07.10.11

^{Gemini version available ♊︎}

“Developers Against Patents” to Start Attacking Patent Trolls; World Wide Web Threatened by Apple Patents

Posted in Apple, Patents at 9:23 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

A campaign is born

Summary: Larry “phpnut” Masters launches “Developers Against Patents” to defend pre-emptively against patent trolls; Apple is still casting a shadow on the W3C

EARLIER TODAY we wrote about actions that can be taken to address the patent issue. We are gratified to discover yet another movement against software patents, going under the banner “Developers Against Patents” and stating in its Web site (registered by Larry Masters, aka “phpnut”, just 10 days ago):

We are collecting name and contact information of individual developers or companies who are interested in forming a group to start suing patent trolls for Declaratory Judgement that our work in the software world does not violate any of their patents.

“[A] group to start suing patent trolls for Declaratory Judgement,” emphasises the FFII’s president, who suggested a reminiscent idea to me some years ago (actually creating a patent troll to try and embargo Microsoft Office). The site is looking for involvement, so perhaps someone can weigh in.

The universe of patent monopolies is definitely getting hit by a wave of bad publicity after lawsuits like this one against Apple and patents like these ones:

Brilliant Digital Entertainment subsidiary Kinetech has its eyes on the digital music industry, announcing that it has been granted three US patents covering content discovery and rights enforcement.

Back in 2009, Kevin Bermeister of Kazaa fame switched focus to legal music alongside former pirate-buster Michael Speck, and BDE acquired Kinetech, whose patents it had been using since 2002.

What only started surfacing a short whole ago due to a page update from the W3C is Apple’s patent menace. It is still threatening the World Wide Web and the W3C, which foolishly gave Apple and Microsoft a chair at the table, only to meet backlash later. Watch what Apple does to the Web:

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) this weekend put out a call for prior art that might invalidate two Apple patents potentially keeping the web from using the concepts as standards. The W3C’s Patent Advisory Group is hoping to make Apple either give a royalty-free license for the patents, which cover widget security and safe distribution, or else lose control of the patents so that they can be used royalty-free.

Had Apple cared about the Web, it would have done something. Instead, however, Apple is working to pollute the Web with MPEG-LA patent tax. █

Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Permalink Mail Send this to a friend

ᶃ Gemini Space

Below is a Web proxy. We recommend getting a Gemini client/browser.

Black/white/grey bullet button This post is also available in Gemini over at this address (requires a Gemini client/browser to open).

✐ Cross-references

Black/white/grey bullet button Pages that cross-reference this one, if any exist, are listed below or will be listed below over time.

▢ Respond and Discuss

Black/white/grey bullet button If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

A Single Comment

Needs Sunlight said,

July 11, 2011 at 1:15 pm

It is good to see this kind of pro-active effort.

What Else is New

Becoming Robust to Censorship is a Technical Challenge for Web Sites That Publish Suppressed Information and Supportive Material

Being at the mercy of third parties indebted to corporate patrons (or banks), sometimes in "reputation" or "political correctness" or "safety" clothing, is a topological issue; we need to teach more people to self-host and exercise full control over speech and information (never let those with money and power decide who can speak and who cannot)
Links 28/10/2021: Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W Released and Mesa 21.3 Reaches RC3

Links for the day
[Meme] The EPO's “New Normal”

The rule of law is being thrown out the window/door, people send rude letters, and we’re meant to think that this is the “new normal” (laws and regulations ceasing to exist); brought by the same people who try to force-feed people all around Europe the unlawful UPC
[ES] Spanish: Richard Stallman's Speech From This Past Saturday

The new bits (in Spanish) start at 14m:42s from the start
This New Edward Snowden Video is Relevant to Media Cover-up in Service of EPO Management

We’re long mentioned the 'conspiracy of silence' regarding EPO corruption (bribes and threats from Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos contribute to this silence), so the above video, which is new, seems relevant to us
EPO Home-Working (or 'Remote' Working or 'Teleworking') Isn't an Act of Generosity But of Exploitation

Contrary to what staff may be led to believe, allowing folks to work from home is just a workaround (as the law forbids some human-to-human contact/interaction) and pretext for screwing the workers a little bit more while crushing basic rights, such as strike and protest abilities (exercising or expressing dissent)
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 27, 2021

