Bonum Certa Men Certa

Broader Acceptance in the United States That Software Patents Are Worthless, But Element Data Has Just Paid for Some

Some folks have literally burned their patents

Bin of Software Patents



Summary: The "acceptance" stage follows the agony of the patents 'industry', realising that it is incredibly hard to win in a courtroom any cases with software patents (never mind barriers at the USPTO and PTAB)

"A software patent may take $50,000 and 10 years to obtain, at which point the technology is obsolete," says this new article (from yesterday). Indeed, software patents are a waste of time and money, more so after Alice (2014). Why is anyone ever willing to pursue these? According to recent rumours, USPTO examiners may soon abolish software patents.



"Every computer program is abstract. This means that using words like "technical", "invention", "effect" or "device" (or pseudo-novelly buzzwords like "IoT" and "cloud") won't change the underlying nature."Yesterday we saw another new example of the patent microcosm pretending not to understand that software patents -- as per Alice as well -- are abstract and thus passé. Here is what Patently-O wrote:

One of the struggles of the Subject Matter Eligibility test is understanding the definition of the legal term “abstract idea.” The Supreme Court has used the term “abstract” in many other areas of law – perhaps most pointedly in the area of standing and the requirement of a concrete, non-abstract harm.


Every computer program is abstract. This means that using words like "technical", "invention", "effect" or "device" (or pseudo-novelly buzzwords like "IoT" and "cloud") won't change the underlying nature. Expert witnesses don't care for terms like "AI" and certainly not "over the Internet" or "on a phone". They're beyond all that marketing. They can deconstruct the concepts and it all boils down to algorithms, reducible to mathematics.

It's 2017, so of course software patents are no longer defensible in court. They're found to be invalid almost every time, yet yesterday this software patents booster wrote: "Its Monday, so of course IBM had patent application rejected as "abstract idea" by PTAB: https://e-foia.uspto.gov/Foia/RetrievePdf?system=BPAI&flNm=fd2016005041-10-31-2017-1 …"

"It's 2017, so of course software patents are no longer defensible in court."Rightly so. This is the same IBM which lobbies hard against Alice and uses dirty tricks for that lobbying. We wrote many articles about that.

And speaking of software patents, this Microsoft-aligned site now speaks about Element Data buying patents of Auguri, a company with just half a dozen employees.

Element Data announced another acquisition today. The Seattle-area machine learning startup has purchased the technology assets and patents from Auguri Corporation, a small Silicon Valley company that describes itself as “a decision support software platform.”

Auguri employed six people and will shut down as a result of the deal. Its chairman, Fadi Micaelian, will join Element Data as its new senior vice president of innovation and partnership, and will remain in California.


Google reveals quite a few patents of/regarding "Auguri Corporation" and peeking at a few of these, they're software patents. If Element Data thought it was getting a bargain with these patents (not people), it would be wrong. The headline says "Element Data buys patents," but what if none of these is enforceable in court?

Recent Techrights' Posts

One Person's Take on Jef Spaleta, the New Fedora Project Leader
"With a little searching, I wonder what else may be found regarding Microsoft."
LLM Slop Has Virtually Killed unixmen.com and Many Other Sites
There's no longer any incentive to write real articles in there
Taking a Moral Stand Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and the Worst Offenders/Facilitators
Any other stance would sidle with moral depravity or moral hazard
France: Apple and Microsoft Down, GNU/Linux Up to New Record Levels
How will tariffs against France impact things in the coming months?
 
In Iraq, Windows 3.1 (Percent)
There's also zero
Links 06/04/2025: Flood, Cool Gemini Capsule, and Long Form
Links for the day
Links 06/04/2025: Science, Politics, and Pricier Goods
Links for the day
Sharp Declines for Microsoft Windows in Bangladesh (Pop. ~175,000,000), Big Gains for GNU/Linux
Microsoft Windows has been having a really hard time in poor countries
Links 06/04/2025: Fake Reviews, Privatisation Heists, and "AI" as Smokescreen for Impoverishing Humans
Links for the day
Links 06/04/2025: Many New Acts of Repression and Elements of Financial Depression
Links for the day
In Qatar GNU/Linux Rose From Under 1% to Over 4% in Two Years (or Over 5% If Counting ChromeOS)
It's a big improvement compared to what we saw last year
LLM Scrapers Are a Nuisance, But They're Also a Reminder It's Time to Make Your Site Static
Perhaps the best protection is the ability to endure surges
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 05, 2025
Links 06/04/2025: Attacks on Education, Fake Patents, and Fake (Illegal) Patent Courts
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: What Was Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
We hope to finish this whole lot within a week, then move on to election, lobbying etc.
Links 05/04/2025: Tariffs Backfiring, YouTuber Arrested, X/Twitter Set to be Fined
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Offline is For Everyone, Copyright Colonialism, and More
Links for the day
Links 05/04/2025: TikTok Unsold (Still), Royal Society is Dead
Links for the day
Techrights Will Spend the Next Few Years Writing a Lot About Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
It's a growing problem
The State of EPO Staff's Health in Rijswijk or The Hague
We're going to cover the EPO some more later in the month
NVIDIA Corp Lost 36% of Its "Value" Since Cheeto Inauguration, But "Gen Hey Hi" (GenAI) is Totally Not a Bubble
Selling loads of unneeded hardware based on hysterical hype; like selling shovels during a Gold Rush
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia, Windows by Default No More?
GNU/Linux is now on the shelf
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux 'Articles' From Linux-Hostile LLMs
It is almost always negative things and nobody can be held responsible for it except the charlatans prompting the LLMs
Links 05/04/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) "Sale Looks Highly Imminent" (US), Stock Market Drowning in Panic
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Moving Plants, No to Smartwatches, RAID Hygiene
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 04, 2025
Techrights Has Dealt With More Potent SLAPPs Than Violent Microsofters Begging to Hide What They Did to Women
I became accustomed to SLAPPs
Links 04/04/2025: Fury in South Korea, Flight MH370 Remains Mystery
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Anger and Raspberry Pi CM4
Links for the day
Links 04/04/2025: LLM Slop Bubble Bursting and Korea Music Copyright Association Bans Slop 'Music'
Links for the day
Traf-O-Data, the Company That Jeffrey Epstein's BFF (Bill Gates) (Co)Founded 53 Years and Went Out of Business Due to Heavy Losses
Who will die first, Bill or Microsoft?
Why Microsoft's Shares Sank Almost 20% in Recent Months (the Bubble is Imploding)
verified press reports from the past 24 hours
A Note on SimilarWeb
Or why SimilarWeb is meaningless for more than 99% of the sites on the Web
GNU/Linux Rises to Almost 5% in Algeria While Windows Sinks to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux grew tenfold
Where to Get More Gags
A valued reader recommended that to us
Links 04/04/2025: Tech Stock (Inc. GAFAM) Fall, Google Pretends to Do End-to-End Encrypted Emails (With Google in Control)
Links for the day
IBM Said to be Shutting Down Offices or Sites in the United States
the press can no longer avoid admitting that IBM moves many jobs to India
To Participate in Fedora Diversity You Must Use Proprietary Software
Not for the first time either
LLM Slop as Attack Vector on the Reputation of Linux
The attacks on Linux have escalated to information warfare
Yandex About to Be Three Times Bigger Than Microsoft (Bing) in Asia
That's about 60% of the world's population
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Decoupling Updates, Elaho as Gemini Client
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 03, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 03, 2025