--Noam Chomsky
WE NOW know that Michelle Lee is definitely the Director of the USPTO (it's officially confirmed now), so sites like IAM and Watchtroll are obviously not happy (IAM is a special case, or a case apart, which we debunk regularly). They spent a lot of effort casting doubt, attacking Lee, and even promoting replacements to her (even though she had not been fired). We will never forget what they tried to accomplish; neither should Lee.
"Therein lies the power of lobbying."Shedding of doubt and uncertainty where there was none to begin with is a classic lobbying tactic and even Joe Mullin fell for it. He asked "Who’s in charge?" even when we already knew it was Lee and those who cited Mullin said "a FOIA request which could have been fulfilled by answering the simple question "Who is the office's acting director?" Instead, the patent office asked for a delay until March 10, citing a section of the law that allows for delay in "unusual circumstances.""
There was no legitimate basis for doubts about her place (secured by default) other than her face not yet showing up on the official site (after Trump's inauguration, whereupon many other faces disappeared from the site too). She was still effective in her position and signed documents accordingly. There was nothing mysterious about it. There was no scandal.
"Watchtroll is a very malicious site."Therein lies the power of lobbying. And lots of that lobbying, as even TechDirt pointed out at one point, could be traced back to Watchtroll -- a site that attacked Lee so often that we've lost track of the number of times.
"IBM seems eager to use these 'services', no matter how nefarious."To break down the latest software patents brainwash, it's just some incoherent nonsense with absolutely no connection between one thing and another. The author was just picking something random from the news (with the buzzwords of the day, "AI"), then wrongly asserting that it shows a need for software patents, even if the UK-IPO does not grant software patents. Here is an except: "Of course, not every step the government can take is a positive one, especially if it’s a backwards step, and nowhere is this more painfully apparent than in the United States. At the same time that our own federal government is evincing a great deal of skepticism as to the patentability of subject matter important to the AI sector, namely software, other nations are moving ahead with plans to improve intellectual property protections for such innovations. For example, new patent examination guidelines set to go into effect in China during early April will increase patent eligibility for software and business method inventions."
"It pays off to -- or there's plenty of money in -- being malicious."AI moves forward in spite of patents, not owing or thanks to them. But never mind all those pesky 'facts' and "so called judges". What Watchtroll is after is just some "alternative facts" or gross misinterpretations. That's just the usual from them (when they're not busy attacking the Director of the USPTO, the Justices, various judges and also appeal boards whose work they don't tolerate).
If you want to know where technology is headed, a great place to look is in a patent application database like the USPTO. One of the qualifications for getting a patent granted is “novelty,” which means new, similar innovations won’t appear anywhere else. Once enough data is collected from the database, it can be used to map out and predict unique advancements in specific areas of technology.
"Why do readers out there think there is barely any coverage of EPO scandals other than in Techrights?"We are very much saddened to see the state of so-called 'IP' blogs and several months ago we wrote a long rant about it. There are barely any sites at all countering that sort of nonsense; Groklaw no longer operates and few good sites like Against Monopoly seem to have gone defunct quite some time back.
Why do readers out there think there is barely any coverage of EPO scandals other than in Techrights? It just doesn't suit their business model, it does not attract advertisers and they would rather reprint "guest" posts or "sponsored" articles. It's a lot less risky, especially from a legal standpoint. There is no money in ideology, unlike PR/marketing/advertising.
"There is no money in ideology, unlike PR/marketing/advertising."Managing IP also wrote about this Sprint verdict (gigantic $140m patent case), but the above author, Joe Mullin, did a far better job covering it. He is at least balanced. To quote: "Sprint has been filing patent lawsuits over VoIP for more than a decade now, and the company may have just scored its biggest payout yet. On Friday, a jury in Sprint's home district of Kansas City said that Time Warner Cable, now part of Charter Communications, must pay $139.8 million (Verdict Form) for infringing several patents related to VoIP technology. The jury found that TWC's infringement was willful, which means that the judge could increase the damage award up to three times its value."
