Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patent Trolls Like Finjan Holdings and Thomas Edison; the Latest Loss for Software Patents in the US and Their Move to China

China is copying a failed experiment

Chinese teapot



Summary: A look at the very latest patent news, which suggests further improvements in the US, pushback from the patent microcosm, and an outsourcing of a terrible system to Chinese territories, where the overpatenting plague grows rapidly

PATENT scope went out of control back in the days of David Kappos and some of his predecessors at the USPTO. They made it their goal to simply increase the pace of patenting irrespective of patent quality -- the same mistake the EPO is now making under Battistelli's truly awful leadership. In the process, the USPTO granted a lot of patents on software (algorithms). This, in turn, gave rise to patent trolls.



Speaking of patent trolls, remember Finjan? It is a nasty patent troll that received money (along with other support) from Microsoft and now goes after legitimate companies. Its new press release (from today) says in the summary: "Avast's Acquisition of AVG Has Resulted in Claims for Breach of Contract and Infringement on Finjan's Patents" (suing via Finjan Holdings, as usual).

Trolls will be trolls.

"Speaking of patent trolls, remember Finjan? It is a nasty patent troll that received money (along with other support) from Microsoft and now goes after legitimate companies."Remember that Thomas Edison (now a patent icon) was a patent troll; he was not an epic inventor but a famous 'thief' (of ideas). Now see this new article by Jason Rantanen regarding a book he has read. "I recently read Graham Moore’s The Last Days of Night," he said, "a tale about the patent war between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse from the point of view of Paul Cravath, the young lawyer representing Westinghouse (and yes, that Cravath). The book is historical fiction (which means that it consists of made up/condensed elements set within the broader landscape of historical evidence), but many of the themes within it ring true today. Among them are divergent views of the role of patents in technological development. Edison personifies the corporation-as-inventor, with his organized system for inventing. Westinghouse embodies the practical aspects of invention–the need to take a technology and make it into a commercial reality. And Nikola Tesla is the “flash of genius” inventor who invents for the love of inventing rather than for material rewards."

In the field of software, where a lot of code gets published as Free/Open Source software, people receive credit for their work through attribution, reuse, etc. They don't want or need to pursue patents. Those who want software patents typically develop no software at all; they don't even know how to. The patenting of software is pointless as it's the domain of copyrights, not patents.

"The patenting of software is pointless as it's the domain of copyrights, not patents."Watchtroll, which has resorted to publishing press releases (desperate for money perhaps; software patents are a dying business), is still complaining that PTAB is fixing patent scope (i.e. more of the same) and Law 360, which targets the patent microcosm, says that "Kinglite Loses Final Round In PTAB Software Patent Fight" in an article published over the weekend (behind paywall) to say:

Kinglite Loses Final Round In PTAB Software Patent Fight



Claims in two Kinglite Holdings Inc. computer software patents were found invalid Thursday, capping a spate of recent decisions from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board involving more than a dozen patents owned by the Singapore company.

The PTAB said a group of computer hardware companies, led by American Megatrends Inc., had persuasively shown all claims in one Kinglite patent were obvious. Numerous claims in a second patent were also found to be unpatentable.


Another site which favours software patents has just written a little rant about €§ 101/Alice. To quote:

Refusing to consider only elements of patent claims that differed from the prior art in considering patent-eligibility under the test of Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank and 35 U.S.C. €§ 101, a court has denied a defendant’s motion to dismiss. Capstan AG Systems, Inc. v. Raven Indus., Inc., No. 16-cv-04132-DDC-KGS (D. Kans. Jan 11, 2017). The patents-in-suit, U.S. Patent Numbers 8,191,795 and 8,523,085, claim systems and methods for controlling valves of agricultural sprayers. For example, the claimed invention controlled flow rates to provide even spraying when a tractor was turning.


It seems rather apparent that the "golden age" of software patents in the US is over, but over in China the disease of these patents -- and trolls that accompany such patents -- is spreading. See this new article which deals with patents on graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and the latest from IAM, which suggests an expectation of increase in patent litigation:

Back in December, Supreme People’s Court vice president Tao Kaiyuan told media that top authorities were considering the introduction of a national IP appeals court for China. Details are sparse at the moment, but the nation’s top court is likely to be consulting with stakeholders now in order to come up with a more detailed proposal. Madame Tao is a heavy hitter in the Chinese IP policy world, and has been an advocate of both specialised courts and a greater IP role for the judiciary (versus administrative bodies). Her comments are a good indication of what shape the next round of IP reform in China will take.


