Bonum Certa Men Certa

Japan Demonstrates Sanity on SEP Policy While US Patent Policy is Influenced by Lobbyists

Last year: Delrahim to head Justice Department antitrust unit

Revolving Door: Makan Delrahim Employment Summary Reference: Revolving Door: Makan Delrahim Employment Summary



Summary: Japan's commendable response to a classic pattern of patent misuse; US patent policy is still being subjected to never-ending intervention and there is now a lobbyist in charge of antitrust matters and a lawyer in charge of the US patent office (both Trump appointees)

PATENTS are about markets and competition. They're about publishing of ideas without risk to one's business. The Japan Patent Office (JPO) seems to understand that patents which cannot be worked around, e.g. because they're essential for standards compliance, are a barrier to markets and competition. These patents can actively damage progress in science and technology -- something which the USPTO proclaims to be promoting.



"The Japan Patent Office (JPO) seems to understand that patents which cannot be worked around, e.g. because they're essential for standards compliance, are a barrier to markets and competition."As we've been noting repeatedly in recent years, Japan's courts got tougher on software patents. It wasn't always the case. Japan's government also gets it better than the Trump administration, where lobbyist Delrahim is now in charge of antitrust matters. The US, which fails to understand the concept of antitrust, would do its industry irreparable damage for the sake of few large corporations (like Qualcomm); Japan is at least recognising the issue with SEP. It is taking action. We last wrote about that a couple of days ago, citing Japenese bloggers.

"Patent owners have little to worry about in JPO plans for SEP reviews," IAM stated yesterday, having published this damage-controlling piece for the patent aggressors/trolls it stands for. To quote:

The Japan Patent Office (JPO) last week unveiled a new service that will see it weigh in on the standing of Japanese patents declared standards essential. When it was first announced last November, this system was perceived as offering a defensive tool to implementers. But the draft guidelines for the scheme, helpfully translated in part here by Satoshi Watanabe of Watanabe Research and Consulting, have foreclosed that possibility.

The essentiality checks fall under an existing programme called Hantei, in which the JPO provides non-binding advisory opinions on whether a particular patent covers a particular product. The service costs just around $400 and issued 97 decisions in 2016. Currently, this review can be requested by either a product manufacturer or a patent owner.


IAM's hostility towards Japan can only grow if Japan embraces policy that impedes patent trolls. Last year, for example, IAM repeatedly attacked India. Why? Because its patent policy is quite rational and software patents are in principle not permitted.

As always, there's that irksome lobby of the patent trolls. It wants to undermine patent policy or tilt things in its favour.

"As we've been noting repeatedly in recent years, Japan's courts got tougher on software patents."Aaric Eisenstein, writing for Watchtroll yesterday, is now publicly sucking up to Iancu, lobbying him to abolish PTAB (as usual from Watchtroll) among other things. Those are some of the same interests as IAM's. Follow the money.

Then there's the Koch-funded think tank for patent trolls (and against PTAB). It now says you "MUST READ" its letter which it describes with: "No empirical study has demonstrated that a patent-owner’s request for injunctive relief after . . . infringement of its property rights has ever resulted either in consumer harm or in slowing down the pace of technological innovation."

"As always, there's that irksome lobby of the patent trolls. It wants to undermine patent policy or tilt things in its favour."Who wrote this? See the list. It's just the patent maximalists' lobby (some funded by the biggest patent bullies, e.g. David Kappos). To quote: "Signatories to the letter include Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the D.C. Circuit, former Chief Judge Paul Michel of the Federal Circuit, former FTC Commissioner Joshua D. Wright, and former Director of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office David Kappos, among others."

IAM promoted this letter some days ago. It's signed by the usual suspects. We know what they want and why they want it. We also know who funds some of them. That's pretty revealing.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Hate Mail From Anonymous Cowards
if this persists, we'll need to escalate
Informal Open Letter to the Lawyer of the Microsofters (on Who's Funding the SLAPPs Against Techrights)
Whenever I ask about the funding they try to change the subject and act all aggressive
Microsoft Lunduke is Just Provoking People for Provocation's Sake
Be forewarned and remember where this guy came from: Microsoft
 
