Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patents Roundup: Apple and Microsoft Extremely Busy with Patents as the Patent Bubble Finally Bursts

Soap bubble



Summary: Foes of software freedom accumulate patents and get sued; the USPTO sees considerable decline in business

GNU/Linux users should definitely care about patent law because it is a threat to Free software. The president of the FFII points out that OpenBTS is now explicitly saying: "If you hold GSM patent licenses, you cannot redistribute OpenBTS under GPLv3."



There is nothing wrong with the GPLv3. It merely defends users from software patents, which are a form of monopoly.

According to TechDirt, when Apple is not fighting with patents, it is actually acquiring more of them.

Apple Trying To Patent Anti-Tamper Tape



[...]

Apparently, Apple is trying to patent anti-tamper tape. The patent application, for a "tamper resistant label for detecting device openings," describes some adhesive tape that could be placed inside devices, which would get torn or damaged if someone opened the device. It seems like there's a ton of prior art here.


More wood thrown into the fire.

Watch what Microsoft is patenting. From the summary in Slashdot:

Microsoft Invents Price-Gouging the Least Influential



"In the world envisioned by Microsoft's just-published patent application for Social Marketing, monopolists will maximize revenue by charging prices inversely related to the perceived influence an individual has on others. Microsoft gives an example of a pricing model that charges different people $0, $5, $10, $20, or $25 for the identical item based on the influence the purchaser wields. A presentation describing the revenue optimization scheme earned one of the three inventors applause (MS-Research video), and the so-called 'influence and exploit' strategies were also featured at WWW 2008 (PDF). The invention jibes nicely with Bill Gates's pending patents for identifying influencers. Welcome to the brave new world of analytics."


Here is Microsoft talking about "Licensing Secrets" in this new press release.

Success in Microsoft licensing demands extraordinary attention to detail and the fine print.


Well, they don't say.

This morning we wrote about Monsanto and Bill Gates. Glyn Moody gets around to addressing the subject too. It's about patents on life of animals and plants. In summary, Moody writes:

Amazingly, David Boies, the lawyer that led the attack on Microsoft during that investigation, is also invovled: he is representing Du Pont, one of Monsanto's rivals concerned about the latter's monopoly power.

Let's just hope that Monsanto becomes the subject of a full anti-trust action, and that the result is more effective than that applied to Microsoft. After all, we're not talking about software here, but the world's food supply, and monopolies - both intellectual and otherwise - are simply morally indefensible when billions of lives are stake.


For Microsoft, the affair with patents is a mixed bag. It is also being sued, this one being a new example.

Microsoft, Nokia, Amazon, others sued over hardware acceleration



[...]

A company called Nazomi Communications has sued a number of large companies for breaching patents it owns on hardware acceleration.


There is also this one:

A Massachusetts company that last week sued Microsoft Corp., alleging patent infringement, appears to be something akin to a homeless orphan.

NetView Technologies Inc. has no permanent address, and no full-time management. Regulatory filings, legal filings and the company’s Web site list three different addresses, two of which are residences registered to former executives. A third is a Waltham address that the company no longer occupies.


Apple is being sued too. From the news:

i. Apple sued for alleged infringement over iPhone camera

ii. Apple loses $21.7 million in patent suit, appeal in progress (mentioned here before)

iii. Apple getting sued again by patent profiteers

It must be hard to be as popular as Apple. You're always fighting the competition, who sometimes come late to the dance with a wannabee product, then deliver snarky punches into the kidneys with their TV ads. Even worse are the lawyers, who circle the company like a flock of vultures, picking away at whatever juicy bits of meat they can get.

But the true bottom feeders are the "patent trolls," a specific species of law firm that has picked up patents from companies that usually never brought a product to market.


Groklaw shares this comical post about the ill patent system and also shares the story of an infamous dilemma:

The Patent Reform Act of 2009 would replace the current “first-to-invent” (FTI) system with a new “first-inventor-to-file” (FITF) system. While touted as a way to harmonize the US system with “first-to-file” (FTF) systems used in other countries, an experimental investigation of a matrix of two hundred typical fact patterns for two competing inventors was analyzed under all three systems (FTI, FITF and FTF) to test this assumption. Based on the matrix analysis, it appears that if FITF is adopted there likely will be changes in applicant behavior and significant extra costs for at least several years as a result of the transition to a new system; and, it is unclear whether FITF really gets the US any closer to patent harmonization.


With this chart in mind, Groklaw also shares information about the decline of patents.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's fiscal year 2009 annual report indicates declining revenue and patent filings. Notably, there was both a dip in the backlog of patent applications and an increase in the time it takes for the agency to issue a patent. Some lawyers believe the former can be attributed in part to applicants abandoning applications because of the economic downturn.

The report, which the agency recently released without fanfare, detailed the agency's $135.9 million budget shortfall, or 6.8 percent of its $2.01 billion forecasted revenue. Fee collections totaled $1.87 billion.


Lastly, Groklaw shares this article about Ralph Nader calling for people to challenge the law rather than accept it blindly.

