Plagiarism and the Slopfarm LinuxSecurity Turns to Pseudonyms
Our hunch is, UbuntuPIT will sooner or later realise that this toxic approach is just harming UbuntuPIT and tainting the reputation of past articles
The Lawsuit by Clients of Brett Wilson LLP Against Brett Wilson LLP is Officially On, It is Progressing, The 'Experts' Pick Outside Law Firms (RPC and Mills & Reeve) to Spare Them From Litigants in Person
So it is probably quite potent
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: Nyctography, Gerrymandering, and Lurking
Links for the day
The 'Culture Wars' in Free Software Have Gone Out of Control
Social control media amplifies such utterly infantile discourse
Teaser: To Compensate for the Fact Our Clients Are Terrible Human Beings Who Strangle Women (While on Microsoft's Payroll) and We Get Paid by Mystery Parties We Bombard You and Your Wife With Almost 10 Kilograms of Legal Papers
If you can't win an argument, then drown the other side with papers?
Links 11/10/2025: World Mental Health Day 2025, Another European Legal Defeat for Microsoft 360
Links for the day
MIT Technology Review is Part-Time SPAMfarm of Billionaires and Mega-Corporations
Does MIT operate its own "b2b" SPAMfarm?
Open Source Initiative Executive Director Leaves, Replacement Sought by Monopolists, Not the Community or OSI Members
Serves to show who runs this show...
Links 11/10/2025: China-US Tensions Grow Again, "Hey Hi" More Widely Recognised as Bubble Made of Capital That Doesn't Exist
Links for the day
Now Confirmed in Western Media: Microsoft Azure Layoffs This Month
Affirmed by more sources moments ago
Peter O'Callaghan QC represented grandparents, Westernport Hotel, at Liquor Royal Commission
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Either The Register MS Divests From FOSS Coverage or Liam Proven is on Long Holiday
Publishers perish when their audience loses trust in them
Microsoft Cancelling Another Datacentre is a Sign of Financial Trouble and Lack of Growth
The debt continues to grow
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: An Evening at the Fair and Fast Fourier Friday
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 10, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 10, 2025