"A June US Supreme Court decision on the legality of software patents has been sending shockwaves through their legal system. The case, called Alice v. CLS Bank, has led to a bunch of lower court decisions invalidating software patents. It may also have been responsible for September's sharp decline in patent lawsuits."
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Anti patent troll group thrives
"Remember the Open Invention Network (OIN)? That's the defensive software patent community set up to protect Linux against patent aggressors. Well, it recently passed 1,000 members, growing nearly 70 percent over the last year."
Wednesday, October 01, 2014
US Cracking Down on Software Patents
Press release by Fenwick and West who appear to be IP lawyers in the USA
"The patents unanimously struck down by the Court were for an electronic escrow service for online securities sales. The Supreme Court ruled that an abstract idea like escrow, which has been around for hundreds of years, does not become patent eligible simply by being executed online. Since then, the USPTO has drawn a much tougher line regarding similar patent claims."
They continue talking about how recent changes have made US patent rules more like those of Europe.
"The patents unanimously struck down by the Court were for an electronic escrow service for online securities sales. The Supreme Court ruled that an abstract idea like escrow, which has been around for hundreds of years, does not become patent eligible simply by being executed online. Since then, the USPTO has drawn a much tougher line regarding similar patent claims."
They continue talking about how recent changes have made US patent rules more like those of Europe.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Software patents are crumbling in USA
Timothy Lee has written an article on the Vox blog about how US court rulings are now invalidating a whole class of software patents.
"These rulings might seem like common sense, but it's important to remember that every single one of these patents was examined and approved [...] because until recently, this kind of "invention" was considered eligible for patent protection. The patent office has issued hundreds of thousands of software patents over the last two decades, and many of them look like this.
"But now the courts are sending a pretty clear message: you can't take a commonplace human activity, do it with a computer, and call that a patentable invention."
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Magical Drug Wins EFF’s Stupid Patent of the Month
"Good news everyone! The US Patent Office has granted a patent on a cure for cancer. Last December, the Patent Office issued Patent No. 8,609,158 on a “potent drug” that “rebukes cancer, cancer cells, and kills cancer.”
"According to the patent, this drug cures a litany of other maladies. What is this wonderful invention, you ask? It is a combination of “evening primrose oil, rice, sesame seeds, green beans, coffee, meat, cheese, milk, green tea extract, evening primrose seeds, and wine.”
"The patent examiner could and should have rejected it on any number of grounds, including enablement, indefiniteness, and utility."
Simon Phipps Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF uses CC by 3.0 us for its blogs)
"According to the patent, this drug cures a litany of other maladies. What is this wonderful invention, you ask? It is a combination of “evening primrose oil, rice, sesame seeds, green beans, coffee, meat, cheese, milk, green tea extract, evening primrose seeds, and wine.”
"The patent examiner could and should have rejected it on any number of grounds, including enablement, indefiniteness, and utility."
Simon Phipps Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF uses CC by 3.0 us for its blogs)
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