Bonum Certa Men Certa

US Patent Number 10,000,000 May be a Bogus One, as Per Alice/Section 101

It basically processes some signals using a computer algorithm

US patent number 10 million



Summary: US patent number 10,000,000 would likely be invalidated if challenged by an inter partes review (IPR), but it's being blindly celebrated by the patent microcosm regardless

THE quality of patents at the EPO sure is declining, but what about the US? Well, in the US a lot of patents continue to be granted, but courts reject the lion's share of these (which are asserted in courts or behind closed doors, instigating potential IPRs).



"People online have long obsessed over US patent number 10,000,000, even before it was named (or even its issuance date known)."Remember the hype about US patent number 10 million? That USPTO-granted patent is likely bogus too, as per the SCOTUS-inspired Section 101/Alice. We sure think so, but the Federal Circuit and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) have not looked at it yet. SCOTUS itself will be busy looking into Helsinn v Teva (mostly a prior art case) -- a subject still covered by Kevin E. Noonan (Patent Docs) and other patent maximalists. "The court in Helsinn v Teva appears will rule on the issue of whether the confidential sale or license of a not-yet-patented technology or process qualifies as prior art under the AIA," Managing IP wrote yesterday.

People online have long obsessed over US patent number 10,000,000, even before it was named (or even its issuance date known). More of this dumb obsession over the mere number of patents rather than their quality/value hasn't quite stopped yet; there's still more of that (see [1-3] at the bottom -- all from this week).

"Scroll down a bit and nothing will be found except diagrams which correspond to data flow (like pseudo-code), explicitly with a computer/processor named."Some people (a)(be)mused themselves by asking what would happen if a PTAB IPR rendered it invalid, making a sort of void at that historic point in the series of granted patents. We've already mentioned a couple of times that the patent may be abstract. Someone has just said: "The 10M patent issued for a "Coherent LADAR Using Intra-Pixel Detection" last week. It wasn't deemed to be "abstract"? Weird. It seems like all examiners these days are smoking cigs at a French cafe contemplating existence. Just kidding. Pretty cool!"

So let's look at it. The USPTO made a special URL for it: https://10millionpatents.uspto.gov/docs/patent10million.pdf

"We understand that this may upset patent maximalists and the person to whom this patent was assigned, but it reads "Section 101" all over it."Scroll down a bit and nothing will be found except diagrams which correspond to data flow (like pseudo-code), explicitly with a computer/processor named. So what's the invention here really? Surely not the methods of acquisition of signals.

We understand that this may upset patent maximalists and the person to whom this patent was assigned, but it reads "Section 101" all over it.

Suffice to say, patent maximalists would rather obsess over cases which better suit their agenda. Yesterday, for instance, Kluwer Patent Blog covered this (a case from last week):

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board correctly determined that claims 1-8 of a patent for a method for drilling holes for dental implants, held by Sirona Dental Systems GmbH, were unpatentable as obvious in light of prior art, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled. Further, the petitioners, Institut Straumann AG and Dental Wings Inc., failed to demonstrate that claims 9-10 of the challenged patent were unpatentable, as the Board correctly found. However, the Board erred when it denied Sirona’s contingent motion to amend the claims of its patent, and that ruling of the Board was vacated, and the dispute remanded with instructions to the Board to reconsider in light of recent precedent (Sirona Dental Systems GmbH v. Institut Straumann AG, June 19, 2018, Moore, K.).


This case, which was judged (or ruling authored) by Moore, is the exception, not the norm. For a more realistic view of what happens at PTAB see the insanely angry Mr. Gross, who just keeps bashing PTAB every hour of the day. Yesterday he called "MALICE", said he "[a]lmost fell out of my chair", used words like "trashes" and went all caps with "THIS IS COMPLETELY FALSE; ENFISH SAYS "RELEVANT" NOT "MANDATORY"..."

"Goodbye software patents. Goodbye US patent number 10,000,000 as well? We might never know unless someone files an IPR or the patent goes to court."He called "nonsense" and moaned the loss of another patent from big bully IBM. Basically, almost everything perishes at the altar of PTAB and patent maximalists who are connected to patent trolls can't stand it. There was only one exception to this ("reversal today of €§101 rejection at PTAB").

The sidekick of Gross brought up the much older Bilski case and said: "In Bilski, J Kennedy worried about the risk that he might "create uncertainty as to the patentability of software, advanced diagnostic medicine techniques, and inventions based on linear programming, data compression, and the manipulation of digital signals.""

Why worry? It's a good thing. Goodbye software patents. Goodbye US patent number 10,000,000 as well? We might never know unless someone files an IPR or the patent goes to court.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. Celebrating American ingenuity to the 7th power
    From mainframe computers to mobile devices, from vaccines to cures, American ingenuity underwritten by the U.S. patent system has compounded over time to make our lives longer, more productive and more fulfilling.


  2. From 1 to 10,000,000 – A History of Patents


  3. The USPTO passed up a “golden opportunity” with its Raytheon 10 millionth patent award, expert claims
    The USPTO missed out on a significant chance to have a major impact with its choice for the 10 millionth patent, according to Matt Troyer, director of patent analytics at IP services provider Anaqua. “The news definitely made some noise,” he told IAM, “but this was a missed, one-of-a-kind opportunity to pay tribute to the acceleration of technology, celebrate 228 years of US innovation and pave the way for the next generation of inventors.” Last Tuesday the office issued patent number 10 million to Raytheon’s Joseph Marron for a method of getting real-time readings from LADAR.




