Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patents Roundup: India Fights Software Patents, BSA Intervention, Trolls League

Software patents protest in India



The good folks from India are said to be "conducting a National Public meeting on software Patents on October 4th." There is already a draft and an announcement might come tomorrow, Boycott Novell was informed. A lot of organisations are likely to be joining with an initial list here. By name:

1. Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore 2. Free Software Users Group, Bangalore 3. Free Software Foundation of India, Mumbai 4. Society For Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment, Trivandrum 5. IT for Change, Bangalore 6. Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore 7. Delhi Science Forum, Delhi 8. Movingrepublic, Kerala 9. OpenSpace, Bangalore 10. Swathanthra Malayalam Computing, Kerala 11. Servelots - Janastu, Bangalore 12. Mahiti, Bangalore 13. DeepRoot Linux, Bangalore 14. Wiki Ocean, Pune [TBC] 15. Turtle Linux Lab, Bangalore 16. Zyxware Technologies, Trivandrum 17. INSAF(Indian Social Action Forum) 18. Aneka, Bangalore


There is also an article in the Indian press which discusses the problem. It comes from a "Special Correspondent":

The patenting regime was dominated by a form of lifelong royalty levy in which software was equated with any other artifact—one could patent just about anything: from a single-click buying business method to drop-boxes on a website. “India should avoid the mistakes of the U.S.”


In this coverage of a talk from Richard Stallman, the problem is being acknowledged again.

He [Richard Stallman] pointed out many of the problems with software patents and the difficulties with being able to develop software independently. If you have any sort of success, you might easily run afoul of someone that claims a patent on your idea. He games examples of the gzip/pkzip fiasco and a few others. He showed how hard it is to find a patent, decipher the filings, and even the problems with patents that are under consideration. All pose problems and Mr. Stallman is right, we need to do something.


For those who have not seen Richard Stallman talking about patents, here's a bundle.

Watch what the BSA, which serves Microsoft's software patents agenda in Europe [1, 2, 3], is reported to have just done.

I was arguing at the recent Knowright2008 conference in Krakow (Poland) why software authors lost their rights with software patents. I was explaining why the Berne Convention which protects software under a copyright regime (for source code and binary code) does not give space for software patents.

Here is the presentation: Sorry, no match for the embedded content.

After my presentation, the BSA representative mentioned his disagreement with my argumentation, saying that there is the "idea" and the "implementation".

Maybe there are Americans in the room to cite the First Amendment?


As pointed out the other day, one key point is that hardware takes money to reproduce. It would be insane to limit development of something which can be produce by anyone very quickly and then spread infinitely. That would be an artificial obstruction of free-flowing trade. In particular, as this new post emphasises, patents harm small businesses (not to be confused with small patent trolls) the most.

This post on software patents and copyrights and everything else in between is a means of letting off steam caused by reading news that Apple is taking ideas from commercial softwares being actively sold and trying to get patents for those ideas posing as concepts of their own. Yes: Ideas and concepts Apple has not conceived themselves but would like to legally call their own and demand, if and whenever they like, a royalty from anyone building on those ideas — or, in the worst case scenario, sever competition. Patents are considered evil and bad, and there are good reasons why.

Apple is not the only company who is doing it. Most big companies do it; have done it in the past. It has almost become a trend: big companies openly filching ideas from commercial softwares not their own, and attempting to patent those ideas as their own. For example, here we see Microsoft finally being granted a patent on “Page Up” and “Page Down” keystrokes. As another example, Microsoft owns a patent on the “Tree-View” mode we have come to love in many file-system applications. These are merely examples, and Microsoft and Apple are not the only big companies indulging in such practices.


Some days ago we mentioned Aruba Networks because it's a company which makes extensive use of GNU/Linux and Microsoft is rumoured to be seeking a takeover. Well, all that side, Aruba has just resorted to using its patents as well. It's a cross-fire. [via Digital Majority]

Aruba Networks says that it has filed a patent infringement countersuit against Motorola, Symbol, and Wireless Valley. The countersuit concerns Motorola's (and its subsidiaries') claimed infringement of two Aruba patents related to managing wireless computer networks and network security.


A league of patent trolls is being established over in IAM and there is now an overview.

Joff Wild over at the IAM Blog recently chatted with Dan McCurdy, chairman of PatentFreedom and CEO of Allied Security Trust, who is issuing a list of the most litigious non-practicing entities (aka "patent trolls") for the next issue of IAM Magazine.


Acacia tops the list with several ex-Microsoft executives among its ranks.

As GNU/Linux gains greater acceptance, the last (and someone new) barrier will be software patents, which are worth fighting even at the expense of Free software advocacy. Software patents are an artificial barrier and a case of moving goalposts. Having removed this barrier, advocacy of Free software will be a breeze.

One penguin
Can a person ever obtain a
patent on a Penguin? How about DNA?



