Bonum Certa Men Certa

Europe, Intellectual Property, and Software Patent Stories

Europe's stance on patents is a hot topic at the moment. The EC's agreement with Microsoft [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] left room for uncertainty while at the same time giving the agency more power and influence.

The European Union's antitrust agency is becoming more influential just as its U.S. counterparts have grown more cautious and inactive, experts say.


It was interesting to find the following article in The Register: European Commission asks for new IP protection layer

The European Commission wants to create a new layer of intellectual property protections because it says existing structures such as WIPO are not flexible enough.

[...]

ACTA is designed to create a common approach between member nations in relation to the punishment of counterfeiting and piracy. It may also plan to change the law in some member countries. One of its aims is listed as "creating a strong modern legal framework which reflects the changing nature of intellectual property theft in the global economy".


This whole proposal refers to the larger IP 'umbrella' and not necessarily patents. But there are other noteworthy stories.

(Software) Patent news:

NetApp losing 'spew dot oh' blog war to Sun

Then you have Sun playing the open source card against NetApp's proprietary code stance.

As Hitz rightly argues, there's no reason to give Sun any credit for citing that ZFS has been open sourced if Sun is in fact stealing NetApps' intellectual property. But Hitz seems to ignore how virulent and vocal the open source "community" can be.


Gutting of Amazon patent was helped by Amazon-owned company

Amazon’s 1-Click patent became famous in the late 1990s when the company asserted it against competitor book shop Barnes and Noble, which wanted to challenge Amazon’s dominance of online book sales.


Covered last week: Microsoft pays $5m to settle Timeline BI patent dispute

Microsoft has agreed to pay Seattle, Washington-based patent holding firm Timeline $5m to settle an ongoing patent infringement suit related to technology that Microsoft gained last year from its acquisition of ProClarity.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Morale at Microsoft Sinking, More Layoffs Expected, Stock Buybacks Blasted
controversial because they should really be illegal
The Kubecost Acquisition Does Not Show IBM is Rich, It Shows It Wants to Distract From Mass Layoffs Happening This Week (Thousands Laid Off in the Dark)
So-called "news deserts" have become a national and international phenomenon (not local/regional)
Mass Layoffs at IBM Today, Just Like Prominent Rumours Said Upfront
past couple of hours
 
Links 18/09/2024: Gaming Layoffs and New Openwashing by Linux Foundation
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2024: Home, Ashram, and Markdoc
Links for the day
[Meme] Think. Positive. Saturate the Media.
IBM: Layoffs? What layoffs?
IBM Has Been Lobbying for Software Patents, It's Not the Free Software Community's Ally
The ancient company has been lobbying for these patents for decades already
Over Half a Day Later the Media Still Doesn't Cover Thousands of Layoffs at IBM
Not even a single news site bothered to investigate and report this? Not even one?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 17, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 17, 2024
IBM Befriends and Exploits the Biggest Enemy of Software Freedom (Software Patents)
Software Patents and IBM in Today's News
Many Workers Quietly Leave Microsoft, the Company is Running Out of Money (Too Much Debt and Now Massive Buybacks to Keep the Shares From Collapsing While Hiding Humongous Losses)
I've heard of people who just decided to quit Microsoft. They could not handle the anxiety.
Links 17/09/2024: Volkswagen Layoffs May Exceed 15,000, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Arrested
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/09/2024: Re-framing of Priorities and Journalists
Links for the day
The Linux Foundation is Associating Linux With Scams and With Scam Sites Right Now (Like the Wife of Jim Zemlin Did)
they profit from the sellouts
Google's YouTube Already Blocking People Who Block Ads
YouTube feels like it's dying
Links 17/09/2024: More on Microsoft Cuts and XBox Backward Compatibility Issues
Links for the day
IBM is Acting No Better Than Patent Trolls, Preying on Smaller Companies by Suing Them With Software Patents
No Red Hat employee should tolerate this aggression by the employer
Something Has Gone Very Wrong at iTWire
"iTWire has descended into marketing spam"
The Hallmark of a Dying Company Running Low on Money (But Still Trying to Hide That)
Microsoft should look into selling red markers
UEFI 'Secure' Boot Has Put Security at Risk, Suggests New Report
We're vindicated once again
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 16, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, September 16, 2024
Links 17/09/2024: China Sanctions and Breadth of Latest Microsoft Layoffs Elaborated Upon
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/09/2024: Small Improvements in Carbon Capture and Pseudo-Productivity In Java
Links for the day
'Open'AI Looks Like a Company Headed Towards Bankruptcy, Not IPO, Losses Grew Almost Tenfold in a Year (Yes, it's Just a Bubble Facilitated by Artificial Hype)
This isn't going to end well, especially not for Microsoft
Apple is Canceling Products, Services, Even Lays Off Staff in Large Numbers Every Few Months
Apple cancelling some more things
Later on Elon Musk Wonders Why Large Nations Block His Pet 'Social Control Media' (Incitement/Radicalisation) Platform...
This isn't a question of "censorship" because there's a call to kill
Microsoft: Layoffs Are Growth
Orwell would have loved this newspeak
Links 16/09/2024: Verizon Layoffs, 'Tram Driver Olympics', and Anniversary of Mahsa Amini's Death
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/09/2024: ROOPHLOCH and MyGemini.Space
Links for the day
Invidious Instances Explain What Google/YouTube (Alphabet/Pentagon) Did To Them This Past Week
They're unambiguous about this
Dr. Richard M. Stallman (RMS) on How to Make People Care About Free Software and Why Prohibiting Proprietary Software Would Not Work
"maybe a similar general approach could work with non-Free software as a way of discouraging it from being a successful business."
Please Quit Uploading Event Talks (Especially of Free Software) to YouTube
This is enshittification
Links 16/09/2024: Shrinking Economy, Climate Issues, Soaring Energy Costs
Links for the day
'Former' Microsofter Jason Perlow Left Linux Foundation
The "communication" people from the Linux Foundation are basically scammers
MyGem Launched to Make Adoption of Gemini Protocol (With Gemini Hosting) a Lot Easier
a new week and also a new capsule
Disregard for History is Disregard for (Computer) Science
They're killing the real entrepreneurs and innovators
Dr. Richard M. Stallman (RMS) on His Hobbies and Health
Answering a question from the audience in Germany
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 15, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, September 15, 2024
Gemini Links 16/09/2024: billsmugs.com Becomes rainywhile.net, Zaurus on Internet
Links for the day