decoration decoration
Stories

GROKLAW
When you want to know more...
decoration
For layout only
Home
Archives
Site Map
Search
About Groklaw
Awards
Legal Research
Timelines
ApplevSamsung
ApplevSamsung p.2
ArchiveExplorer
Autozone
Bilski
Cases
Cast: Lawyers
Comes v. MS
Contracts/Documents
Courts
DRM
Gordon v MS
GPL
Grokdoc
HTML How To
IPI v RH
IV v. Google
Legal Docs
Lodsys
MS Litigations
MSvB&N
News Picks
Novell v. MS
Novell-MS Deal
ODF/OOXML
OOXML Appeals
OraclevGoogle
Patents
ProjectMonterey
Psystar
Quote Database
Red Hat v SCO
Salus Book
SCEA v Hotz
SCO Appeals
SCO Bankruptcy
SCO Financials
SCO Overview
SCO v IBM
SCO v Novell
SCO:Soup2Nuts
SCOsource
Sean Daly
Software Patents
Switch to Linux
Transcripts
Unix Books

Gear

Groklaw Gear

Click here to send an email to the editor of this weblog.


You won't find me on Facebook


Donate

Donate Paypal


No Legal Advice

The information on Groklaw is not intended to constitute legal advice. While Mark is a lawyer and he has asked other lawyers and law students to contribute articles, all of these articles are offered to help educate, not to provide specific legal advice. They are not your lawyers.

Here's Groklaw's comments policy.


What's New

STORIES
No new stories

COMMENTS last 48 hrs
No new comments


Sponsors

Hosting:
hosted by ibiblio

On servers donated to ibiblio by AMD.

Webmaster
Why the Idea of the Software Patent Does Not Fly | 117 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
HA !
Authored by: ukjaybrat on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 12:14 PM EDT
"On topic posters will be forced to buy a Nokia phone and use
it."

Can I "use" said Nokia phone as a prop under the fourth leg of
my tilted table?

---
IANAL

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Microsoft's most profitable mobile operating system: Android
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 03:01 PM EDT
Ziff-Davis writer estimates Microsoft may make up to $3.4B off
Android sales this year, through patent royalties at
approximately $8 per Android device.


http://www.zdnet.com/microsofts-most-profitable-mobile-
operating-system-android-7000015094/

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Members of Congress finally introduce serious DMCA reform
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 03:53 PM EDT
Article at Arstechnica.

New legislation sponsored by Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Jared Polis (D-CO) takes a broader approach to the issue. In addition to explicitly legalizing cell phone unlocking, the Unlocking Technology Act of 2013 also modifies the DMCA to make clear that unlocking copy-protected content is only illegal if it's done in order to "facilitate the infringement of a copyright." If a circumvention technology is "primarily designed or produced for the purpose of facilitating noninfringing uses," that would not be a violation of copyright.

For example, Lofgren's bill would likely make it legal for consumers to rip DVDs for personal use in much the same way they've long ripped CDs. It would remove legal impediments to making versions of copyrighted works that are accessible to blind users. And it would ensure that car owners have the freedom to service their vehicles without running afoul of copyright law.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

  • Hmmm. - Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 05:36 PM EDT
    • Hmmm. - Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 08:35 PM EDT
Weaponizing The Patent System: A Tiny Startup Faces Financial Extinction
Authored by: SpaceLifeForm on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 03:54 PM EDT
Link

"It's a game-changing event, truly. It's terrifying," sighed Ditto CEO Kate Endress. "We've had to stop all marketing, every dollar has to go into this litigation." 1-800 Contacts refuses to license the patent to Ditto; instead it's seeking an injunction to stop Ditto from using the software. The only option, as Ditto sees it, is to lawyer-up and try and win the suit.

...

"If we win this infringement case, we're still out the millions of dollars we spent winning. That's why it has become punitive for companies to innovate," Endress said. "The patent systems is structured in a way where it lets corporations act like patent trolls where they can buy things they didn't invent.

...

