06.14.20

Gemini version available ♊︎

Using ‘Hey Hi’ (AI) and Mindless Buzzwords to Spread Confusion and Blur the Gap Between Computer-Generated Patents and Patents on Algorithms

Posted in Deception, Europe, Patents at 9:22 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

It’s… just… “MAGIC!”

Forgotten Magic

Summary: The patent ‘industry’ (people who sue for a living, or instead shake down people/firms with expensive lawsuits as deterrents) is intentionally lying to us all; nowadays it loves leveraging the media’s ‘darling’ buzzword, ‘Hey Hi’ (AI), describing it as some sort of magic that merits lots of worthless patents

THE European Patent Office (EPO) has long sought to violate the EPC, e.g. by misinterpreting it, then grant loads of fake patents on abstract things. António Campinos is even more shameless about it than Benoît Battistelli. Campinos is one heck of a snake and since he never coded anything he can use his ignorance as an excuse for granting software patents in Europe. Nowadays they like to misuse words like “digitalisation” and “Hey Hi”, which is what we call their clueless slant on machine learning and the like…

“Nowadays they like to misuse words like “digitalisation” and “Hey Hi”, which is what we call their clueless slant on machine learning and the like…”I’ve done machine learning for a very long time (in 2003 I already wrote papers about it) and the term is actually a lot more meaningful than “Hey Hi”, which is nonsensical fluff that goes back to the dawn of computing. It’s the basic idea that computers can emulate some process humans otherwise do, e.g. playing chess (I wrote some computer programs that do this as far back as 2001 when I was a teenager). What’s inexcusable is this bizarre resurgence in shallow media (bogus ‘journalism’) in recent years. A couple of years ago they started calling just about everything “Hey Hi”, just as a decade or so earlier they began rebranding almost everything “cloud” and software became “apps”…

“The debate is, as usual, being hijacked by the patent (litigation) ‘industry’…”This superficial transition from meaningful (relatively technical) terms to buzzwords and pure hype isn’t an accident; it’s a deliberate marketing strategy and a lot of it is geared towards surveillance as a business model. Patent lawyers too were fast to take advantage of these rebranding campaigns, calling it or hailing it all as some kind of “industrial revolution” (leading to fluff like “Industry 4.0″ and “4IR”). This may seem funny, but there’s a very nefarious and sinister angle to it all. So it isn’t down to mere amusement…

The debate is, as usual, being hijacked by the patent (litigation) ‘industry’…

As recently as yesterday we saw Anastasiia Kyrylenko at IP Kat as CIPA (Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys) megaphone, noting yesterday that:

On June 24th, the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys and Dr. Rhiannon Turner will be holding an online event to discuss the recent EPO EBA decision in G3/19…

Separately, another site advertised a “webinar” (basically “dude with a webcam”) about “EPO Case Law on Priority” by:

Christopher Rennie-Smith, European Patent Consultant, former Chairman and legal member of a Technical Board of Appeal of the EPO; former member of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO

Well, the Technical Board of Appeal of the EPO can no longer think for itself. The Office dictator pressures all the boards and his successor — to whom he’s an obedient heir — already sent all board members to exile in Haar (at the very least as a collective warning). It’s likely that later this year — weeks or months from now — these boards will issue a ruling and determination on the subject of software patents pertaining to simulation. We already know in which direction the Office dictator pushed them…

“Well, the Technical Board of Appeal of the EPO can no longer think for itself. The Office dictator pressures all the boards and his successor — to whom he’s an obedient heir — already sent all board members to exile in Haar (at the very least as a collective warning).”Yesterday we reviewed the news only to find this nonsense pushed through Lexology under the headline “Algo IP: Intellectual Property in Algorithms, Computer Generated Works and Computer Implemented Inventions” (notice how they’re using misnomers and conflating different things). The author is clearly not a coder and he jumps from one topic to another seamlessly; for instance, notice how he speaks of “computer implemented inventions” and then immediately leaps to joint inventions and computers as inventors (totally unrelated aspect). Have a look at the gobbledegook, with our comments below:

“It’s only AI when you don’t know what it does, then it’s just software and data” remains a useful heuristic to get to grips with AI algorithms. In legal terms, AI is a combination of software and data. An algorithm is a set of rules to solve a problem. The implementation in code of the algorithm is the software that gives instructions to the computer’s processor. What distinguishes an AI algorithm from traditional software is first, that the algorithm’s rules and software implementation are themselves dynamic and change as the machine learns; and second, the very large datasets (‘big data’) that the AI algorithm processes. The data is (i) the input training, testing and operational datasets; (ii) that input data as processed by the computer; (iii) the output data from those processing operations; and (iv) insights and data derived from the output data.

[...]

