Bonum Certa Men Certa

Software Patents: Dying, Spreading, or Hardly Surviving?

TTIP, TPP (back door for software patents in Europe), UPC (ditto) and what it all means to software patents in the age of mass invalidations in the US

ESPECIALLY WHEN ONE'S BUSINESS IS PATENT TROLLING



Summary: The arguments over software patents in both sides of the Atlantic ocean, where there is a well-known (if not notorious) one- or two-way flow of laws, usually best suited for billionaires and their companies

SOFTWARE patents are an important topic. There are literally billions of dollars at stake, as the case of Apple against Android/Linux serves to show (usually it's only the lawyers who win irrespective of the outcome). Depending on the law regarding software patents, billions of dollars can be diverted away from developers and fall into the hands of large corporations and their patent lawyers, shareholders, etc. There is therefore a "class war" element to it. As more and more of society goes digital and more aspects or life get digitised, this matter becomes increasingly urgent. Can a non-exact expression of ideas in code (not the same in copyrights) be "owned"? Should it? Is it feasible and enforceable at all?



Europe Has a Battle Between Practicing and Non-Practicing (Lawyers)



"Depending on the law regarding software patents, billions of dollars can be diverted away from developers and fall into the hands of large corporations and their patent lawyers, shareholders, etc."A new article titled "First Black Woman Ever to Hold a Software Patent" was mentioned by both opponents and proponents of software patents [1, 2] (as expected, the former is a programmer, the latter is a patent lawyer). We very much doubt the claim in this headline is true as there are many black women who work as programmers in the US (at least hundreds if not several thousands) and many companies in the US apply for software patents nowadays. Putting that dubious/questionable claim aside (we doubt they have a complete USPTO database with ethnicity and gender of applicants/grantees in it), one can easily see who's involved in this battle. The patent lawyer in this case I'm lucky to have a reasonably amicable channel of communications/relations with. He habitually visits the EPO, where even visitors have been subjected to highly intrusive surveillance which almost certainly violates German law. His name is Bastian Best (photo at the top) and he is based in Germany, where the UPC affairs reek a great deal. Mr. Best recently told me about this blog post of his, in which he talks about software patents in Germany (not necessarily in Europe as a whole). To quote Best: "Patent protection in Germany can be obtained either nationally by filing a national German patent application with the German Patent and Trademark Office or by designating Germany in a European patent application and subsequently validating the granted European patent in Germany. This post is restricted to German patent applications that have been filed nationally. The provisions of the EPC and the case law of the EPO concerning software are discussed in other places of this blog."

Well, it is widely agreed by many that under the provisions of the EPC software patents are simply not allowed, but let's brush that aside for a moment. Best doesn't always know best. He is a little biased, like all patent lawyers. It's hard to betray one's source of salaries.

US Software Patents Receding Owing to Alice



As longtime readers probably know, a point we repeatedly make here is that the US keeps moving away (or further away) from software patents, so there's no reason for the EU or Germany (or any other country/commonwealth for that matter) to phase them in. After all, the US is where software patents came from in the first place, having been introduced several decades ago because of of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC).

"As more and more of society goes digital and more aspects or life get digitised, this matter becomes increasingly urgent."Looking at what happens in the US, it's not looking too good for software patents this week. "Federal Circuit Court of Appeals [CAFC] to Decide The Status of MacroPoint Patent Dispute with Fourkites" says this headline and a patent lawyer says: "This outfit (MacroPoint) thinks its freight tracking software #patents can survive #Alice v. CLS Bank challenge" (we have mentioned MacroPoint's patent attacks at least twice in the past [1, 2]).

Meanwhile, acknowledges a patent lawyer, "US Pat 7,096,003, S.Ct. Denied Cert; 101/Alice Kill Stands" (so Alice does it again). This is part of a longstanding trend in the US. A patent lawyer, writing at a pro-software patents advocacy site, is trying to dodge the Alice case (and the new rules it led to) in order to patent software anyway. It's somewhat pathetic to watch. They still refuse to grasp or accept a decision from their highest court.