Despite the odds, Endress vows that, "We're going to vigorously defend ourselves. We're so proud of what we built. Maybe we can become cash flow positive and survive." The EFF is asking for help in trying to invalidate the patent in question, but no matter how the legal complications unfold, the road Ditto faces will certainly be long and expensive.

---

You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Pulling a Prenda - more insanity
Authored by: SpaceLifeForm on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 04:37 PM EDT
Link

Popcorn recommended.

---

You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Why the Idea of the Software Patent Does Not Fly
Authored by: SpaceLifeForm on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 05:40 PM EDT
Link

...

In 1994, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided in In re Alappat that an invention that had a novel software algorithm combined with a trivial physical step was eligible for patent protection. This ruling opened the way for a large scale increase in patenting of software. Alappat and his fellow inventors were granted patent 5,440,676, the patent at issue in the appeal, in 1995. That patent expired in 2008. In other words, we have now experienced a full generation of software patents.

The Alappat decision was controversial, not least because the software industry had been highly innovative without patent protection. In fact, there had long been industry opposition to patenting software. Since the 1960s, computer companies opposed patents on software, first, in their input to a report by a presidential commission in 1966 and then in amici briefs to the Supreme Court in Gottschalk v. Benson in 1972 (they later changed their views). Major software firms opposed software patents through the mid-1990s. Perhaps more surprising, software developers themselves have mostly been opposed to patents on software.

Those original fears about the harm that software patents would cause to the industry have turned out to be well founded. The book " Patent Failure " by Bessen and Meurer has calculated the aggregate annual patent profits and costs for the years 1996 to 1999, shortly after software patents became more common. The annual patent profits for US companies from software patents was $100 million; the annual litigation costs for software patents were $3,880 million. That means on average, the net effect of software patents was a loss of over $3.5 billion per year.

...

Patent trolls reduce the incentives to innovate in one field above all:

the characteristics of this litigation are distinctive: it is focused on software and related technologies, it targets firms that have already developed technology, and most of these lawsuits involve multiple large companies as defendants.

Just as with the Wright Brothers, then, patents are not helping innovation, but hindering it severely, particularly in the field of software, where hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth has been destroyed by patents. The overall effect on research and development is devastating:

In the smartphone industry alone, according to a Stanford University analysis, as much as $20 billion was spent on patent litigation and patent purchases in the last two years — an amount equal to eight Mars rover missions. Last year, for the first time, spending by Apple and Google on patent lawsuits and unusually big-dollar patent purchases exceeded spending on research and development of new products, according to public filings.

The evidence is overwhelming: software patents were never needed to create the software industry we know today, and they are no longer needed now that unpatented open source is replacing proprietary software at every level. Software patents do not promote innovation, they stifle it. They do not reward inventors, but patent trolls. As an idea and in practice, the software patent - rather like the Wright brothers' lethally-dangerous Model C aeroplane - simply does not fly.

---

You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Righthaven splatted
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 05:41 PM EDT
See:-

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/05/copyright-troll-righthaven-finally-co
mpletely-dead/

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Windows for Writers - Good Software
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 06:54 PM EDT

I've finished getting Shebat Legion's computer up and running, and she has it back. This is what I've installed. Note that the software is in alphabetical order, and I'm including everything, browsers etc.

7Zip
Abiword
Celestia
Celtx
Chrome
Ever note
Firefox
Freemind
InfraRecorder
LibreOffice 4.02 + Help Pack + After the Deadline 0.4 plugin
Lyx2.0 (supposed to have a writer plug-in)
Stellarium
Storybook 4
The Gimp
Videolan
YWriter
Zim Desktop Wiki


Some of this stuff may not make sense to you, but the two of us were talking about a Science Fiction collaboration, so Celestia and Stellarium could be useful. Besides, I know she likes stars.

The Gimp is useful if you want to do cover layouts designs, to give the artist an idea of what you want.

Evernote is great for research.

Infrarecorder is useful for backups. Not as good as a decent USB drive, but still helpful. I've also talked her into getting an online storage account.

