The current state of software and business method patents: 2008 edition
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| On the economic front, there continue to be billions of dollars in litigation
| over software patents every year, and such suits are increasingly against
| companies in the general economy who have software patent liability simply
| because they have a web site. Several pro-software patent academics have
| searched the existing data for evidence that software patents foster
| innovation, and failed to find any.
|
| On the legal front, the courts have begun to take notice, and from the Patent
| Office to the Supreme Court, judges have begun to indicate a desire to revise
| the current policy that everything is patentable subject matter. Expect to
| see the restoration of many important limits on what may be patented.
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http://esp.wikidot.com/local--files/2008-state-of-softpatents/feb_08-summary_report.pdf
Software patent debate needs to be frank, fair and, above all else, honest
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| Clearly, what the authors have done is take 55, multiply it by 52 and then
| multiply that figure (2860) to get the $11.4 billion. In other words, they
| have assumed that every single case filed in the US ends up going to a final
| decision at the first instance. However, the truth is that the vast majority
| of patent suits are settled well before they get to court and so the
| litigation costs incurred are significantly less. Any patent attorney that
| End Software Patents had cared to ask could have pointed out this simple
| truth. But maybe it is just a litte too inconvenient.
`----
http://www.iam-magazine.com/blog/Detail.aspx?g=32973fe5-81d9-471a-958d-8e39db2ce22d
Related and recent:
End Software Patents (ESP) Report: State of Software and Business Method
Patents
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| Software patent infringement lawsuits are increasingly targeted against
| non-software companies in the general business sector. For example, a company
| named Global Patent Holdings, LLC is currently seeking settlements between $7
| and $15 million from companies such as the Green Bay Packers, OfficeMax,
| Caterpillar, Kraft Foods, ADT Security Services, AutoNation, Tire Kingdom,
| and Boca Raton Resort and Club. In each case, the dispute is over the design
| of the company's website.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080228/aqth077.html?.v=35
eBay Settles Patent Suit With MercExchange
,----[ Quote ]
| eBay and MercExchange had been involved in litigation over MercExchange's
| patents and eBay's online auctions and fixed price related ecommerce
| operations.
|
| [...]
|
| In 2003 a jury found eBay's "Buy It Now" feature infringed MercExchange's
| patents for an online marketplace. A jury sided with MerExchange and awarded
| the company $30 million for infringement, which was later reduced to $25
| million on appeal.
`----
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/02/28/ebay-settles-patent-suit-with-mercexchange
Red Hat shows the way
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| At times like these, when proprietary software companies and turncoats from
| within the FOSS sphere are actively engaged in a battle to dominate
| standards, it is good to have a company like Red Hat on-side.
|
| [...]
|
| But looking at Red Hat's reaction to the recent Microsoft announcement about
| interoperability, it is easy to see that the North Carolina-based company is
| not a one-dimensional firm. Few companies would react to a statement from the
| biggest and most powerful proprietary software company - and one which is
| actively trying to steal its lunch - with anything resembling these
| words: "Red Hat regards this most recent announcement with a healthy dose of
| skepticism (sic)."
`----
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16913/1148/
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