Bonum Certa Men Certa

Alice/Section 101 is Fine Because Copyrights Already Cover Software and Patents Are Inadequate for Code

But IBM, Watchtroll et al continue to set up lobbying events against Section 101 (not to mention jurist-bashing tactics)

Patent Lawyers' Tears



Summary: The world has moved away from (or beyond) software patenting and companies/firms that rely on such patents try to sabotage progress, sometimes by bashing courts

THE world generally rejects software patents. Sure, the EPO and USPTO make it possible to overcome restrictions using buzzwords and semantic tricks; but courts and appeal boards (BoA/PTAB) aren't quite falling for it.

"...Bangladesh should reject software patents like the rest of the world (bar China) does."Hours ago we saw this new article from the Dhaka Tribune. It's titled "Minister urges for immediate measures to reform IP laws for ICT" (the term "ICT" is one of those notorious buzzwords that the EPO likes to use). But Bangladesh should reject software patents like the rest of the world (bar China) does. Here's the core paragraph:

Thanking Tina Jabeen for her passionate efforts to secure proper sustenance for the budding startups in the country, Mustafa Jabbar took a trip down the memory lane to elaborate the upward transition of the ICT sector in Bangladesh. “Back in our time there was no procedure to register a software, but when there is a will, there's way and I kept applying for the patent of my product despite repeated rejections. When I applied for the patent in 1992, there was not a single person in the responsible department who could examine the product,” he told the audience about his struggle to patent the iconic software Bijoy. “Fortunately for me, an official came to my rescue and took the responsibility to inspect. It was in 2004 when I reapplied and it took four full years for me to finally get the patent. However, things have drastically changed and the procedures are way simpler now,” he added.


This almost perpetuates the false assumption that one patent covers an entire program, potentially conflating copyrights with patents. He speaks of a "procedure to register a software" as if patent applications are a registration process.

"He speaks of a "procedure to register a software" as if patent applications are a registration process."Mythology about patents has become widespread. Patent maximalists like to 'name-drop' "innovation", "protection" and so on. They typically admit that they never even wrote a computer program. They don't understand programming.

The other day, writing about Tesla's latest legal ordeal, Josh Landau (CCIA) said that "Nikola got it all wrong."

The "Cult Of Patents" has basically created an untenable situation where stuff covered by copyrights is now being patented too: designs!

To quote Landau:

Last week, Nikola sued Tesla over advanced technology trucks. But it isn’t about the technology. It’s not AC vs. DC or Edison vs. Tesla. It isn’t even about electric vehicles (or hydrogen-electric trucks, Nikola’s chosen technology).

It’s about the shapes of windshields and doors. It’s about design patents.

And Nikola got it all wrong.

[...]

Different curvatures, a gentler rounding at the bottom right corner and a sharper one at the top. The Tesla windshield also exhibits a significantly larger difference between tallest and shortest portions, extending much further down the nose of the truck.

And that’s just the infringement argument. If you want to claim that your wrap windshield patent covers all wrap windshields, I think that Italian automaker Lancia (among many, many others) might have had something to say about that around 40 years ago.


How does one get a patent on mere curves? What would Bézier say? Why are windshield patented? Who's responsible for such a patent grant?

Unfortunately, among patent maximalists at least, this is considered to be "normal". They don't care about patent quality and if they actually do care, it is because they hate patent quality. They actively combat improvement in quality.

"They don't care about patent quality and if they actually do care, it is because they hate patent quality. They actively combat improvement in quality."Consider Watchtroll's tweet from a few days ago: "Matt Troyer from Anaqua predicts Patent No. 10,000,000 will issue on June 18, 2018, and it will be issued to Qualcomm on Application 13/666670."

This "Cult Of Patents" (Watchtroll/Anaqua in this case) is obsessing over mere numbers rather than substance. They're diluting and reducing the value of pertinent patents -- a dime a dozen at this pace!

The corresponding article is titled "Predicting Patent Number 10,000,000" and it was composed by Matt Troyer from Anaqua, basically a bunch patent maximlists who profit from an abundance of patents (that's what their product is for). The greater the number of patents, the more messy the repository of US patents will become. So they sell "solutions". Now they obsess over the 10,000,000 mark (as laughable as it is; there aren't 10,000,000 inventions). As readers may recall, they did this some months back and we wrote several rebuttals to their nonsense. It's not as though the sheer quantity is what's worth celebrating; they should speak about quality.