Recent Techrights' Posts

A Note on SimilarWeb
Or why SimilarWeb is meaningless for more than 99% of the sites on the Web
IBM Said to be Shutting Down Offices or Sites in the United States
the press can no longer avoid admitting that IBM moves many jobs to India
LLM Slop as Attack Vector on the Reputation of Linux
The attacks on Linux have escalated to information warfare
 
Traf-O-Data, the Company of Jeffrey Epstein's BFF (Bill Gates) (Co)Founded 53 Years and Went Out of Business Due to Heavy Losses
Who will die first, Bill or Microsoft?
Why Microsoft's Shares Sank Almost 20% in Recent Months (the Bubble is Imploding)
verified press reports from the past 24 hours
GNU/Linux Rises to Almost 5% in Algeria While Windows Sinks to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux grew tenfold
Where to Get More Gags
A valued reader recommended that to us
Links 04/04/2025: Tech Stock (Inc. GAFAM) Fall, Google Pretends to Do End-to-End Encrypted Emails (With Google in Control)
Links for the day
To Participate in Fedora Diversity You Must Use Proprietary Software
Not for the first time either
Yandex About to Be Three Times Bigger Than Microsoft (Bing) in Asia
That's about 60% of the world's population
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Decoupling Updates, Elaho as Gemini Client
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 03, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 03, 2025
Microsoft's Trouble in Africa and Asia
A new all-time high for GNU/Linux
Brett Wilson LLP Reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The saddest thing in all this is that law firms can maintain high standards shall they wish to
Links 03/04/2025: Tariff Pains and C.D.C. Cuts
Links for the day
StatCounter: Microsoft is Masking a Disaster, It's Way Behind DeepSeek Already and Interest in LLMs Has Waned
it turns out the money "raised" for "Open" "AI" may not even exist at all
Links 03/04/2025: SoftBank Money for Microsoft "Open" "AI" Probably Doesn't Even Exist, Wikimedia Foundation Blasts LLM Nuisance While Microsoft Admits Demand Has Shrunk
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/04/2025: Patch Panel and Pictures
Links for the day
Islamic Republic of Iran: GNU/Linux at All-time High This Month, Windows Falls to 12%
Vista 10 is up this month despite being "end of life" (EoL) soon
Indonesia: All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
What's noteworthy right now is the growth of GNU/Linux
statCounter Says GNU/Linux Usage is Up Again (Internationally)
some preliminary April data
Only on April 1st Can the Free Software Foundation Associate With Microsoft's Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We saw some pranks that day linking the FSF to Microsoft (e.g. "endorsing" Windows)
Confirmed in the Mainstream Media: A Lot of Microsoft "Workloads" Were Just LLM Slop (Helping to Fake Growth for Years, as Microsoft Had Paid "Open" "AI" to Become a "Client") and Demand is Rapidly Waning, Datacentres Canceled and/or Shut Down
Anything to facilitate further accounting fraud
Taiwan's Media Covers Closure of Microsoft's "AI" Lab, It's Time to Talk About the Gradual Death of Windows and Implosion of the "AI" Bubble
Earlier this week we showed that mostly Asian media had the 'nerve' to mention Microsoft silently shutting down its 'AI' lab
IBM Gets Rid of Kelly Chambliss as Mass Layoffs Reported in IBM Consulting, IBM Loses Key Contracts/Graft
IBM Consulting has been in disarray lately
More Gains for GNU/Linux, Based on Web Surveys
the Steam site shows rapid growth for "Linux" this month
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles, Not Even Written by Humans
Why aren't Web sites more vocal about this problem?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Links 03/04/2025: Apple Fined Over Secret Surveillance, "Elegant Writer For A More Civilized Age"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: Books and Cold Tea
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web