Bonum Certa Men Certa

Beyond Shameful: Microsoft and IBM Lobbyist David Kappos Uses COVID-19 Lies to Push for Software Patents From the Back Door, Undermining What Courts Have Determined

IBM and Nazi flag
Image sourced from "The Hidden Nazi History of IBM and how they chose profit over morality"



Summary: IBM continues its evil work; instead of promoting software freedom it is lobbying via numerous fronts (IPO, Kappos and others) to restore software patenting in the US, harming programming professionals everywhere and benefiting nobody but monopolists

THE EVIL work to undermine 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 has not stopped. David Kappos from IBM (he had worked there before Obama put him at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and he then worked again for IBM as a lobbyist with USPTO connections/'creds') is at it again and it's particularly ugly because he's exploiting the deaths of over a million people to push a truly nasty agenda, which would only lead to more people dying.



"It makes those of us who actually write code (unlike marketing giant IBM) and perpetually suffer from software patents want to just boycott IBM altogether."The headline of his piece is something like Bringing Back Software Patents is "Literally a Matter of Life and Death" (he means to say that people will die unless there are software patents) and Hacker News has outlined that as "Kappos propose to restore software patents via Covid stimulus bill," quoting him as saying that: "That’s why Congress must act now to pass legislation to reverse the Supreme Court decisions that created the mess in the first place. In fact, Sens. Chris Coons and Thom Tillis already proposed a very viable blueprint for such legislation, which now can be included in the next coronavirus stimulus bill to restore predictability and stability. If passed, we’ll see a return to the strong incentive effect of the patent system that will engender the private sector investment we desperately need to finally get ahead of the pandemic treadmill we find ourselves on."

IBM and HitlerFor those who missed it, Coons was literally bribed by law firms to push this bill. This should be considered a crime, trying to overturn the SCOTUS decision without even a court's involvement. By bribery.

If it weren’t for Hitler, IBM would be nothing today. To see IBM's taskforces and lobbyists trying to leverage COVID-19 for this sort of malicious agenda is beyond disgraceful. It makes those of us who actually write code (unlike marketing giant IBM) and perpetually suffer from software patents want to just boycott IBM altogether.

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM: Less Than a Month's Severance for Each Decade of Service
Yes, decade!
The EPO, Europe's Largest Patent Office, Admits Outsourcing to Microsoft Slop
Their sole goal is to make more money
The Better the Understanding or the More Nations Understand the Threat Posed by Microsoft, the Faster It'll be Eradicated
We believe that the thing to advocate is self-hosting and Free software... A lack of simplicity or absence of alternatives is a form of vendor lock-in
 
More Stallmanites Added to FSF Board and Summer Fundraiser Commences
There's some good news from the FSF
Gemini Links 17/06/2025: Consistency and Notes About NixOS
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 16, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 16, 2025
July 2 2025 Would Not be First Big Wave of Microsoft Layoffs Before Major National Holiday
July 2 or 3 mark the start of a very long weekend in the US
IDG's NetworkWorld Seems to Have Just Become LLM Slop
If IDG (now controlled by China) does that in at least one site, why not the rest? Only a matter of time?
Gemini Links 16/06/2025: Free Lunches and Bookmarklet for Mastodon
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Turns 6 on Friday
Active (online) Gemini capsules are estimated by Lupa at over 3,000
Taking a Lesson From Denmark and Greenland? Iceland Shows New Lows for Windows, All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
If Microsoft sabotages systems of judges at the Hague (in order to appease the insane man who wanted to invade Greenland), why won't its neighbour Iceland take note?
BetaNews Has Just Deleted Its Latest 'Article' or Got Cracked Again and Restored From Outdated Backup Again
BetaNews seems to be in some serious trouble right now
Microsoft's "FUD-as-a-Service" (Against Linux) Not Functioning Well
This is the kind of contribution companies like Microsoft and Google have to offer to society
Software Freedom is "Activism" Because the Corporate Agenda Revolves Around Bribery, Deceit, and Betrayal
At the end Software Freedom will win because it's on the same side as truth and lawfulness
Links 16/06/2025: EchoLeak and NASA Teaming up With India
Links for the day
A Week of Sunlight
They say transparency is like sunlight to a vampire
"Linux" Sites That Went Astray
there are even worse things than shutdowns
Links 16/06/2025: Climate, Wildfires, Breaches, and Monopolies
Links for the day
Links 16/06/2025: Summer in Finland and Misunderstandings
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 15, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 15, 2025
Gemini Links 15/06/2025: Rainy Season and OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Links for the day
Links 15/06/2025: Military Games, Parade, and Actions
Links for the day
Links 15/06/2025: Windows TCO, Openwashing, and Wars
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/06/2025: "AI Fatigue and Crappiness"
Links for the day
When Abusive Law Firms (Working for Microsofters Against Us) Assert That Someone Writing in Social Media About Himself is Confidential Information
There was no reason to throw "GDPR" into 2 SLAPPs; they know it, but the goal was to increase the cost of a Defence and lessen the incentive to challenge the SLAPPs
Microsoft Attack Dogs Against Watchdogs and Guard Dogs in Software
Last year Microsofters hired attack dogs or "guns for hire"
Slop Cannot Replace Domain Expertise
All this "AI" hype (it's not even intelligence, it's all a misnomer, as many of us have insisted all along) will fizzle and be written off as a failed experiment
IBM's Fresh 'PIPs' (Action Before Layoffs)
At times like these, even once-reputable employers resort to PIPs and other procedures/tricks for denial of workers' rights
Microsoft is a Problem Not Just for Denmark
Every country should consider what Denmark is doing, why Denmark is doing it, and then do the same
The Slopfarms' Self Detonation
If more sites like BetaNews go under, then maybe we can still salvage some of the Web
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 14, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, June 14, 2025