Use of algorithms may result in new inventions and the question arises whether computer implemented inventions are capable of patent protection. S.1(2)(c) Patents Act 1977 (‘PA’) excludes “a program for a computer” from patent protection to the extent that the patent application “relates to that thing as such”.[v] This has led to a line of cases in the UK since 2006 which has sought to establish and clarify a test for determining the contribution that the invention makes to the technical field of knowledge (potentially patentable) beyond the computer program “as such” (not patentable).[vi] If the invention is potentially patentable on this basis, s.7(3) PA provides that:

“[i]n this Act “inventor” in relation to an invention means the actual deviser of the invention and “joint inventor” shall be construed accordingly”

and s.7(2)(a) PA provides that a patent for invention may be granted “primarily to the inventor or joint inventors”. US law is more specific in defining (at 35 USC §100(f) and (g)) “inventor” as “the individual or, if a joint invention, the individuals collectively who invented the subject matter of the invention”. The context of s.7(3) PA means that the “actual deviser of the invention” should be a “person” and there is no regime similar to that for copyright for computer-generated works.

Again, the takeaway from the patent law perspective is also that it is worth considering expressly covering in AI contracts the ownership, assignment and licensing aspects of AI-generated inventions and patent rights as well as copyright works.

Kemp IT Law’s Richard Kemp does the typical thing by conflating computer-generated junk patents and patents on algorithms (that are illegal). First he alludes to “computer program “as such” (not patentable).”

He then says “the takeaway from the patent law perspective is also that it is worth considering expressly covering in AI contracts the ownership, assignment and licensing aspects of AI-generated inventions and patent rights as well as copyright works.”

“Kemp IT Law’s Richard Kemp does the typical thing by conflating computer-generated junk patents and patents on algorithms (that are illegal).”How did he jump from the question of patents on algorithms to whether or not the patents are generated by a computer (as opposed to covering work done on a computer)? We’ve seen similar conflation put forth by the EPO’s clueless managers, some of whom have zero experience in technology and just training in the British Army. Who needs managers with a clue anyway… right? Understanding restricts “useful” misunderstandings… and it can harm so-called EPO ‘production’…

An article (promotion, sales, marketing) entitled “Protecting AI inventions” was pushed through IAM and then pushed through Lexology. It’s not an objective analysis and this was all along just a self-promotional piece from Effectual Knowledge Services Pvt Ltd which says the following:

From tools and services to products and consultancies, AI has created a number of revenue-generating opportunities. It has already simplified a number of tasks and now, with the help of neural networks, it is inventing new ways to solve problems. Further, certain privileges have been granted to corporate entities (eg, Facebook and Google) so that they can defend themselves in court. It therefore follows that AI should be able to own its patents. However, debate is ongoing and requires considering where the line between creation by human and machine should be drawn and how much (or little) human input or guidance is required.

Recently, there was a case where the EPO refused European patent applications EP18275163 and EP18275174, which designated DABUS – a machine described as “a type of connectionist artificial intelligence” – as an inventor. One application was for a new type of beverage container based on fractal geometry and the other was for a device for attracting enhanced attention signals, which could be helpful in search and rescue operations. Similarly, the USPTO and UKIPO have disqualified patent applications on the grounds that a non-human cannot hold inventorship as per these countries’ laws.

So it speaks of “neural networks” and stuff, then argues “AI should be able to own [sic] its patents,” so here again we enter the laughable world where “Hey Hi” gets personified and framed as some sort of magic. This would typically be just funny, but in this case it is dangerous because patent maximalists who profit from more and more and more patents exploit misconceptions and lies to turn the whole patent system into a laughing stock. This, in turn, can make the whole thing collapse. It makes the system obsolete.

“The real enemies of the patent system are those lunatics who latch onto buzzwords, speaking about things they clearly do not understand, all in the name of creating more lawsuits over more bogus patents.”The patent system wasn’t conceived as a framework for giving monopolies on mere thoughts or nature or maths and it wasn’t made to reward some abstract concept of an algorithm (mis-framed as “Hey Hi”).

The real enemies of the patent system are those lunatics who latch onto buzzwords, speaking about things they clearly do not understand, all in the name of creating more lawsuits over more bogus patents.

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

Decor 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).

Decor ✐ 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.

Decor ▢ 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.