It sometimes seems like not only jobs are moving to China but so do software patents (which nobody wants anyway) and patent trolls.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Representing and Speaking for Animals
If I ever choose to take this matter to tribunal with animals-centric NGOs on my side, it'll get some press coverage for sure
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About "Linux", Slop Images in VentureBeat, Linux Foundation Spam Made With LLM Slop and Slop Images
The only relief or upside - if any exists - is that the pace of slop was down a bit this week
Richard Stallman (RMS) Talk in Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress Will be Remote
This past week RMS received lots of accolades online
 
Links 29/08/2025: Lisa Cook Sues Convicted Felon and Backdoor Mandate in UK Resisted
Links for the day
Links 29/08/2025: Arti 1.5.0, War on Public Health (CDC), and Slop 'Bros' Made to Pay for Their Mass Plagiarism
Links for the day
No, 4Chan is Not Fighting for You by Lawyering Up Against Ofcom (UK)
Don't mistake proto-fascists for people who "fight for you". They don't.
Downlplaying the Impact of "UEFI 9/11" is a Losing Strategy
we won't publish much whilst on holiday
In Many Places in the World Vista 11 "Market Share" is Going Down, Not Up
In some countries Windows is already down to third place or lower
More Microsoft-Connected Layoffs, at Least Third Time This Month! (Also Another Death on Campus)
Microsoft as a "gaming" company is where studios, projects, games, and even developers come to die
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 28, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 28, 2025
Gemini Links 29/08/2025: Poems, Games, and Java 25 Performance
Links for the day
Links 28/08/2025: Greenland 'Interferences' by US and Skinnerboxes to Get Banned in Korean Schools
Links for the day
The Register MS (Run by Microsoft Operatives): Free Software is Putin, Hence Evil and Dangerous
The current editor in chief is an American Microsofter, the previous one went to work for Google (US)
Links 28/08/2025: Chatbots Distorting/Fabricating History and Also Driving Suicide
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/08/2025: Back in Japan and Why "Hacker News" Sucks
Links for the day
A Much-Needed Wake-up Call to Users of Wordpress.com, Blogspot, Substack and All Those Other Outsourced (and Centralised) Platforms
There are several lessons in there
The UEFI 9/11 - Part II - Campaign of Censorship and Defamation Against Critics
In dictatorships, humour serves an important role. It's tragic.
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Resists Software Freedom, Even by Attacking Its Own
The OSI is compromised
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 27, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Slopwatch: linuxsecurity.com, Slopfarms in Google News, and More
Some readers of ours end up sending us links that are from slopfarms, not realising those are slopfarms
Gemini Links 27/08/2025: Katrina Memories and Google Versus Software Freedom
Links for the day
Links 27/08/2025: Police Against Media Freedom in the UK, Energy-Hungry Countries Targeted by China
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows Fell to All-Time Lows in Egypt This Summer, Vista 11 Adoption Decreases While GNU/Linux Increases
Vista 11 is going down rather than up
Links 27/08/2025: Microsoft Demoralises Staff With Slop Demands, Leaving Mastodon Explained
Links for the day
12 Hours Ago The Register MS Published a Fake (Paid-for) Article, But This One for a Change Did Not Promote a Ponzi Scheme
There are also Free software alternatives, but they don't pay The Register MS for "synthetic" so-called 'journalism'
More People Need to Call Out and Put a Stop to Serial Sloppers
Unless slopfarms are stopped, people will read and share Microsoft propaganda made by chatbots
Gemini Links 27/08/2025: Headphones and Tartarus
Links for the day
Morale at Microsoft is Terrible (Proprietary Plagiarism Machines Have No Future, LLM Slop is a Bubble)
The slop sceptics/critics are going to have lots of "told you so" moments
GNOME "governance issues, staff reduction, etc." amidst Albanian whistleblowing and women trafficking
Notice the connection to Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) and GNOME
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, August 26, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, August 26, 2025