"This "Cult Of Patents" (Watchtroll/Anaqua in this case) is obsessing over mere numbers rather than substance. They're diluting and reducing the value of pertinent patents -- a dime a dozen at this pace!"It has, in the meantime, emerged that IBM implicitly attacks the US Supreme Court for doing the right thing about patents (namely improving patent quality) and it also uses former USPTO and IBM staff to lobby on it. We see that the Koch-funded think tankers, people who are paid to attack PTAB, are really boosting David Kappos this month. It's about IIPCC (US IP & Innovation Policy). Kevin Madigan wrote: "Former @uspto Director Dave Kappos: the US #patent system has been degraded by standard setting organizations that are stacked against innovators [...] Qualcomm’s Laurie Self: with the onset of 5G, the patent system must help protect the massive amount of investment in R&D that has revolutionized cellular technology..."

Well, guess who's behind this event: the former employer of Kappos (IBM), Qualcomm and so on. This whole event is like another think tank -- mere scaremongering from IBM, Kappos and others. Watchtroll has just boosted it. Watchtroll plays a major role in this propaganda. They're perpetuating the lie about "uncertainty" ("uncertainty created by the Supreme Court") and just prior to it Watchtroll had this article from Manny Schecter (IBM) in which he again attacked Section 101 and the Supreme Court. IBM continues to associate with and write for judge-bashing maniacs who promote patent Armageddon. This, to us, shows that IBM not only promotes software patents but deserves bankruptcy. It's an enemy of software developers.

"Well, guess who's behind this event: the former employer of Kappos (IBM), Qualcomm and so on. This whole event is like another think tank -- mere scaremongering from IBM, Kappos and others."Schecter's concluding words: "And now, as we embark into the unknown with nearly limitless computing power in the fields of quantum computing, artificial intelligence, cyber security, medical diagnostics, and biotechnology, and in fields that have not even been thought of yet, do we really want to continue with a weakened patent system that throughout our history played such a key role in promoting “the Progress of Science and useful Arts” to bring us to this technologically-advanced state?"

It didn't take long for Watchtroll's Gene Quinn to attack the courts again. The following day he published an article titled "Is the Supreme Court anti-patent?"

This is the latest court-bashing or judge-bashing article from Watchtroll. That's all they have left. Attack the person/s. Just because of Alice.

Speaking of Alice, it was mentioned on the same day as Schecter's article:

What kinds of trends are you seeing in patent law? The one that's kind of a little bit of an old story right now is the Supreme Court's 2014 Alice decision, which says you cannot patent an abstract concept.


That includes software/algorithms.

"This is the latest court-bashing or judge-bashing article from Watchtroll. That's all they have left. Attack the person/s. Just because of Alice."Meanwhile, in another public forum (think tank), IAM reported/quoted: "MacKenzie - i might be in a minority but i like where Alice [101] is right now. if you have to read a claim 10 times and you still have no idea what it's claiming then that's bad..."

When one has a crooked boss like Battistelli (at the EPO) this means that the examiner gets all confused, grants a patent anyway. Later this weekend we'll show some of the latest buzzwords and tricks being employed. Scholars Michael Frakes and Melissa Wasserman recently wrote about this phenomenon in relation to the USPTO.

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM's Payroll: Cannot Even Pay the People What They're Legally Entitled to
How financially-stressed is IBM at this point?
IBM 'Dinobabies' Speak Out
"They want newbies out of school at a much cheaper rate"
 