$139.8 million in one single case. Sites like IAM would likely hail/praise it as some sort of fantastic "success story" and proof of "innovation" or whatever, rather than what it really translates into (rich people getting a lot richer).
So. Farewell then Merpel.
You were A great Feline.
Though you Did appreciate An acrostic
This smacks Of a dishonourable Retreat
Strange Frankly
EJ Bringbackalib.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".
Shame on you, Merpel. It's impossible not to lose all respect.
As EPO employee, I have mixed feelings, which cannot be understood by someone from outside I guess. I am very thankful to The Kat for sharing well documented, precise news with a british humor. We found necessary that the outside world, and in particular the IP-world understands what the situation. I feel as well betrayed to see a major help leaving us, while Eponia goes deeper into its orwelian world: cameras everywhere, spy softwares on our computers, a kafkaian investigation unit, directors going mad if the world "quality" is whispered, heavy recruitement despite a files shortage preparing a future all in "flexibility", examiners working on short term contracts and distress in every corners. We are not allowed to speak. It is not an article in one generalist newspaper per semester, which will help broadcasting the situation. Dear Kat, I understand that you want to take some rest but WE NEED YOU.
one of the commenters consider the examiners to dig their own grave. It is easy to say when you rest comfortably on your couch not knowing what it means to work in a toxic environment everyday year in year out. Even a first class IP blog like IPkat is giving up commenting the terrible situation of Eponia (pressure? threats?), how is staff supposed to have sufficient means to say no to the sick, delirious demands we get from the management? Staff is suffering and every day adds a little more, up to the day where one gets a serious illness, depression, burn out or in the worst cases commits suicide. IPkat, I cannot understand you stop covering the EPO news. Are you a IP and European blog ? If so, not mentioning the EPO anymore simply means we are not doing your duty of informing about IP news. Renaming your blog IPkat "passionate about IP (except EPO - too dangerous) " would be more appropriate.
In a non-precedential opinion, the Federal Circuit has affirmed the district court’s confirmation of the arbitration award with the minor exception of interest calculation. Here, the arbitrator awards are powerful becaues they can only be overturned based upon quite “demanding standards” involving “manifestly disregard the law.” A portion of the award included what appears to be post-expiration royalties. However, the Federal Circuit held that the manifest-disregard standard is so high that even those damages cannot be vacated (one of the five patents has not yet expired).
This decision by Judge Moore recalls the Federal Circuit’s long history of rejecting district court claim constructions and also highlights Judge Moore’s formalistic approach to claim construction.
The Nebraska jury found Sprint liable for infringing Prism’s patents and awarded $30 million in reasonable-royalty damages. U.S. Patent Nos. 8,127,345 and 8,387,155.
"As is often the case in life, those who survive in the long run are those well funded (or greased up) by people who look to gain something from interjected bias and agenda, either lobbying, shameless self-promotion, self-censorship, or a wider combination of several/all those things."I truly miss Groklaw myself; this is the one site about so-called 'IP' which I knew was written by a legal professional (paralegal) who in no way had a stake in any corporation covered, nor in advertisers. As is often the case in life, those who survive in the long run are those well funded (or greased up) by people who look to gain something from interjected bias and agenda, either lobbying, shameless self-promotion, self-censorship, or a wider combination of several/all those things. It's a sordid world with sordid, submissive corporate media. ⬆
“If the media were honest, they would say, Look, here are the interests we represent and this is the framework within which we look at things. This is our set of beliefs and commitments. That’s what they would say, very much as their critics say. For example, I don’t try to hide my commitments, and the Washington Post and New York Times shouldn’t do it either. However, they must do it, because this mask of balance and objectivity is a crucial part of the propaganda function. In fact, they actually go beyond that. They try to present themselves as adversarial to power, as subversive, digging away at powerful institutions and undermining them. The academic profession plays along with this game.”
--Noam Chomsky