Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Horrible State of the US Patent System With Its Infamous Software Patents and the Latest Deception From Patent Lawyers-Dominated Media

Sheep can be bamboozled by the patent wolves in sheep clothing

Sheep and wolf



Summary: A roundup of recent articles about software patents and how media which targets patent lawyers (and is often managed and authored by them) covered the subject

THE US patent system has attracted worldwide ridicule for patent trolls and for low-quality patents. It got a lot worse in recent years as the number of granted patents doubled (without innovation actually doubling). A new article by Daniel Nazer from the EFF, who dunked his article in at least a couple of places [1, 2], is putting to shame a software patent. "This month," he wrote, "we feature yet another patent that takes an ordinary business practice and does it on a computer. Our winner is US Patent No. 8,738,435, titled "Method and apparatus for presenting personalized content relating to offered products and services." As you might guess from its title, the patent claims the idea of sending a personalized marketing message using a computer."



"Who benefits here other than the patent 'industry'?"These patents tend to be as trivial as they sound. No wonder a lot of patent trolls strike everywhere and people are shocked by the poor patent quality at the USPTO, where almost every patent application is now successful. To invalidate patents in a court it costs a lot of money, so settlement is often a lot cheaper, even when the patent at hand is provably bogus. Consider Apple's "Slide-to-Unlock" patent, which we wrote about before (even years ago). Apple's latest patent loss was covered by Professor Dennis Crouch a few days later and IAM meanwhile showed that it's rather upset because phones are to be sold at a price less than patent tax (‘royalties’). This massive patent tax, which can artificially bring the price of phones up to $1000 apiece, helps patent laywers and maximalists. Why did it take so many years for the courts to finally be convinced that the stupid "Slide-to-Unlock" lunacy is not patent-eligible? Will Apple appeal (or petition to appeal), ensuring this drags on in the courts for several more years to come? Who benefits here other than the patent 'industry'? Who foots the bill if not Samsung, which can pass down the cost of litigation to customers?

"They make it sound like terrible news. Well, it is perhaps for patent lawyers and other patent maximalists."The patent maximalists have just noted "a record year [2015] for" realisation that many patents granted by the USPTO should never have been granted in the first place. It's about PTAB, which we wrote about the other day. "This is the year the US patent pendulum swings back," said another new headline from patent maximalists, noting: "It’s been tough going for patent owners in the US over recent years, with legislation, the courts and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the USPTO increasing uncertainty over validity and enforcement; this has reduced the incentives alleged infringers have to make deals, while also pushing down patent values. Now, though, things may be about to change..."

They make it sound like terrible news. Well, it is perhaps for patent lawyers and other patent maximalists. "Examiner's comment regarding use of DDR Holdings in 101/Alice rejection," was noted by Patent Buddy the other day, "everyone argues that case and we don’t know what it means."

"Objective analysis or salesmanship?"Another site of patent maximalists (although a more restrained one when it comes to that) took note of PTAB and asked: "Does the Patent Act permit the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to make inter partes review institution decisions?"

In simple terms, all the above are very much concerned about the ability to kill patents even without them being brought before a court (patent litigation). What we strive to show here is the sheer bias, where those who profit from patents but don't actually make anything bemoan the new reality (post-2012 and post-2014, one being a reform and the latter being Alice at SCOTUS).

Trying to get software patents in Singapore? Well, as viewed from patent maximalists' eyes (MIP), that's all fine and dandy. Trying to get software patents in Korea? HANOL Intellectual Property & Law is trying to help with its 'opinions' and 'articles'. The situation is explained by patent lawyers in Korea. Objective analysis or salesmanship?

"We blame this on self-serving patent lawyers steering it all, from media to policy."Looking at IAM, another one of those patent maximalists' sites, even the Chinese patent bubble is noted there [1, 2]. Surely they hope that not only Europe but east Asia too will follow the terrible model of the US patent system. Here they are fawning and drooling over patent trolls in Europe -- trolls from whom they can make money. Patent thickets and patent taxes are being broadened even further with all sorts of aggregates like WiLAN, so patent lawyers show some glee (with revenue steams like these, what lawyers would not be jubilant?) and say: "This deal comes amid what has been a transformative period for WiLAN. Last June it acquired a portfolio of around 7,000 assets formerly owned by Qimonda. It followed that by announcing that it had agreed a privateering deal with Freescale Semiconductor in which Freescale agreed to transfer more than 3,300 patents to the NPE" (it means patent troll).