Recent Techrights' Posts

Richard Stallman About to Give More Talks in Europe, Some Confirmed Already
In Göteborg
Justice for Wildlife
animals cannot speak to humans who hate animals
GNU Was Right 42+ Years Ago
Since then the abusive, user-hostile technology has spread like mushrooms
Almost Half of the FSFE's Money (the Fake 'FSF', Misusing the Brand) Comes From Vodafone
That money always comes with strings, even if they're invisible to most of us
 
Links 30/09/2025: Death Sentences, Internet Censorship, and Internet Shutdowns
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/09/2025: Social Control Media and ROOPHLOCH
Links for the day
Links 30/09/2025: CERN in "Have I Been Pwned" and More Windows TCO Blunders
Links for the day
Microsoft Canonical is Selling Mass Surveillance and Back Doors as "Security for Ubuntu"
If you are looking for a GNU/Linux distro to use, just remember that Microsoft has Ubuntu in the bag
Cowboys Gonna Be Cowboys (on the Internet, They're Not a New Problem)
Boys will be boys
Cowboys of the "Left" and Cowboys of the "Right"
Don't believe the lie that this is some "leftist" thing
When Codes of Conduct Serve to Protect Criminals From Much-Deserved Scrutiny
CoCs are typically unfit for purpose because enforcement lacks context and suitable understanding of the full background (the "full story")
It Took the Open Source Initiative (OSI) 4+ Years to Address the 'Data Breach' or Data Protection Violation Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) in March 2025
We may never know the dialogue or its nature
Even Microsoft's Biggest Boosters (and Media Operatives) Are Turning Against Microsoft
Expect many more layoffs before the fake "results" next month
Old Isn't Always Inadequate
How many gadgets manufactured today (in 2025) will still work in 2075?
The Monkey Business of Rust People
Compatibility won't matter
Microsoft Lunduke Spreads Deliberate Lies to Incite Online Mobs
Has he lost his reading comprehension skills?
Our 19th Birthday (in Just Over 5 Weeks From Now)
We meanwhile have ongoing, solid plans to cover patent-related issues when the FSF turns 40
British GNU/Linux Distro FydeOS Tops DistroWatch
That seems like a decent site and decent effort to keep an eye on
We'll Soon Have 75,000 GemText Pages
avoid many perils of today's Web
Google Used Free Software to Build a Monopoly. Now Google Kicks Free Software to the Curb
The "G" in "Google" does not stand for GNU. It never did. It's just another greedy company.
Gemini Links 30/09/2025: Retro Hardware, Federated Fragmentation, and Nex Server Written in C
Links for the day
4 More Days Till "4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users"
We are now just 4 days away from the rare anniversary
Two Months After Merging to Hide GitHub Losses Microsoft is Doing It Again (This Time Windows)
Merging those two together is not a sign of strength but a tightening of budget
Speculations About the Next Large Wave of IBM/Red Hat Layoffs
the mass layoffs are likely to happen on week 3 or 4 in October
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 29, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 29, 2025
Links 29/09/2025: Opposition to Surveillance Giant Google and Conflicts Worldwide (Moldova Sides With EU)
Links for the day
Why the EPO Never Managed to Silence Us (After Over a Decade of Trying)
Firms like Mishcon de Reya and Brett Wilson LLP contribute to a bad stigma, staining the entire occupation
Links 29/09/2025: Datacenter Fires and "Too Much Internet Use Is Changing Teenage Brains"
Links for the day
Almost a Couple of Years After Microsoft Hijacked the Name 'Sudo' (to Describe Unrelated Windows Stuff) Microsoft Canonical Breaks Sudo in Ubuntu
These are vandals in "goodwill" or "security" clothing
Does the Good Law Project (GLP) Know the Director of Brett Wilson LLP Deems It OK to Endorse Violent Actions Against Trans People?
We were miffed to see this morning's report
Names Are Not Unique IDs and the UK Government's "Digital ID System" Would be a Nightmare
Digital surveillance, "apps", and worse (all the time)
What is Roy and Rianne's Righteously Royalty-free RSS Reader?
A news reader that uses OPML files and parses RSS feeds
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Turns 40 in 5 Days
We should be talking about software freedom, not "Open Source"
It Feels Like Brett Wilson LLP Has Just Tacitly Admitted That It Defamed Me
It arguably admitted many other things by refusing to deny or address them (altogether)
Stefano Maffulli's Front Page Mentions "AI" 11 Times
They're more focused on slop (plagiarism) than sharing or Software Freedom
CMS Rot
With "modern" (bloated) content management systems (CMSs) there is a long chain of dependencies
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 28, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 28, 2025
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About Linux 6.17 and Microsoft Meddling in Linux Development
today's Slopwatch is short because the picks are from Sunday
Gemini Links 29/09/2025: The Labor Wars and Retro
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Windows TCO, Security Breaches, and Deutsche Bahn Woes
Links for the day
Datacentres Aren't Reliable for Backups
bad practices cause immeasurable levels of permanent data losses each and every day
Links 28/09/2025: Science, Censorship, and Security Incidents/Advisories
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/09/2025: Golem and Cybertrucks
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Moldova Elections, LLM Slop Failing Again to Accomplish Anything
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Slop Does More Harm, Newly Released Epstein Estate Documents
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) 'Going Private' (the Dictator's Media Allies) and UK Mirror Lays Off More Journalists
Links for the day
A Year Ago, Only a Few Weeks After We Countersued the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI', Our Webhost Came Under Attack
At the end of September 2024 our webhost received several threats
If Only Someone Warned Us About This...
Ubuntu is committing suicide with Rusty code
The Register - Kissing the hand that feeds it
hired to manage the publication several people connected to Microsoft, including the new Editor in Chief
The Myths of "Linux" and of "Intelligence"
As noted this morning
People Remembered GNU's Birthday (Which Helps Remind People It All Started in 1983, Not 1991)
Have the FSF and GNU earned the respect they deserve?
Slopwatch: Ponzi Schemes Promoted by Media Companies, Linux Journal Turning Its 30-Year Reputation to Dust, and Serial Slopper Brian Fagioli Plagiarising, As Usual
This bubble will end up very badly
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 27, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 27, 2025