Freemind is useful for brainstorming.

Zim is a decent note keeping util/wiki.

7Zip handles most archive formats.

YWriter and StoryBook are both "writers" tools which include an editor, along with a character, plot, and setting database.

Videolan is useful as a general media player.

I assume everyone knows what LibreOffice is. The plug in is an improved Grammar checker.

Abiword got included in case she wanted something lighter than LibreOffice.

If you have any friends still using Windows who write, this is probably as good as it gets. Most of this stuff is also available for Linux, and some of it is available for Mac OSX and BSD as well.

Wayne
http://madhatter.ca

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Suing Microsoft over Skype - Get in the queue
Authored by: SpaceLifeForm on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 07:28 PM EDT
VirnetX Files New Lawsuit Against Microsoft Corporation Citing Willful Infringement

April 22, 2013, it filed a complaint against Microsoft Corporation in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division. The complaint includes allegations of willful patent infringement regarding six patents owned by VirnetX, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,502,135, 7,188,180, 7,418,504, 7,490,151, 7,921,211, and 7,987,274. Specifically, the complaint references Microsoft's Skype products as infringing the VirnetX patents. Skype was purchased after the limited license was signed between Microsoft and VirnetX. This infringement falls outside of the scope of the prior license. In its complaint, VirnetX seeks both damages and injunctive relief.

Microsoft hit by patent lawsuit over Skype

May 1, 2013. CopyTele, a company that calls itself "specialists in patent monetization and patent assertion," launched its suit today, alleging that some of the technology used in Skype violates patents owned by its subsidiary, Secure Web Conference Corp.

In its complaint, CopyTele is asserting the infringement of two U.S patents -- "Method and apparatus for securing e-mail attachments" [6,856,686] and "Portable telecommunication security device," [6,856,687] both granted in 2005.

---

You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Microsoft Silverlight - Linux users - Public Transportation.
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 09:31 PM EDT

Silverlight - Public Transportation - Trains and Buses

In California we have various PUBLIC transportation systems. The one I'm complaining about is "The City of Santa Clarita, (Los Angeles, CA) Transit".

In order to use their interactive map I have to install Silverlight. This would imply that I would have to install a Microsoft OS as well as have a computer powerful enough to run it. (Or buy an Apple computer).

I thought after Hurricane Katrina these vendor centric sites run by government type agencies became a thing of the past.

As an activist I want to know what I can do to make some changes in order that people can use this site without Microsoft proprietary software and licenses? The EFF maybe. Something else? Anything?

I've included some hyperlinks below for anyone interested.

Bus Finder Map, without a map of Santa Clarita buses, one might find himself standing next to the Station Tracks figuring out what to do next. It is so easy to join (joking) SILVERLIGHT Quick Download - Thirty Second Install

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

I never thought to see another NEWS article by Laura ( DUH!! ) Didio
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, May 09 2013 @ 09:46 PM EDT
Well !! Knock me over with a Windows shills phony storys.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

  • Don't worry - Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, May 10 2013 @ 12:49 PM EDT
Barnes & Noble is just a pain for Microsoft
Authored by: nyarlathotep on Friday, May 10 2013 @ 12:09 AM EDT
First, Microsoft tried to strong-arm B&N into putting
Windows on the Nook. They went with Android.

Then they tried the baseless patent threat game and were
out-maneuvered. Microsoft ended up giving them $300 million
in working capital to make the lawsuit Microsoft started go
away.

Now that B&N had a brilliant Amicus Curiae it looks like
they're desperate to just buy them out so they can shut them
down with a $1,000,000,000+ payoff.

It must really be killing Microsoft that B&N has made a
product consumers love, and is telling the truth in court.

I can just hear Ballmer now... "nasty nookitses, my
precious".

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Groklaw © Copyright 2003-2013 Pamela Jones.
All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners.
Comments are owned by the individual posters.

PJ's articles are licensed under a Creative Commons License. ( Details )