Dublin firm dispels European patent myth
,----[ Quote ]
| O’Connor is a leading expert on European software patents and explained to
| his audience, which comprised 250 technology transfer and intellectual
| property experts from a range of companies and universities including Yahoo!,
| Microsoft, MIT, UC Berkeley and Stanford, why software patent applications
| fail in Europe, and what needs to be done to resolve these problems.
`----
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single10510
They are not "problems". They are /sanity/. Last week Microsoft had its
lobbying arms speaking 'on behalf' of SMBs in favour of swpatents.
Intellectual property: Patent progress
,----[ Quote ]
| The problem arose because the EPC and the derivative UK Patents Act excluded
| from patentability “methods of doing business and computer programs ‘as
| such’”. It took a number of stages to get a consistent interpretation of what
| was allowed. The problem arose because a computer program is often a
| convenient way of implementing a set of instructions which produce a
| technical advance (technical effect in patent-speak). Early on it was decided
| both in the EPO and in the UK courts that where the computer program is used
| to implement a method which produces a technical advantage, the process would
| be patentable.
`----
http://www.legalweek.com/Navigation/32/Articles/1105782/Intellectual+property+Patent+progress.html
EU Microsoft judge fears decision may hurt investment
,----[ Quote ]
| The chief judge in the landmark European Microsoft antitrust case highlighted
| the doubts of critics on Wednesday, saying in his first public comments on
| the decision he hopes it will not discourage investors.
| The 13-judge Grand Chamber of the European Union's second highest court
| handed down a sweeping ruling in September, upholding a tough European
| Commission decision saying Microsoft abused its dominance of PC operating
| systems to crush rivals. It also endorsed a 497-million euro fine.
|
| [...]
|
| Vesterdorf said that many critics believe the decision weakened patent law
| and the rights of patent holders to do as they wished with their intellectual
| property.
| There was no doubt that the CFI had significantly enhanced the authority of
| the European Commission beyond its rulings earlier cases, he said, giving
| it "a wide margin of appreciation."
`----
http://www.digitalmajority.org/forum/t-46648/guardian:eu-microsoft-judge-fears-decision-may-hurt-investment
Related:
Software Group Lobbied on Patents
,----[ Quote ]
| The Business Software Alliance, whose members include Microsoft Corp. and
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| Adobe Systems Inc., paid Emery Simon $260,000 in 2007 to lobby the federal
| government.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080228/business_software_alliance_lobbying.html?.v=1
Technology’s Hottest Product? Patent Litigation
,----[ Quote ]
| The Wall Street Journal’s Sara Silver takes a look today at Visto Corp., the
| company that last Friday sued Research in Motion for patent infringement. RIM
| returned the favor on Monday, suing Visto on the same grounds.
`----
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/05/04/technologys-hottest-product-patent-litigation/
More patent money wasted on fighting over where to sue
,----[ Quote ]
| The same problem exists for trade marks and designs, but the frequency with
| which jurisdictional tussles and applications for stays occur seems to the
| IPKat to be very much lower. Does anyone know why? Merpel is disappointed
| that the English courts won't have a chance, at least this time, to rule on
| whether there had been an abuse of process in bringing the action in Italy.
| That would have been fun.
`----
http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2008/03/more-patent-money-wasted-on-fighting.html
|
|