Slop About "linux" in Google News
Once people recognise that those sites are fake it's hard to 'unsee' what they are
An American War on GNU/Linux, Software Freedom, and British Investigative, Science-Based Reporting - Part V - Attempts to Take Down and Suppress Criticism of Back Doors Controlled by Microsoft and the American Government
The cost of maintaining illusions
Slides From the European Patent Office (EPO) Explain Why They're Striking, How They're Striking, and What Comes Next
A week from now the strike will go ahead
GAFAM Datacentres Are Facilities of War, So Risk of Downtime by Missiles or State-Sponsored Cracking Has Vastly Increased
How safe is your business in "clown computing" or DCs marked as some "legitimate targets" at wartime?
Companies That Take Away Blood and Sweat From the Community to Sell a Ponzi Scheme to Everybody
We need Free software that is run by communities
1,234 People Gather Online to Plan Next EPO Strikes and Other Industrial Actions
yesterday an online gathering orchestrated the next moves by EPO staff
Links 11/03/2026: Fake Videos Swarm YouTube, "Ukraine Can Now Manufacture ‘China-Free’ Drones"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/03/2026: Lagrange for iOS and Android and "Turning a Folder of Git Repos Into Project Launcher"
Links for the day
Kafkaesque: Unlawful Activities in the UK to Cover Up Unlawful Activities in the United States of America
Why is bribery and even extortion seen is OK? Because rich people do those things?
Former IBM Executive, Ron Hovsepian, Doomed S.u.S.E. (SUSE)
SUSE is like a child nobody wants to raise
Quiet Layoffs or Silent Layoffs Alleged at Microsoft
Will some investigative journalists do their job now and ask Microsoft tough questions?
After a Long Lull LinuxTeck (linuxteck.com) Came Back Only as a Slopfarm
Unlike Linuxiac, LinuxTeck wasn't very active in recent years
Links 11/03/2026: EPO and USPTO Software Patents Thrown Out Again, Copyright Concerns Over Slop (Plagiarism Using Buzzwords)
Links for the day
Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 9 Out of 200: 5RB Barrister Does Not Even Know the Name of His Own Client (That He Was Paid Well Over $200,000 to 'Speak' or 'Cover' for)
If you assault women in the United States, there's a barrister available for you in the UK
IBM's Fedora is Now Led by GAFAM Slop
The official word of Fedora is partly slop
Links 11/03/2026: "Drill, Baby, Drill" and Social Control Media Recognised as Threat to Democracy
Links for the day
5 Years Since Freenode Conflict
IRC isn't going away
A Week Ahead of Next EPO Strike the Staff Representatives Show the Administrative Council That the Office Lost the Best Staff, It's No Longer Attractive
the message circulated regarding the open letter to the Administrative Council
Jeff Bezos as an Individual Said to Have Enough Capital to Buy IBM
Assuming a market capitalisation of 234.70 billion
Starting Soon: Another New Series About Richard Stallman
There are some inside stories we can tell
Gemini Links 11/03/2026: School, Code Slop, and "Fancy Weapons"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 10, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Geminispace Continues to Grow
Geminispace Will Soon Have 5,000 Capsules
Very Little Slop About "Linux"
We hope to see slop eradicated by year's end
BBC Lied for Its Longtime Sponsor (Bribes for 15+ Years) Bill Epsteingate, in Effect Covering Up Sex Trafficking of Underage Girls
The state of the media is truly awful
Microsoft GitHub is Not Free Hosting and It Won't Last
Not for much longer [...] Microsoft is afraid to say that it is pulling the plug, but it seems inevitable
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, March 2026
When will the media properly investigate this?
An American War on GNU/Linux, Software Freedom, and British Investigative, Science-Based Reporting - Part IV - Escalating to Ministers, Explaining the Severity of These Matters
British Sovereignty at Stake
"The Lost Generation" Came Back, This Time Literally
Based on my limited experience with young people ("alphas"), they're lost
IBM is Not Likely to Survive Another Decade
Despite having already survived over a century [...] Last week we saw claims that some company would likely acquire IBM for its remaining assets
IBM Has Just Been Sued Again by Its Own Staff (This Time a Manager, Stephen P. Gutierrez)
IBM's behaviour towards its staff can prove costly
When a Company Says Its Layoffs are "Due to AI" Check the Debt (Typically the Real Reason for Mass Layoffs)
The mass layoffs at Microsoft continue, but Microsoft hides those in some of the same ways IBM does
Doing More With Less
primacy of concepts rather than bells and whistles
Andy and Helen in Cybershow on Divesting From the United States' Technology and Politics
