A day or so ago Glyn Moody saw an "important" E-mail which we too saw on the FFII's mailing lists. The Brazilian PTO opens public consultation on patent examination that includes computer programs. This page (accessed on the 19th of March 2012) was last Updated on "Fri, March 16, 2012 11:49" and written by CGCOM. The messenger says: "To provide greater uniformity and predictability in tests, the Brazilian PTO will hold the first public consultation on patents. The first theme will be: procedures for the examination of patent applications involving inventions implemented by computer program.
"Brazil needs to reject the PTO from up north.""Since the publication of the public consultation in the Official Gazette on March 16, interested parties have a period of 60 days to send suggestions to the e-mail saesp@inpi.gov.br. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. By fax +55 (21) 3037-3638 or directly to one of the receptions of the PTO, through the appropriate form (in doc). To use the odt format, save the file available at this link. [...] All content has been prepared and reviewed by the Technical Board of Patents. With the suggestions, the aim is to harmonize procedures for the technical examination of patent applications relating to inventions implemented by computer program and disseminate them widely to society.
"The guideline for the examination of patent applications involving inventions implemented by computer program is one of the priority projects of the PTO for the period 2011-2015, managed by the researcher Telma Lucia Alcantara da Costa Silva, of the Board of Patent.
"In a second step, the goal is to obtain quality certification procedures for the PTO, in partnership with the General Coordination of Quality Authority.
"For more information, write to saesp@inpi.gov.br. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This "Brazilian Software Patenting Consultation" as André Rebentisch calls it is very important. We already saw public policy in Brazil disrupted by Microsoft, so we do not wish to see software patents entering Brazil from the back door. Just watch how bad things are in the USPTO. Emoticons are a subject of litigation, not just mere dispute:
In an apparent quest to make the patent system look even more ridiculous, a firm on Thursday sued Samsung and Research in Motion for allegedly infringing a patent titled "emoticon input method and apparatus."
"It is known that for many users, their email and instant messaging communications... often involve the use of emoticons, such as the 'smiling face' or the 'sad face,'" the patent says. "However, few email or instant messaging applications offer any assistance to a user to enter and use emoticons in their communications." The plaintiff, Varia Holdings Inc., claims it owns the concept of allowing users to choose emoticons from a menu of options rather than typing them out one character at a time.