There is so much misinformation out there about patents. We blame this on self-serving patent lawyers steering it all, from media to policy. Technical people must at least try to get involved and get the record straight, otherwise they'll get harmed.

Pieter Hintjens, the former President of the FFII, said some days ago: "A lesson I learned many years ago, fighting software patents: if your communities don't do politics, politics will do you." He then added: "To do politics: identify your enemy, understand them, then raise their costs to an unbearable level."

Recent Techrights' Posts

[Meme] 9AM Meeting at Brett Wilson LLP
Brett Wilson LLP in space
 
Links 18/07/2025: Peace With PKK and Connie Francis Dies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/07/2025: Alhena 5.1.8 and Bornhack 2025
Links for the day
How to Top Up a "Limited Liability" With Even More Limitations (Dodging Accountability in the UK)
Some people call it a "shell game". Sometimes it's done for tax evasion purposes.
Free Software Foundation, Inc. (FSF) Inches Towards 75% of Fund-Raising Target
Will the cutoff date be extended again?
Gemini Space (or Geminispace) Grows, But Usage of Certificate Authority Let's Encrypt Drops Further
Ideally, all Gemini capsules should use self-signed certificates
Links 18/07/2025: More Microsoft Layoffs in Activision, The New Stack (Sponsored by Microsoft) Complains About Openwashing
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/07/2025: OCC25 Gnus for Reading Usenet and RSS Feeds, Small Web Updates
Links for the day
Listing as Staff People Who Left the Company More Than Six Years Earlier
There are apparently no laws against that
Brian Fagioli Shovels Up LLM Slop (Plagiarism) Onto Slashdot, Then Uses Slashdot for Affirmation or as Badge of Honour
Notice how some of his latest slop is presented ("as featured on Slashdot")
Social Control Media Productivity
Snapping photos of the bone
The Law Firm SLAPPing Us For the Microsofters Lost 72% of Its Tangible Assets in the Past Year, According to Its Own Reports
That might help explain why they're willing to tolerate serial stranglers from Microsoft as clients
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity.com Slopfarm and Slopfarms Propped Up by Google News
"As LLM slop is foisted onto the WWW in place of knowledge and real content, it now gets ingested and processed by other LLMs, creating a sort of ouroboros of crap."
Links 18/07/2025: Weather Events and Health Hazards
Links for the day
Microsoft's All-Time Low in Finland
Microsoft is in a freefall
Security: Shane Wegner & Debian statement of incompetence
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 17, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 17, 2025
Gemini Links 17/07/2025: "Goodreads for Gemini" and Defence of "The Small Web"
Links for the day
Links 17/07/2025: Anger and Morale Issues at Microsoft, Wars and Conflicts Get Digital
Links for the day
CALEA / CALEA2 is the Real Problem, Not Chinese Operatives Exploiting CALEA / CALEA2 (as Any Other Nation Can)
CALEA / CALEA2 is more of a front door than a back door
99.99% Uptime in First Half of 2025
Since January there was only one noticeable outage
Nils Torvalds and Anna "Mikke" Torvalds (née Törnqvis) Hopefully Use GNU/Linux by Now
"Torvalds Family Uses Windows, Not Linus’ Linux"
Attack of the Slopfarms
FUD-amplifying bots with slop images, slop text (LLM slop)
When People Call a Best/Close Friend of Bill Gates a "Serial Rapist"
Good thing that the Linux Foundation keeps the "Linux" trademark ("Linux Mark") clean
Not My Problem, I Don't Care
Context/inspiration: Martin Niemöller
Honest Journalism About the European Patent Office Ceased to Exist After SLAPPs and Bribes to the Media
The EPO is basically a Mafia
Microsoft Bankruptcy in Russia, Shutdown in Pakistan, What Next?
It seems possible that in 2025 alone Microsoft will have laid off over 50,000 workers
Life Became Simpler When I Stopped Driving and I Don't Miss Driving When I See "Modern" Cars
Gee, wonder why car sales have plummeted...
Why I Believe Brett Wilson LLP and Its Microsoft Clients Are All Toast
So far our legal strategy has worked perfectly
EPO Jobs Are Very Toxic and Bad for One's Health
Health first, not monopolies
Response to Ryo Suwito Regarding the Four Freedoms