It is no longer considered a taboo to say this and it's not "anti-American" because many Americans can relate to and agree with such criticism
Links 10/03/2026: "GEMA v. Suno Copyright Case" and "Valve Faces PRS Lawsuit Over Allegedly Unlicensed Steam Music"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/03/2026: Woods in UK, Slop Laziness, and "Small Technology and Small Economic"
Links for the day
Garrett Announces LibreLocal Instance in Northampton, Massachusetts (USA)
his message was the only one last month
Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 8 Out of 200: Gross Misuse of UKGDPR to Protect the Agenda of American Back Doors (Mass Surveillance)
Responding to bunk claims regarding UKGDPR and claims of 'analytics' in our sites
Links 10/03/2026: Oil Prices Rising, South Korean/US Military Assets Redirected
Links for the day
Links 10/03/2026: Rust Rewrites by Slop "20,171 Times Slower", "You MUST Review LLM-generated Code"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 09, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, March 09, 2026
Attacks on Techrights Make Techrights Stronger and Attract More Whistleblowers to Techrights
The harder they attack us, the more productive we become
The Register MS Has Just Taken Money From Google (Where the Former Chief Editor Now Works) for Femmewashing and Ponzi Scheme Promotion
now The Register MS not only promotes a Ponzi scheme but also bags money to pretend Google respects women
People at IBM Are Still Smart Enough to Understand What's Really Going on
"I would never refer someone to work at IBM that I liked! I hope all of you have reviewed IBM on Glassdoor."
European Patent Office (EPO) to "Eventually Eliminate the Tasks Performed by Formalities Officers"; EPO Run by People Without Experience in Patents
full paper
RMS is 73 Next Week
Richard Matthew Stallman (RMS) turns 73 exactly 7 days from now
Iran & FSFE: blackmailing women, from football to the French Government (CNIL)
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
An American War on GNU/Linux, Software Freedom, and British Investigative, Science-Based Reporting - Part III - Very Strong Legal Basis for an Appeal
The case is now being escalated to a Foreign Secretary and former Deputy Prime Minister
Police investigations, lawsuits & Debian leader election candidate shortage
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Richard Stallman (RMS) Has Defeated Cancel Culture, a Mostly American Phenomenon
RMS is talking now
No Slop Found in RSS Feeds, Only in Google News
No slopfarm will survive for very long, certainly it'll go bust as soon as readers (if it had any) know what it is
Links 09/03/2026: Many Security Breaches and a Pandemic of Censorship
Links for the day
People Who Work or Worked at IBM Hate It
bluewashing is only the first step
Richard Stallman (RMS) Talks in 30 Minutes, Next Stop Bern (Last Stop)
We assume he'll travel back to Boston after that
IBM's Fedora as a Booster of Slop Disguised as Code or Computer Programs
Maybe we should also stop seeing a doctor and instead ask chatbots about symptoms?
Richard Stallman (RMS) Talk Five Hours From Now
there is growing recognition for what he really did for everybody
What the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and Action Fraud UK Have in Common
Don't let London become the world's "crime capital"
EPO Strike 10 Days From Now, Planning Assembly Tomorrow, Last Couple of Strikes Had High Participation Rates (1,500-1,600 Staff Went on Strike)
The next strike is in 10 days' time and then there will be another strike
Dr. Andy Farnell on How GAFAM, NVIDIA and Others Lie to People Via the Sponsored Media to Prop Up Lies Under the Guise of "AI"
Lots of key aspects are covered
Links 09/03/2026: GAFAM Outsourcing, "MAGA Political Meddling" in EU, Indonesia Bans Social Control Media for Children Under 16
Links for the day
Using Slop (and Slop in Articles) to Attack Copyleft 'on Budget'
This article is pure BS from an anti-GPL and anti-RMS 'activist'
Why The Register MS Sold Out to Microsoft: They're Losing Lots of Money, The Register MS is Bleeding to Death, Based on Its Own Financial Records
With over 6 million pounds in debt (nearly 10 million US dollars) we guess it's likely some other company will take over the site (if it deems it worthwhile)
Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 7 Out of 200: Like With the Serial Strangler From Microsoft, Misuse of UK-GDPR to Try to Hide Embarrassing Facts
They do and say really bad things, then allege it's a "privacy violation" to mention those things
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 08, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, March 08, 2026
Gemini Links 09/03/2026: Exponentials and Tailscale
Links for the day
Sloppyleft
Article by Alexandre Oliva