IRC logs for Wednesday, October 27, 2021
[Meme] False Choices and False Dichotomy Designed for Self-Harm

The self-serving EPO surveys, which Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos design to justify their own policies, have severe flaws in them
Links 27/10/2021: XOrg Server 21.1 and Makulu Shift Ubuntu Variant Released

Links for the day
Links 27/10/2021: Murena for /e/ and Red Hat Condemned for Its Nationalism/Racism

Links for the day
[Meme] EPO Presidential Surveys

The 'social democracy' of Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos as demonstrated by a controlled survey (controlled by the subject of the survey, EPO governance)
'Shaping the New Normal' Survey at the EPO Got 5,554 EPO Staff to Participate, But It Was Controlled by Liars With an Agenda

Last year’s EPO ‘study’ (hogwash about “quality” and other unscientific junk) was likely biased by virtue of autocrats controlling it and exploiting it for nefarious agenda and brainwashing of national delegates. The Staff Union of the EPO (SUEPO) has a new survey in the making.
Many of the National Delegations (or Delegates) in the EPO's Administrative Council Have No Understanding of What They Vote on

One must consider the possibility that ignorance or gullibility (which lack of qualifications may entail) possibly became a contributing factor — malice and bribery aside — in systemic failure of the EPO’s governance
The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXV: The Balkan League - Fresh Blood or Same Old, Same Old?

We take stock of "captured states" that voted in favour of unlawful "Strike Regulations"
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 26, 2021

IRC logs for Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Beatriz Busaniche Speaks Up in Defense of Richard Stallman

Beatriz Busaniche sent us this comment in July 2021. She wrote it originally in Spanish. Here are both the original text and our translation to English.
Links 26/10/2021: SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 and Multi-Distro Benchmarks

Links for the day
Links 26/10/2021: Vulkan 1.1 Conformance for Raspberry Pi 4 and Tor Browser 10.5.10

Links for the day
[Meme] Sounds Legit

When not cheating on the wife, the EPO‘s “doyen” cheats in the exams and makes it into the epi Council, in effect working “[t]owards a common understanding [sic] of quality” with “patent attorneys nominated as “assessors” by the EPO, epi and BusinessEurope” (notorious lobbyists for dictators, litigation, and monopolies, neither business nor science)
[Meme] Mayoral Patent Office Chief

As it turns out, political 'double-dipping' isn't just a thing in North Macedonia, Austria, and EPOnia
Romania's Patent Office (OSIM): Nine Different Chiefs in Just Eight Years

The Romanian State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM), being the equivalent of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the sense that it covers both patents and trademarks, is a very flaky institution with no shortage of scandals; for our English-reading audiences we now have a summary of a decade’s worth of blunders and leadership changes
The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXIV: The Balkan League - Romania

Romania’s patent office has been in flux this past decade, occasionally led by people with no relevant experience, but rather political connections (like EPO President António Campinos) and sometimes forged documents and fake degrees
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 25, 2021

IRC logs for Monday, October 25, 2021
[Meme] “Social Democracy” at the EPO

Some comments on the current situation at the European Patent Office from Goran Gerasimovski, the new EPO Administrative Council delegate for North Macedonia and Social Democratic candidate for mayor of Centar (a municipality of Skopje)
[Meme] António Campinos Visits the OSIM

António Campinos visits OSIM Director-General Ionel Muscalu in February 2014
[Meme] [Teaser] Meet the President

Later today we shall see what Romania did for Battistelli
Links 26/10/2021: Latte Dock 0.10.3 and Linux 5.15 RC7

Links for the day
Gemini Protocol's Originator: “I Continue to Care About This Project and I Care About the Community That Has Formed Around It.”

'Solderpunk' is back from a long hiatus; this bodes well for Geminispace, which grew fast in spite of the conspicuous absence
Bulgarian Like Bavarian Serfdom

Bulgarian politics seem to have played a big role in selecting chiefs and delegates who backed Benoît Battistelli‘s unlawful proposals, which treat workers almost like slaves and ordinary citizens as disposable ‘collaterals’
The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXIII: The Balkan League - Bulgaria

Today we examine the role of Bulgaria in Benoît Battistelli‘s liberticidal regime at the EPO (as well as under António Campinos, from 2018 to present) with particular focus on political machinations