Bonum Certa Men Certa

Anthony Kennedy’s Retirement From SCOTUS Means That the Patent Microcosm Has Selective Recollection

Anthony Kennedy on Wikipedia
Reference: Wikipedia



Summary: The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has been responsible for much of the actual reform in terms of patent scope, patent litigation venue and so on; patent maximalists, livid in the face of these changes, bring up Bilski and anything they can throw at the wall, hoping that something will miraculously stick

THE effort to derail Alice (a 2014 SCOTUS decision) isn't stopping, having just entered its fifth year.



Dennis Crouch says that patent maximalists' front groups (AIPLA, IPO, and NYIPLA) want software patents back. What a shocking surprise! Not!

This speaks of "35 U.S.C. €§ 101—Inventions Patentable" and then Crouch adds:

Here, the term “claimed invention” does not mean what might suggest — an invention that has been claimed in a patent or patent application. Rather, the term “claimed invention” is narrowly defined as “the subject matter defined by a claim in a patent or an application for a patent.” 35 U.S.C. 100(j). In other words, the “claimed invention” is what is claimed to be the invention.

Of course, the next step will be much more difficult for proponents of the legislation – getting Congress to act.


Congress does not need to act and it's not for Congress to decide on anyway. A month ago Crouch kept sort of 'bullying' for Congress to get involved, even when it wasn't asked to (misqoting or misinterpreting a Federal Circuit judge, who did not even mention Congress).

"Congress does not need to act and it's not for Congress to decide on anyway."IAM, the patent trolls' lobby, did the same thing by stating: "The New York IP Law Association just released a statement in support of @IPO / @aipla proposal on re-writing of statute around patent eligible subject matter. Big sign of consensus in IP community on 101..."

By "IP community" IAM means patent maximalists. So the lawsuits 'business' agrees with lobby/front groups of the litigation giants, boosted by the patent trolls' lobby, IAM. Great! So they all agree on that. How is that even newsworthy? It's like saying that Japanese people agree on sushi.

"So the lawsuits 'business' agrees with lobby/front groups of the litigation giants, boosted by the patent trolls' lobby, IAM."But anyway, that's just the tip of a bigger iceberg because there's now a glimmer of hope among those people that Anthony Kennedy’s retirement will have consequences for patents. But will it? Some of the most vocal patent maximalists recall an old case, the Bilski case (Bilski v Kappos) from nearly a decade ago. One response to this said: "Kennedy made up for his bilski concerns in Alice, so careful what you wish for. You'll not like his replacement, but Gorsuch & Roberts will" (naming the people who dissented on Oil States).

Well, the patent microcosm's tears could fill up a bucket of 10 million milliliters (or patents). They just can't stand SCOTUS and hope to reboot the whole court. As for Kennedy, he was hardly a patent-hostile person; they just sort of quote-mine him to make it sound like he opposes Alice (based on an unrelated decision from almost half a decade earlier!).

"They just can't stand SCOTUS and hope to reboot the whole court."Dennis Crouch and his chums then mentioned Kennedy’s record on patents, which is a lot more extensive than the Bilski case but they're starting with Bilski v Kappos (probably by intention). It will certainly be interesting to see who gets nominated and appointed, but to suggest that Kennedy opposed Alice based on views expressed in an entirely different decision (of a different nature) is spin at best or lying at worst. But they'd cling onto anything...

Recent Techrights' Posts

You Should Probably Self-Host Your E-mail and Never Use a Web Browser for Mail
Does anyone still believe Gmail is "free"?
StatCounter Shows the Market Share of Vista 11 is Decreasing in Ukraine This Year
Microsoft abandoning Vista 10 users would be a victory for Vladimir Putin
The "Gold" Rule: Taking Money for Reputation Laundering and Openwashing Under the "Linux" Banner
Seller of expensive toilet paper, Jim Zemlin
LLM Slop Says Slop is "coming for white-collar jobs. Microsoft’s layoffs are just the start"
Look what the Web has become
Reporting Facts About Violence Against Women Deserves Awards, Not Frivolous Lawsuits and Threats
What is Microsoft's stance on women's safety?
Linux.com as Spamfarm of the Linux Foundation, Partner of the Gates Foundation
They no longer publish articles
Slopwatch: The Typical Slopfarms and the 'Brian Fagioli Dilemma'
To the Web and to society (exposed to the Web) LLMs are a net negative
 