DecorWhat Else is New


  1. Links 03/06/2023: Apache NetBeans 18 and ArcaOS 5.0.8

    Links for the day



  2. IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 02, 2023

    IRC logs for Friday, June 02, 2023



  3. The Developing World Abandons Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux at All-Time Highs on Desktops/Laptops

    Microsoft, with 80 billion dollars in longterm debt and endless layoffs, is losing the monopolies; the media doesn’t mention this, but some publicly-accessible data helps demonstrate that



  4. Links 02/06/2023: Elive ‘Retrowave’ Stable and Microsoft's Half a Billion Dollar Fine for LinkeIn Surveillance in Europe

    Links for the day



  5. Linux Foundation 'Research' Has a New Report and Of Course It Uses Only Proprietary Software

    The Linux Foundation has a new report, promoted by Clickfraud Spamnil and others; of course they’re rejecting Free software, they’re just riding the “Linux” brand and speak of “Open Source” (which they reject themselves)



  6. Links 02/06/2023: Arti 1.1.5 and SQL:2023

    Links for the day



  7. Gemini Links 02/06/2023: Vimwiki Revisited, SGGS Revisited

    Links for the day



  8. Geminispace/GemText/Gemini Protocol Turn 4 on June 20th

    Gemini is turning 4 this month (on the 20th, according to the founder) and I thought I’d do a spontaneous video about how I use Gemini, why it's so good, and why it’s still growing (Stéphane Bortzmeyer fixed the broken cron job — or equivalent of it — a day or two after I had mentioned the issue)



  9. HMRC Does Not Care About Tax Fraud Committed by UK Government Contractor, Sirius 'Open Source'

    The tax crimes of Sirius ‘Open Source’ were reported to HMRC two weeks ago; HMRC did not bother getting back to the reporters (victims of the crime) and it’s worth noting that the reporters worked on UK government systems for many years, so maybe there’s a hidden incentive to bury this under the rug



  10. Our IRC at 15th Anniversary

    So our IRC community turns 15 today (sort of) and I’ve decided to do a video reflecting on the fact that some of the same people are still there after 15 years



  11. IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 01, 2023

    IRC logs for Thursday, June 01, 2023



  12. Links 02/06/2023: NixOS 23.05 and Rust 1.70.0

    Links for the day



  13. Gemini Links 02/06/2023: Flying High With Gemini and Gogios Released

    Links for the day



  14. Links 01/06/2023: KStars 3.6.5 and VEGA ET1031 RISC-V Microprocessor in Use

    Links for the day



  15. Gemini Links 01/06/2023: Scam Call and Flying High With Gemini

    Links for the day



  16. Links 01/06/2023: Spleen 2.0.0 Released and Team UPC Celebrates Its Own Corruption

    Links for the day



  17. IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, May 31, 2023

    IRC logs for Wednesday, May 31, 2023



  18. Tux Machines Closing the Door on Twitter Because Twitter is Dead (for a Lot of People)

    Tux Machines recently joined millions of others who had already quit Twitter, including passive posting (fully or partly automated)



  19. Links 31/05/2023: Inkscape’s 1.3 Plans and New ARM Cortex-A55-Based Linux Chip

    Links for the day



  20. Gemini Links 31/05/2023: Personality of Software Engineers

    Links for the day



  21. Links 31/05/2023: Armbian 23.05 Release and Illegal UPC

    Links for the day



  22. IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, May 30, 2023

    IRC logs for Tuesday, May 30, 2023



  23. Gemini Protocol About to Turn 4 and It's Still Growing

    In the month of May we had zero downtime (no updates to the system or outages in the network), which means Lupa did not detect any errors such as timeouts and we’re on top of the list (the page was fixed a day or so after we wrote about it); Gemini continues to grow (chart by Botond) as we’re approaching the 4th anniversary of the protocol



  24. Links 31/05/2023: Librem Server v2, curl 8.1.2, and Kali Linux 2023.2 Release

    Links for the day



  25. Gemini Links 31/05/2023: Bayes Filter and Programming Wordle

    Links for the day



  26. [Meme] Makes No Sense for EPO (Now Connected to the EU) and Staff Pensions to be Tied to the UK After Brexit

    It seems like EPO staff is starting to have doubts about the safety of EPO pensions after Benoît Battistelli sent money to reckless gambling (EPOTIF) — a plot that’s 100% supported by António Campinos and his enablers in the Council, not to mention the European Union



  27. Working Conditions at EPO Deteriorate and Staff Inquires About Pension Rights

    Work is becoming a lot worse (not even compliant with the law!) and promises are constantly being broken, so staff is starting to chase management for answers and assurances pertaining to finances



  28. Links 30/05/2023: Orc 0.4.34 and Another Rust Crisis

    Links for the day



  29. Links 30/05/2023: Nitrux 2.8.1 and HypoPG 1.4.0

    Links for the day



  30. Gemini Links 30/05/2023: Bubble Version 3.0

    Links for the day


RSS 64x64RSS Feed: subscribe to the RSS feed for regular updates

Home iconSite Wiki: You can improve this site by helping the extension of the site's content

Home iconSite Home: Background about the site and some key features in the front page

Chat iconIRC Channel: Come and chat with us in real time

Recent Posts