Most of Geminispace Can Probably Fit on a CD-ROM or a DVD (the Textual Part)
If one excludes very large capsules and ones that contain non-textual contenty
Eventually UEFI 'Secure Boot' Will be Dropped (Users Will Demand Its Removal and Boycott Its Pushers)
we expect OEMs will just listen to users
The Register MS: We Know Slop is a Bubble and Mindless Hype, But We Get Paid to Participate
Call out the culprits
There Are Probably Over a Million Pages in Geminispace
there are two many limitations which merit a mention when it comes to assessing magnitude
Besieged by Plagiarists Who Play With LLMs and Image Fusions
We really need to exercise or use our collective voice to oppose Serial Sloppers
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 08, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 08, 2025
Gemini Links 09/08/2025: Water Painting and Political Violence
Links for the day
Slopwatch: LLM Sloppers in Google News, LinuxSecurity, and More
they also perpetuate some falsehoods as the LLMs lack any comprehension
Links 08/08/2025: China King of Plastics and US Dictator Plans to Meet Russian Dictator
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: Cracking a Family Member's Password and Overdose of Slop
Links for the day
Red Hat's Latest Talent Hunt, Day Ahead of Mass Layoffs, is Yet Another Microsoft Executive
Red Hat will apparently commence mass layoffs early this coming Monday
Links 08/08/2025: "Quit Facebook" and High Cost of Microsoft/Windows Shown Again ("BlackSuit")
Links for the day
Good Morning, Readers of The Register MS
Things The Register MS could (but does not) cover this morning
Why Gemini Protocol Has a Bright Future
Maybe Gemini Protocol's promise becomes more appealing as the Web turns to slop and bloat
It's a Lot Easier to Participate in the Unethical System Than to Oppose Injustices in It
Going after powerful and high-budget interests is never easy
Microsofters Filed Two SLAPPs Against Us, Now They Cannot Keep Up With Judges' Orders
For over 4 months already their facilitator in London has been under investigation by British authorities because of what's being done to my wife and I
Censorship Regarding Red Hat Layoffs
Talk about this? They'd rather not.
Struggling to Cut Costs, Microsoft Continues Shutting Down and Cancelling Stuff This Month
There are August layoffs at Microsoft
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 07, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 07, 2025
Fake 'Linux' Articles, Written by Bots to Take Traffic Away From Real Articles
LLM slop helps replace information with junk or misinformation
When Google's Googlebombing of "Gemini" Was Not Enough; They Now Also Googlebomb "Gemini Space"?
We know GAFAM not only worries about Gemini Protocol but also attempts to 'infiltrate' Geminispace
The Register MS Promotes Microsoft Slop, Assumes All Readers Use Microsoft Windows
Microsoft really dominates the site
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: KDE/Qt Development and What's Missing From "Retro"
Links for the day
Links 07/08/2025: US Punishes India Instead of Russia, Attacks Law Firms to Prevent Scrutiny
Links for the day
Read Us in Geminispace as Well
it's definitely a lot simpler than using a Web browser
Once a Site About BSD and GNU/Linux, and After Months of Silence, LinuxBSDos.com Comes Back Only as a Slopfarm
very frustrating
Links 07/08/2025: Hardware Wars, Mass Recall of Colgate Total Clean Mint, More Microsoft Holes Found
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/08/2025: "Right To Manage" and LoRa Analysis
Links for the day
For the First Time in a Month OSI's "OpenSource.org" Blogs and It's Basically a Microsoft Blog Post (Microsoft Controls OSI)
For the first time in a month OSI writes something and it is Microsoft propaganda composed by a Microsoft-salaried operative
Microsoft, Already Borrowing 3 Billion Dollars a Month, is Trying to Cause Many People to Resign
MSN (i.e. Microsoft) and others openly admit it
GAFAM 'Says' is Front Page "News"
The point of journalism is to check and assess facts, not parrot what people and companies merely claim
Links 07/08/2025: Apple Makes False Promises, More Trouble for Microsoft
Links for the day
OSS Didn't Always Mean Open Source Software
"oligarchs all the way down"
The Register MS Does More Microsoft Sez or GitHub Sez (Says) Pieces
60 minutes ago
They Want Activists to Just Barely Walk and Eat, Not Do Activism Anymore
It's sort of like the ending of '1984'
Quit Perpetuating the Narrative of Gemini Protocol 'Dying' (It's False)
The "whisper campaign" against Gemini Protocol
Criticising Social Control Media in Social Control Media
Many people are quitting Social Control Media (fewer of them announce this in public)
Non-Free JavaScript Programs in Banks Aren't Even the Biggest Problem
Technology was supposed to make life easier; in practice, however, for most of us the opposite effect can be observed
Slopfarms Are Typically Fake News
Slopfarms typically relay falsehoods
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: Replacing a Pocket Watch and Buying in Bulk
Links for the day
IBM is Obliterating Fedora
"Fedora releases were shipping with an increasing number of bugs on launch day even while I was using it for a several year stretch."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 06, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 06, 2025