Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patent Maximalists Are Still Trying to Create a Patent Bubble in India

China is their "gold standard" because it grants a lot of patents on just about anything, even algorithms

City Palace, Udaipur



Summary: Litigation maximalists and patent zealots continue to taunt India, looking for an opportunity to sue over just about anything including abstract ideas because that's what they derive income from

EARLIER this week we mentioned IAM's puff piece for Dolby, which strives to encourage patent aggression in India. These companies make little more than patents and profit from "licensing" (otherwise they resort to lawsuits, either directly or indirectly). The EPO has already been tilted into this trap, whereas the USPTO moves further away from it after judges, lawmakers and so on recognised the threat.

"Last year IAM repeatedly shamed and smeared India over its unwillingness to allow software patents."IAM, the patent trolls' lobby, is still promoting partners that are patent aggressors ahead/amid their patent lobbying event, facilitated by IAM as usual. Check the list of sponsors; it's rather revealing. It's like a litigation powerhouse/cartel's think tank and IAM gloats about it using phrases like "create maximum IP value" (they also call patent-trolling "monetisation"). They tweet things like this: "difficulty of obtaining business method patents makes protecting IP rights through contractual means all the more important" (remember that India does not allow business method patents and software patents).

Last year IAM repeatedly shamed and smeared India over its unwillingness to allow software patents. We documented plenty of examples. IAM is basically a pressure group and to find out who backs this pressure group check the lists of sponsors. Even the EPO's PR agency is among them. And lots of patent trolls. They're not always transparent enough about it, just rather evasive and smug.

"IAM is basically a pressure group and to find out who backs this pressure group check the lists of sponsors."Yesterday, as usual, IAM wrote about "Chinese patent explosion". When it looks like a bubble, sounds like a bubble, smells like a bubble etc. then it's definitely a patent bubble. But IAM fronts for patent trolls, so it's loving it! Trolling has soared in China. Massive growth. IAM would just call that "NPE" or "monetisation"...

Yesterday (same as above) Watchtroll's Meredith Addy used bizarre sunscreen comparisons/analogies to direct towards China scaremongering, by which she meant to lobby for patent maximalism and Armageddon (again) in the US. She wrote this:

This of course alludes to the ongoing erosion of patent values domestically, while an increasing number of patents are being sought in other jurisdictions, including in China.

Leave aside for a moment a judgment about the innovation economy in China. What are our priorities? Growing the US economy through a stable and fruitful environment for innovators? Or government micro-management of issues that should be handled in the home?


"Growing the US economy" by giving more jobs to litigators? That is what she meant. Because these people got accustomed to making a living out of making other people's (technical people) lives miserable. She already revealed where she stands when she wrote a rant a month ago at Watchtroll.

"The question is, what's more important? People who speak in court (and threaten behind closed doors/in legal letters) or people who actually produce stuff?"Remember that what's good for patent law firms (or patent troll firms) is often bad for technical firms and vice versa. The question is, what's more important? People who speak in court (and threaten behind closed doors/in legal letters) or people who actually produce stuff?

Recent Techrights' Posts

Free Speech Around the World is Curtailed in the Name of "Protecting Us"
We have spent many years speaking about how to combat this trend
Recent Site Changes and Looking Towards 2026
In November 2026 we turn 20
Mozilla Firefox is Probably Already Below 2% in the UK (United Kingdom)
LibreWolf identifies as "Firefox" by default
When You Don't Want to Tinker Much You Just Use GNU/Linux, Not Windows
With GNU/Linux upgrades are possible and, failing that, one can just back up the home directory and copy it "back into" the new OS
Coming Soon, the Next Chapter About the Crisis of the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We're far from done
Expect GNU/Linux to Rise Sharply in China
But Red China won't trust Red Hat (IBM), which works for the Pentagon and keeps the "secret sauce" for its OS secret (just what Americans accused China of doing with its distros)
 
Links 17/03/2025: "Badly Misled About Covid" and "Gag of America"
Links for the day
The Lie or Half-Truth of Clownflare (or Equivalents) Improving Things
It may seem "cheap" (temporarily) and "fast", but that's just bait
Enshittification of Online Media
Now more than ever we must fight for independent press
War Readiness Means Removing Every Windows Installation and CALEA-Compliant Equipment
Finland is vulnerable for a whole bunch of reasons
Reporting Facts is Not a Privacy Violation
Techrights has long valued and defended privacy
In the Russian Federation (Russia), Microsoft Isn't Even the 1%
the government builds "homegrown" (not pertinent parts of them) distros with which to replace Microsoft, not just Windows
Gemini Links 17/03/2025: "Hack the Planet", Klingnauer Stausee, and Enshittification
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 16, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 16, 2025
Slow News Cycles Are Part of a Trend, Technology Gravitating Towards Rich People's Interests
This issue isn't limited to the Web
Facebook REALLY, REALLY, R E A L L Y Does Not Want You to Read This Book
It would be a CRIME to read it
Illuminating Microsoft's Code of Conduct (CoC) Hypocrisy
Oppressor victimhood? Leadership claimed by the worst offenders?
Planet Ubuntu - or Ubuntu Planet - Has an LLM Slop Problem (Called Faizul "Piju" 9M2PJU)
Does investigative reporting have any future at all?
Links 16/03/2025: Handwriting Comeback and "MElon’s Attack on U.S.A.I.D."
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/03/2025: "Differences Distance" and "Dopamine-addicted Pigeon"
Links for the day
Links 16/03/2025: American Press Under Attack, "France Offers to Take in US Scientists"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/03/2025: Threats to Canada and How to Process News Online
Links for the day
Links 16/03/2025: Growing Tariff Hostilities and Social Media Surveillance
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 15, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, March 15, 2025
Gemini Links 15/03/2025: Sleeping in March, Headless Raspberry Pi 4
Links for the day
Links 15/03/2025: Hey Hi (AI) Hype Waning, Microsoft and Apple Ridiculed for Vapourware
Links for the day
Many Reports About Microsoft Layoffs Are LLM Slop Based on Other LLM Slop (From Microsoft-controlled LLMs That Downplay the Layoffs or Give Badly Outdated Data)
The LLM slopfarms also dilute/derank actual news about Linux by pushing Microsoft Azure instead; it's a spamfest!
When You Expose Corporate Crimes, Misconduct and Lies They Harasses and Troll You. Then You Write About the Harassment and Trolling and They Allege It's "All Personal".
protect women's safety
Gemini Links 15/03/2025: Bandcamp and DST
Links for the day
Links 15/03/2025: Albania TikTok Ban, No Skinnerboxes in Danish Schools
Links for the day
Sierra Leone: Android Up to Record Highs, Windows Falls to Record Lows of Almost 5% (15 Years Ago It Was 100%)
This is what happens when about 83% of Web requests come from mobile
Margarita Manterola (marga, Google) & Debian DebConf13 Swiss venue intrigue
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, March 14, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, March 14, 2025