the point of life isn't to make more money
Microsoft's Morale Circling Down the Drain
Or gutter, toilet etc.
What Matters More Than "Market Share"
The goal is freedom, not "market share"
Tech Used to be Fun. To Many of Us It's Still Fun.
You can just watch it from afar and make fun of it all
Links 17/07/2025: "Blog Identity Crisis" and Openwashing by Nvidia
Links for the day
Greffiers and the US Attorney of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft
The lawsuit can help expose extensive corruption in the American court system as well
Credit Suisse collapse obfuscated Parreaux, Thiébaud & Partners scandal
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
The People Who Promoted systemd in Debian Also Promote Wayland
This is not politics
UK Media Under Threat: Cannot Report on Data Breach, Cannot Report on Microsoft Staff Strangling Women
The story of super injunction (in the British media this week, years late)
Victims of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft, Alex Balabhadra Graveley, Wanted to Sue Him But Lacked the Funds (He Attacked Their Finances)
Having spoken to victims of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft
Links 17/07/2025: Science, Hardware, and Censorship
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/07/2025: Staying in the "Small Web" and Back on ICQ
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 16, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Under the Guise of "MIT Technology Review Insights" the Site MIT Technology Review Posts Corporate Spam as 'Articles'
Some of the articles aren't even articles but 'hit pieces' against Free software and some are paid advertisements
Brett Wilson LLP Has Track Record in Scam Coin Cases (e.g. Craig Wright and More), Now It Works for 'Crypto' Scam Purveyors
But wait, it gets worse
Exclusive: corruption in Tribunals, Greffiers, from protection rackets to cat whisperers
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Will Brett Wilson LLP Handle Its Own Winding Up Petition or be Struck Off for Overt Abuse of Process?
Today we sue not only the first Microsofter
Links 16/07/2025: Chip Bans and Microsoft’s “Digital Escort” Program
Links for the day
Ubuntu Becomes Microsoft GitHub, Based on Decision Made by British Army Officer
You're hopeless, Canonical
Revolving Doors: One Day You're a Judge, the Next Day You're an Attorney Paying Public Officials and Working for Violent and Dangerous Microsoft Employees
how the US justice system works
Sharing Code and Recipes
It helps explain the triviality of software freedom
Slopwatch: Noise, Plagiarism and Even Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt/Fear-mongering/Dramatisation
What are we meant to do to prevent a false association or misleading connotations? Game the LLMs? No. Boycott slopfarms.
How Many Women Has Microsoft's Alex Balabhadra Graveley Already Strangled and Where Does That End?
If you too are a victim of this man and wish to share information, contact us
Gemini Links 16/07/2025: BaseLibre Numerical System and Simple Web Browsing with TLS
Links for the day
Links 16/07/2025: Fascist Slop Takes "Intelligence" Clothing, New Criminal Case Against MElon
Links for the day
"We Might Save Somebody's Life"
I follow the example of my father
Why I am Suing the Serial Strangler From Microsoft, Alex Balabhadra Graveley, in the UK High Court This Week
Out of respect to the process and to the Court, I shall not share any pertinent details about the case
Links 16/07/2025: China’s Economy Grows Steadily, France Takes Action Regarding Harm to Children by GAFAM and Fentanylware (TikTok)
Links for the day
It is Not About Politics
Beware the people who try to make this about politics
Good Journalism Saves Lives
a shocking number of women die or get seriously hurt every day due to violence from a partner
Recognition of Women's Contributions to Free Software
Being passive is not an option when bad things are happening
Slopfarms Are Going to Perish Because Public Opinion is Changing
Many slopfarms will simply go offline
19 Years of Standing Up for Justice, Equality, and Truth
This week we shall take it up a notch
Gemini Links 16/07/2025: Tmux and OCC25 Working TLS
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 15, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 15, 2025