Bonum Certa Men Certa

David Kappos (IBM/Microsoft Lobbyist) Reported for Misuse of Authority and Conflict of Interest

Old monopolies and current monopolies want more than just patent monopolies

IBM and Nazi flag
Image sourced from "The Hidden Nazi History of IBM and how they chose profit over morality"



Summary: For a number of decades the USPTO has been discriminating against GNU/Linux users and for a number of years it has been pushing "Microsoft tax" (applicants must pay more if they don't use Microsoft's proprietary formats); some people challenge this culture of vendor capture inside the USPTO

LAST month we wrote about issues associated with past staff of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which now works in the lobbying sector, in effect trying to shape the law for large clients like IBM and Microsoft. Among the objectives: extinguishing 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 and bringing back software patents. Last year we showed that an IBM lobbyist (paid millions by IBM) "Used COVID-19 Lies to Push for Software Patents From the Back Door, Undermining What Courts Have Determined" (even the highest court); not even the EPO had gone that far in promotion of software patents.



"We have many readers who use GNU/Linux, but we’re not sure how many of them interact with patent offices."Earlier this year we mentioned how those same people misused the USPTO to reinforce Microsoft's monopoly. One of our readers has had enough and is taking action [PDF]. Bar complaint against Kappos was submitted the other day. "I filed a bar complaint against Kappos in California," a reader told us, where he's a member of the bar. I'll file complaints in New York and Washington, DC, too - where he is also a member - but it seems to be a little more difficult than in California."

"I will be very surprised if anything is done about my complaint. But, if they go so far as to contact Kappos about the complaint, it will have been worth it.

"The issue I attacked him on is the "Electronic Filing Incentive." You can read about it in the attached pdf.

"I live in rural West Virginia, so I have only been on the internet for 7-8 years, and, before that, I filed my applications through the post. No problem, until Kappos came along, and tried to force everybody to buy Microsoft and Lenovo.

"At first, I used Windows - like everybody - but I bought Windows 8, which was junk, and I discovered Linux, which I've been using for probably about 7 years.

"Most of the people at the USPTO are lawyers, it seems, and they are creating "barriers" - as described in my pdf - against Linux users.

"Maybe somebody could file bar complaints against lawyers in the USPTO because of the barrier against Linux, using the complaint in my pdf as a guide. It would require some research to identify the lawyers, and then find out where their bar membership is: which state(s), and maybe Washington, DC.

"I can't do it. I use Linux, but don't really have the technical knowledge to make a strong complaint. Maybe you know somebody who could do it."

We have many readers who use GNU/Linux, but we're not sure how many of them interact with patent offices. Nevertheless, any action against behaviour such as this can only potentially improve things. We need to make ourselves noticeable/heard. Otherwise, systematic discrimination will carry on, reinforced by people whose top clients are proprietary software giants that pursue loads of software patents.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Twitter (X) is Dying, Now It's Just Like a Mafia-Type Operation of the Man Who Does Nazi Salutes in Public
a form of extortion
The Price of Exposing Corruption in Poland (and Elsewhere)
It's easier to participate in corruption than to merely do the right thing and oppose it
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part IX: Minimum Wages For You (Experienced Scientist), Alicante/EU Paydays For Me (Unproductive, Corrupt Official)
Does UPRP maladministration extend to the false belief that qualified and experienced scientists can play the role of circus clowns?
"The Liberating Power of Simply Telling People the Truth."
'polite' bullying
Who Imitates Who? Plagiarist as Client (From Microsoft), 'Plagiarism' at the Law Firm?
let's revisit the subject
 
