Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patents Roundup: More Resources In Re Bilski

Summary: News, blogs, and video about the Bilski case

THE following are noteworthy articles and snippets about the latest phase in the Bilski saga.

Accountants, consumer groups push for passage of legislation to eliminate tax strategy patents

While the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case that will determine if a way of thinking about a problem can be protected by a business methods patent, a group of accountants and consumer groups is hoping to eliminate tax strategy patents, a subset of the business methods class, using the legislative route.


Bilski CLE Options

On Monday, November 9, 2009, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in In re Bilski, and two CLE providers plan to offer same day or next day coverage of the proceedings.


'Bilski': Software firms eye key patent case at Supreme Court

Patentable Subject Matter After 'Bilski'

The juxtaposition of Bilski and Prometheus demonstrates the far reaching implications of the question of what is patentable subject matter for a diverse set of industries.


Two perspectives from Reuters:

i. U.S. top court to hear business method patent case

ii. Supreme Court skeptical of patents for hedging

But if the court tosses out the rule that business method innovations that involve a machine or transformation can be patented, what new rule should take its place? "How do we limit it (patentability) to something reasonable?" asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor. A decision is expected by the end of June.

John Whealan, of George Washington University Law School, said, "Eight justices talked. They all seemed not to agree with the plaintiff's argument."


Justices Hear Patent Case on Protecting the Abstract

The justices pressed J. Michael Jakes, a lawyer for Mr. Bilski and Mr. Warsaw, with hypothetical patents that they clearly found ludicrous. Justice Antonin Scalia suggested that under Mr. Jakes’s argument, a patent for “somebody who writes a book on how to win friends and influence people” might be allowed, while Justice Sotomayor suggested “the method of speed dating.”


Supreme Court Hears Bilski v. Kappos

Patent Hawk: 'Computer whiz Justice Stephen G. Breyer chimed in. "All you do is just have a set of instructions for saying how to set a computer to do it. Anyone can do that. Now, it's a machine."'

Lawyers Have Skewed Intuitions about Software Patents

Stewart claimed that loading software on a computer transforms it into a new machine by giving a computer “functionality it didn’t have before.” This argument doesn’t withstand close scrutiny. Obviously, it’s true that loading software on a computer gives it functionality it didn’t have before. But this is little different than saying that setting my alarm clock causes it to perform a function—waking me up at a particular time—that it wouldn’t have done otherwise. We don’t say a set alarm clock is a different machine than an unset alarm clock. It’s the same machine with different settings. Programming a computer is exactly like setting an alarm clock except that the computer can handle dramatically more complex instructions. If setting your alarm clock doesn’t create a new machine, then neither does installing Microsoft Word on your computer.


Court Is Cool to Patents on Methods

Justice Antonin Scalia said patents are given to inventions that are manufactured or produced by workmen, "not someone who writes a book about how to win friends and influence people."


Can You Patent a Cat and a Laser Pointer?

In 2007 alone, the Patent Office received over 10,000 applications for business-method patents. The current backlog is over 600,000 applications.


The following spoof about Bilski is circulating through some Web sites at the moment.



Related posts:



Recent Techrights' Posts

Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part IX: Minimum Wages For You (Experienced Scientist), Alicante/EU Paydays For Me (Unproductive, Corrupt Official)
Does UPRP maladministration extend to the false belief that qualified and experienced scientists can play the role of circus clowns?
"The Liberating Power of Simply Telling People the Truth."
'polite' bullying
Who Imitates Who? Plagiarist as Client (From Microsoft), 'Plagiarism' at the Law Firm?
let's revisit the subject
EPO's Central Staff Committee (CSC) Scrutinises the Man Who Illegally Grants (and Forces Others to Illegally Participate in Granting) Software Patents in Europe
EPO compels examiners to break the law in the name of obeying illegal "rules" or "orders"
The Latest Rumour Says The Next (as Correctly Predicted Before) Wave of Layoffs at Microsoft is 3 Weeks Away, "Larger Than the First Wave"
Step 2
TV Licensing Used to SPAM Your Postbox, Now It Does the Same to E-mail
First they ask for your E-mail address; then they start nagging you via E-mail
Our Priority is Still Tackling Software Patents and Corruption in Patent Offices
Meanwhile we got compliments on our recent articles, which means that they are effective
Slopwatch: Another Day, Another Slopfest, LLM Slop Scrapers Slow Down Our Site
We too have some slop issues; this past day this site and the sister site had to answer about 2.5 million requests (not counting Gemini Protocol) and it's slowing things down for everybody
 
Links 12/06/2025: Portland Homeless Deaths Quadruple, COVID Cases Surge in Asia
Links for the day
EPO's Gareth Lord Asked About "Quality and Productivity" or, Put Another Way, Why the EPO Keeps Granting So Many Invalid/Illegal Patents
letter to Lord
The Toxic Playbook
Either you support Prince Mohammed bin Salman or you're a nazi
It's Possible That BetaNews Got Cracked, But Nobody Talks About It, The Site Contains an Outdated Old Image, No Activity
It's possible that they will never explain what happened to the site and users' accounts
Links 12/06/2025: Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/06/2025: Video Game Diegesis and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Why the Militants Have Lost Every Battle Since 2022 (When Attacking My Wife and I in Various Ways, Even Attacking Our Employers)
This takes patience, sure, but at the end most evildoers face the consequences for their actions
Politics Will Impact Software Choices
Will those systems respect users' freedom?
EPO: Neglecting Children to Promote American Monopolies by Shielding Them From European Competition
Yesterday the Central Staff Committee at the EPO spoke about another "reform" at the Office
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 11, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Links 11/06/2025: More Vulnerabilities Found in 'Smart' Phones, China Extends Reach in the Pacific
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/06/2025: Grain and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Links 11/06/2025: "Quantum" Hype From IBM, US Closer to Martial Law, and “The Nation” Celebrates Milestone
Links for the day
IBM's CEO Roasted, Sizzled and Grilled for Dumb and Inconsistent Vapourware Promises
It looks like being a chronic liar is what it takes to lead the company once synonymous with computing
IBM's Goal Is Not (and Never Was) Computer Users' Freedom
More than 1.5 decades ago I found IBM to be an "ally of convenience" because of OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Wayland Shows the IBM/Red Hat Way of Doing Things
IBM is trying to 'kill' X
GitHub is Proprietary, Controlled by Microsoft, and GPL Violation Warehouse
"IRS tax filing software [will be] released to the people as free software" ... In general this is good news
Slopfarm Catastrophe
Seems like BetaNews (or BetaNoise) has just suffered a major data loss and restored the site from a week-old backup
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VIII: Illegal Working Conditions
How many people need to die for these people to get their massive salaries?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Links 10/06/2025: Apple Hype and Physical Attacks on Bloggers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/06/2025: Loon Lake, Farming, and Forth
Links for the day
Links 10/06/2025: Jaws at 50 and US Democracy Crushed Very Rapidly (Martial Law Seems Imminent)
Links for the day
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VII: Washing Their Hands After Corruption and Abuse
"Tragedy or comedy?"
Culling Bad RSS Feeds of Bad Sites
Not throwing out the baby with the bathwater
If 'Microsoft v Techrights' is Dealt With by a 'Microsoft Court' (or a Court Outsourced to Microsoft)
More on that later
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 09, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 09, 2025
Gemini Protocol Turns Six in 10 Days From Now
If you haven't tried it yet, then give it a go today
Live as You Preach
technology is fast becoming dysphoric