Recent Techrights' Posts

Many Microsoft "Assets" Are Fabricated Baloney (to Game the Numbers)
At times it seems like what we deal with are many weak patents (on algorithms), valuations or speculations based on hype ("hey hi"), and stocks held by Microsoft and its own staff
"Internal Changes at Red Hat / IBM"
It seems like quite a few people are leaving
Confirmed in French Media: Mass Layoffs (10% Culled) in Microsoft France
Now some reports in French
Microsoft in Freefall in Finland
Can Finland eradicate Windows from all its infrastructure, including core operations that are sensitive to sabotage by cracking?
Google's Chrome Passes 70% and Web Standards Are Dying
The Web is quickly becoming devoid of any standards
Slopwatch: Plagiarism and Ponzi Scheme, Bubble About to Burst Entirely, Admits Goldman Sachs
the hype that Google News and The Register MS actively participate and profit from
The Register MS Says "AI Web Crawlers Are Destroying Websites", So Why Does The Register MS Help 'AI' Companies? (Spoiler: Money)
People need to call out The Register MS on its hypocrisy
Slopfarms Already Peaked, They Will Die When Slop Companies Run Out of Money to Borrow
slopfarms will lack an actual "engine"
 
Techrights Has Been Subjected to Calls of Violence (and Death Threats), It Never Condoned Violence
I have no sympathy for people who call violence "free speech" and then get in trouble
Condoning Violent Behaviour and "Free Speech"
perhaps Microsoft Lunduke lost touch with what constitutes violence
Takeaway From the Google Verdict: GAFAM Has Too Much Control (Even Over the US Government and Courts With Government Appointees)
Many people feel disappointed but hardly surprised by the verdict
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Turns 40 in One Month
As noted a few days ago, several times in fact, many people now recognise the importance of the FSF's mission, even if most people don't know what the FSF is
"Voluntary" Layoffs at Microsoft (to Game the Numbers, Sugar-Coating a Crisis)
"Employees interested have until the end of October to volunteer."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 02, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 02, 2025
Links 02/09/2025: Oligarch Tech and Text Encoding Concerns in Ada
Links for the day
"People on LinkedIn Saying That They've Left Red Hat."
We already saw signs of it a month ago and named some of the people
Gone With the BRICs (or BRICS): "Linux 8" in Cuba
GAFAM must be worried
Telecompaper Reports Microsoft to Reduce the Workforce by Another 10% (in France)
Imagine what this will do to staff's morale
India is Back to Windows 8 (Market Share Down to 8%) as Android Soars to a New Record High
For Microsoft, India is a runaway market
Links 02/09/2025: SCO Summit and Russia Suspected Of Jamming GPS
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/09/2025: Mediterranean Marriage and Staying Connected at 35,000 Feet
Links for the day
Links 02/09/2025: Attacks on Unions, Microsoft TCO, and DDoSing a Growing Problem
Links for the day
Why We Publish Information About the SLAPPs (But Not About the Legal Process), an Abuse of Process by Americans Trying to Silence Critics of Their Employer, Microsoft
It doesn't take thousands of pages to explain something simple
Internet Relay Chat Didn't Fall Off a Cliff
IRC will turn 40 in less than 3 years from now
The UEFI 9/11 - Part V - This is Not a Drill (Disable "SecureBoot" Now)
A "9/11" Coming
There's No Obligation to Speak to Anybody
The very fact that "bkuhn" is till spending time in social control media says a lot about his poor judgment
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 01, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 01, 2025
Microsoft Trying to Force People to Resign (Amid Mass Layoffs) a Strategy That Takes Its Toll
Microsoft seems to be circling down the drain and the "final flush" will be the moment the "hey hi" (AI) bubble implodes completely
Google Simply Cannot Be Trusted
Only fools would trust GAFAM
Admission That a Third Party (or Parties) Funds the SLAPPs Against Techrights
This can end up costing them over a million dollars
Modifying and Writing One's Own Computer Programs is Not a Crime (or: Google Proves That Stallman Was Right)
We're generally gratified to see so many positive mentions of him
Why We Stopped Publishing Videos (for Now)
We'll probably get back to videos one day, but it's hard to say when or to what extent
What Animal Rights Activism Teaches Us About Sympathy and Focus
It's possible to believe that the planet is warming, that we must do something about it, and still eat eggs and butter
When You Turn Web Sites About Tech Into Political Sites
A lot of people fall into the trap of catering only for particular groups
Gemini Links 02/09/2025: ROOPHLOCH 2025 and Lagrange 1.19 Released
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/09/2025: News Corp. WSJ and A Month With NixOS
Links for the day
“Sideloading” Never Killed Anybody
There are many online discussions this week about the misnomer "sideloading"
Slopwatch: Google News as FUD Vector Against Linux and Plagiarism Enhancer, Serial Slopper (SS) Uses LLMs to Googlebomb "Linux"
Slop destroys the Web not just by screwing with search engines and helping plagiarists. It's also responsible for de facto DDoS attacks...
Links 01/09/2025: "Attacks on Science" and China's "Soft Power" Grows
Links for the day
Links 01/09/2025: Fresh Backlash Against Slop and "Norway’s Electricity Crisis is About to Hit Britain"
Links for the day
Writing and Coding Isn't Always Enough
Last year we had to assume a role we didn't have before: litigants
Links 01/09/2025: Catching Up (Mostly via Deutsche Welle), "Windows TCO" Effect in UK
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/09/2025: Linguistic Barriers and "Web 1.0 Hosting"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 31, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, August 31, 2025
Autumn Has Come
Autumn should be exciting in all sorts of ways; it'll also mark our anniversary
The UEFI 9/11 - Part IV - External Interference
They all seem to be playing a role in crushing Software Freedom and self-determination for users