Links 13/06/2025: US Reduces Nonessential Staff at Baghdad Embassy Ahead of Strikes in Iran, Invasion of California Debated
Links for the day
X11 is Free Software
Whether you agree (e.g. on politics) with the person/s forking it doesn't matter
The More Time Passes, the Better Our Advice on Social Control Media Seems
At the end of the day, any platform you do not control yourself is working for someone else
UK High Court Blasts Brett Wilson LLP for Misusing "GDPR" After Failed Efforts to Censor Critics Using 'Libel' Claims
No wonder this firm is rapidly shrinking
Recent Blunders in Microsoft GitHub (e.g. Slop-Generated Bug Reports or GPL Violations 'as a Service') Taking Their Toll?
Put bluntly, if you still use Microsoft GitHub, then you're slave to Microsoft
American Imperialism and Microsoft Plagiarism
Techrights will therefore do what Microsoft does not want it to do: it'll write even more about Microsoft
When They Have Nothing Left to Help Advance Abusive Litigation for Microsoft People... Other Than Throwing ~500 Pages of Someone Else's Work Into a PDF
Microsoft is having a very tough year
Slopwatch and Yet More Holes in 'Secure Boot' (as Usual!), Promoted Inside Linux by the Man We Are Suing
Today's Slopwatch will be short
Gemini Links 13/06/2025: People You've Left Behind, Life Update and OS Changes
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 12, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, June 12, 2025
Links 12/06/2025: Portland Homeless Deaths Quadruple, COVID Cases Surge in Asia
Links for the day
EPO's Gareth Lord Asked About "Quality and Productivity" or, Put Another Way, Why the EPO Keeps Granting So Many Invalid/Illegal Patents
letter to Lord
EPO's Central Staff Committee (CSC) Scrutinises the Man Who Illegally Grants (and Forces Others to Illegally Participate in Granting) Software Patents in Europe
EPO compels examiners to break the law in the name of obeying illegal "rules" or "orders"
The Latest Rumour Says The Next (as Correctly Predicted Before) Wave of Layoffs at Microsoft is 3 Weeks Away, "Larger Than the First Wave"
Step 2
TV Licensing Used to SPAM Your Postbox, Now It Does the Same to E-mail
First they ask for your E-mail address; then they start nagging you via E-mail
The Toxic Playbook
Either you support Prince Mohammed bin Salman or you're a nazi
It's Possible That BetaNews Got Cracked, But Nobody Talks About It, The Site Contains an Outdated Old Image, No Activity
It's possible that they will never explain what happened to the site and users' accounts
Links 12/06/2025: Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/06/2025: Video Game Diegesis and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Why the Militants Have Lost Every Battle Since 2022 (When Attacking My Wife and I in Various Ways, Even Attacking Our Employers)
This takes patience, sure, but at the end most evildoers face the consequences for their actions
Our Priority is Still Tackling Software Patents and Corruption in Patent Offices
Meanwhile we got compliments on our recent articles, which means that they are effective
Politics Will Impact Software Choices
Will those systems respect users' freedom?
EPO: Neglecting Children to Promote American Monopolies by Shielding Them From European Competition
Yesterday the Central Staff Committee at the EPO spoke about another "reform" at the Office
Slopwatch: Another Day, Another Slopfest, LLM Slop Scrapers Slow Down Our Site
We too have some slop issues; this past day this site and the sister site had to answer about 2.5 million requests (not counting Gemini Protocol) and it's slowing things down for everybody
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 11, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Links 11/06/2025: More Vulnerabilities Found in 'Smart' Phones, China Extends Reach in the Pacific
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/06/2025: Grain and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Links 11/06/2025: "Quantum" Hype From IBM, US Closer to Martial Law, and “The Nation” Celebrates Milestone
Links for the day
IBM's CEO Roasted, Sizzled and Grilled for Dumb and Inconsistent Vapourware Promises
It looks like being a chronic liar is what it takes to lead the company once synonymous with computing
IBM's Goal Is Not (and Never Was) Computer Users' Freedom
More than 1.5 decades ago I found IBM to be an "ally of convenience" because of OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Wayland Shows the IBM/Red Hat Way of Doing Things
IBM is trying to 'kill' X
GitHub is Proprietary, Controlled by Microsoft, and GPL Violation Warehouse
"IRS tax filing software [will be] released to the people as free software" ... In general this is good news
Slopfarm Catastrophe
Seems like BetaNews (or BetaNoise) has just suffered a major data loss and restored the site from a week-old backup
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VIII: Illegal Working Conditions
How many people need to die for these people to get their massive salaries?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 10, 2025