Trump Authority (CA) With a Trump NSA is All About Security, But Whose?
A "turnkey tyranny", as the NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake loved to call it
Confirming IBM Shutdowns and Layoffs Today
It's not over yet
Gemini Links 16/04/2025: The 2010s Are Calling and Why "Tools Will Not Liberate Us"
Links for the day
Links 16/04/2025: Cliff Lynch RIP, More Attacks on Science (NASA)
Links for the day
Google Promotes Fake Articles (LLM Slop) Instead of Originals, Relaying Microsoft's Linux FUD Emanating From Microsoft LLMs
Shame on Google for participating in the slopfest
In Some Countries the Largest OEMs Already Dump Microsoft Windows
Windows at 18.9%, Android 60.2%
Microsoft Down From 100% to 10% in Myanmar/Burma
only about 4% of Web requests in Myanmar/Burma come from Vista 11, soon to be the only "supported" version of Windows
When Fedora Said It Was Looking to Integrate "AI" It Meant Promoting Microsoft's Proprietary Spyware and GPL-Violating Slop
When they say "AI" they mean Microsoft
It Used to be IBM, Now It's Microsoft (Why You Need to Fire Microsofters or CIOs Working for Microsoft)
Typically the only effective solution is to identity and remove Microsofters from one's project/organisation (before they can bring more Microsofters in)
IBM Closes Offices and Labs in the United States to Open New Ones in India
It's not layoffs per se; they're substituting/swapping veteran employees for lesser-paid ones
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Gemini Links 16/04/2025: IndieWeb Carnival, Tinylog RFC, "Focus, the Web and Gemini"
Links for the day
Links 15/04/2025: Touchable Volumetric Display and Resistance to American Spying Firms
Links for the day
Links 15/04/2025: Some People Cannot Read and Re-discovering of 'Web 1.0'
Links for the day
Links 15/04/2025: China Admits Targetting Critical Infrastructure Using CALEA Back Doors, NASCAR Cracked by Windows Usage
Links for the day
Why We Support Carole Cadwalladr (Even If We Don't Agree With Everything She Said)
I first became aware of Cadwalladr's work a long time ago
Microsoft's Serial Strangler Chose to Attack Techrights With SLAPP When Over 400 Victims of Mohamed Al Fayed Complained About Media's Role in Enabling Him
There is a strong element of "free press" here
A Coalition or a Coup of Sexism
In the Free software community it's hard to avoid this issue
statCounter Sees GNU/Linux at New High of 6% in Bosnia and Herzegovina
GNU/Linux is measured at all-time high
To Celebrate Git Turning 20 Linus Torvalds is 'Selling Out' to Microsoft and Proprietary Software Which Attacks Git (E.E.E.)
He makes it seem like he's endorsing his attackers
Gemini Protocol Milestone (3,000 Active Capsules)
and a total of nearly 4,500
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, April 14, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, April 14, 2025
Gemini Links 14/04/2025: Silver Pigs and more Foundation, Disliking Computers
Links for the day
Hundreds of Microsoft Layoffs (Net Headcount Decrease) in the United Kingdom
headcount decreased
Links 14/04/2025: Russian Attack on Sumy Shows No Intention of Peace, Virgin Australia Admits Overcharging People
Links for the day
The Dilemma of Web Browsers Lying About What They Are (in Order to Bypass Discriminatory Gateways Like Clownflare) Worsens Due to LLM Slop
LLM crawlers/scrapers have made sites more restrictive and hostile towards browsers that are potent but not "famous"
What Really Matters to Companies is Net Income or Profit (Bankruptcy is Possible Even With High Revenue)
We ought to stop talking about revenue without focusing on actual profit
Carole Cadwalladr Talks About How Big Business Tried to Silence Her (and Why You Might be Next)
Our story is very different from Cadwalladr's for many reasons
Companies Conspiring to Keep Salaries Down and Undermine Competition
People who do all the practical work are being paid less and made to work for much longer
Links 14/04/2025: Disinformation, Public Disdain for LLMs, and "Lessons on Tyranny"
Links for the day
LLM Slop and SEO SPAM Take Us Further Away From Facts (the Case of IBM Layoffs)
Some of these can impact Red Hat as well
Gemini Links 14/04/2025: Ween and Historic Ada Project Management
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 13, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 13, 2025
Influencers: Red Hat, Inc's IPO, 1999, post-mortem on the directed share offer to open source developer community
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock