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06.25.17

IBM, Apple and Facebook Pursue Software Patents in India in Defiance of the Ban

Posted in Apple, Asia, IBM, Patents at 8:58 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

India is a software powerhouse. Let’s keep it that way.

Malviya Bridge
Malviya Bridge, inaugurated in 1887, is a double decker bridge over the Ganges at Varanasi.

Summary: Multinationals from the United States, or digital colonisers with ambitions to spy on and control finance, continue to behave as though Indian law is not applicable to their operations in India and repeatedly attempt to patent software anyway

INDIA, by some criteria, grew to the point of having the world’s largest software industry. There are also lawyers in India who are hoping to prey on the software industry by imposing a patent tax on all software.

“There are also lawyers in India who are hoping to prey on the software industry by imposing a patent tax on all software.”LexOrbis promotes software patents in India without even understanding these. Also in spite of India banning these. Now comes this self-promotional puff piece. What gives? When will they understand or accept that Indians simply do not want (or need) software patents? When is enough “enough!”?

“Infosys, an Indian giant, already spoke out against software patents and virtually stopped pursuing them.”Watch IBM’s Manny Schecter (he is their patent chief) along with his ilk still promoting software patents in India, not only behind the scenes but also publicly. A few weeks ago he wrote: “Great that India is promoting #IP education, but #India must also recognize a broader scope of #patent eligible subject matter…”

He was alluding to software patents, as usual. Meanwhile, the English-speaking news in India (several articles such as this one, found via numerous accounts) says that patent aggressor Facebook is pursing patents that are not allowed in India. This is a software patent:

Facebook has sought an Indian patent for its electronic payment system enabled through messaging.

Apparently, based on this other report, both Apple and Facebook ignore patent law in India and pursue such patents. To quote, “Apple and Facebook’s move to apply for patents relating to digital payments comes despite India’s stand on not allowing patents on software, unless paired with hardware in an innovative way.”

“Patent maximalism would impress nobody but the likes of Microsoft, which is close to TCS and Wipro.”Infosys, an Indian giant, already spoke out against software patents and virtually stopped pursuing them. According to this new report, TCS and Wipro (the other Indian giants) still “seek more patents”. Patent maximalism would impress nobody but the likes of Microsoft, which is close to TCS and Wipro. Here is the part about Infosys:

Infosys has embraced open source technologies, also joining the Open Invention Network (OIN) to share IP on Linux programs and support “patent non-aggression”. This will also reduce research costs and focus on building technologies with community participation and strengthen its offerings.

We wrote about this 3 months ago.

We strongly encourage all Indians to get involved and organise against software patents in order to guard their best industry. █

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