Lawyer and long-time activist says U.S. law schools don't spend enough time encouraging students to think critically about the law


People must challenge software patents and maybe patents as a whole. The legal profession is unlikely to initiate this because the legal profession (lawyers) is profiteering at the expense of scientists while these antiquated rules prevail.

Recent Techrights' Posts

New Article Explains How the GPL Came About and WordPress Having Copyleft Obligations
Having been involved in the WordPress development community since almost the beginning, I know why it chose the GPL and how it restricts abuse by Automattic
Dr Richard Stallman (RMS) Gives Talk in Oxford University in 4 Hours
If you live nearby, go there (it's free as in gratis)
Using a Law Firm's Licence to Exercise Politics Through Frivolous SLAPPs and Nastygrams (to Silence People, Remove Pages, Demand Fake or Forced 'Apologies')
Things must be getting really bad when lawyers act for raving antisemites
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 24, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 24, 2025
Links 24/04/2025: GAFAM Problems and No Peace (or Ceasefire) in Sight
Links for the day
Slopfarms on the Web Almost Always Generate Anti-Linux FUD When They Produce "Linux" Output
Welcome to the dying Web
Richard Stallman's Oxford Talk Has Just Ended, Here Are Some Photos
he might hop over to another European country
Gemini Links 24/04/2025: Birthday and Good Work of Academia in Esotericism
Links for the day
Links 24/04/2025: EU fines Apple and Facebook, Another Microsoft GitHub Security Blunder
Links for the day
IBM Gained Almost 6 Billion Dollars in "Goodwill" Value in Just 3 Months, According to IBM
Congrats to the management!
In Belarus, Yandex is Now Measured as 50 Times More 'Popular' (by Usage) Than Microsoft
Yandex continues to gain, whereas Bing cannot even register at 1%. Last month it was registered or measured at a measly 0.65%.
IBM Cannot Lie to Shareholders Anymore
"I would not be surprised if we see a layoff every quarter this year."
We're Working to Make Full-Site Search Available
This site has over 1,000 'wiki' pages, many thousands of documents, several thousands of videos, and about 50,000 blog posts or articles. We need to make them easier to find/navigate.
Links 24/04/2025: IBM Loses Many Contracts, Intel to Lay Off Over 20% (Not Counting Those Who Leave 'Voluntarily')
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Can Explain to Oxford Artificial Intelligence Society Why LLM Slop is Not Artificial Intelligence and Why It Hurts Society
another 'crop' of LLM slop that damages GNU/Linux and facts
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 23, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Promoting Microsoft and Proprietary Software Using Microsoft Operatives
Because nothing says "Open Source" like GPL violations facilitated by Microsoft
Another Site Bites the Dust: "Open Source For You" Becoming a Slopfarm (LLM Slop)
What a shame. Another dead site.
Links 23/04/2025: Crackdowns on Dissent, Palin Loses Libel Retrial Against New York Times
Links for the day
Links 23/04/2025: Hard Times and Digital Amnesia
Links for the day
The GNU/Linux Site Formerly Known as "linoxide.com" is Back... as an LLM Slopfarm!
Better for linoxide.com to go offline than to do this
Get Rid of Back Doors, Don't Obsess Over Bounties and Other Corporate PR Stunts (or Needless Reboot Rituals)
Security as a term has mostly lost its meaning due to repeated misuse for many years
Richard Stallman to Speak in Oxford University Exactly a Day From Now
outsourced to GAFAM
Links 23/04/2025: "Hiding Corruption" and "The Cost of Defunding Harvard"
Links for the day
Microsoft 'Studies' Again? Leon Musolff is Writing Papers With Microsoft.
Even if one can see/find a link to "the study" (in the Bezos-controlled publication), most people won't look any further and just take everything at face value.
Towards GNU World Domination
The FSF led by Geoffrey S. Knauth with his friend Richard Stallman in the FSF's Board [...] Let's encourage people to adopt GNU/Linux. There has never been a better time.
statCounter Helps Visualise Just How Deep in Trouble Microsoft is (Especially in Africa)
Microsoft sabotaged efforts to connect Africans and equip them with GNU/Linux laptops
The Register is Using Linux-Hostile Clickbait in Articles of Linux Proponents
Don't be a "whore" to advertisers, team El Reg
Microsoft Windows in Cyprus Lacking a Future
Most people access the Web there from mobile
Matrix Has a Severe Problem With Illegal Images
If Matrix cannot get the CP problem under control, many projects and people will dump Matrix
Never Try to Justify Strangulation of Women (Not in the US and Not in the UK)
Joint post by Mrs. Rianne Schestowitz and Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Links 23/04/2025: Tesla Profits Plunge 71%, Intel Ready to Lay Off 20% of Staff, Microsoft and IBM Layoffs
Links for the day
Microsoft's Most Profound Issue is That People Moved to 'Mobile' and "App Stores" (Microsoft's Presence There is Negligible)
Expect a wild ride for Microsoft this year
Google News is Amplifying FUD and Lies About Linux (and OpenSSH/SSH) by Promoting Slopfarms With Machine-Generated FUD and Slop Images
Google should know better
Gemini Links 23/04/2025: Librarians, Anubis, and Refactoring a Gemini Capsule
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 22, 2025