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[News] Microsoft Shills for Software Patents, Junk Patents

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No Lobbyists As Such

,----[ Quote ]
| Florian Müller's book tells you the intriguing story of how we all managed to 
| influence policy makers by telling the truth against a plethora of paid  
| lobbyists from Microsoft, Siemens etc. 
| 
| Here the english and german version of the book. Published with permission 
| from the author. 
`----

http://livingopensource.com/no_lobbyists_as_such

Scroll keys belong to Microsoft, in part

,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft's patent claim says that prior to its invention, a computer user 
| couldn't easily punch the Page Up or Page Down keys to scroll exactly one 
| page down or up; instead, those buttons would move up or down a variable 
| amount within a document, depending on how magnified the document's text was.   
| 
| The patent dossier lists Timothy Sellers, Heather Graham and Joshua Dersch, 
| all of Washington state, as the inventors, and Microsoft as the patent owner. 
| 
| It is not clear whether Microsoft's patent will be enforceable. Another 
| company could implement the same scrolling method if it can show that the 
| technology was generally available and widely known before Microsoft filed a 
| patent application.   
| 
| Microsoft will not be able to assert ownership over the scrolling method in 
| Canada because it has not yet filed an application for the same invention 
| with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.  
`----

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/09/01/microsoft-keyboard-patents.html

Scope of FTC's Unfair Competition Authority Under Sec. 5 to Be Reviewed

,----[ Quote ]
| Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed consent 
| order and complaint against Negotiated Data Solutions LLC (N-Data). In that 
| matter, the agency alleged that the technology company engaged in unfair 
| methods of competition and unfair acts or practices in violation of Sec. 5 of 
| the FTC Act by enforcing certain patents against participants in a 
| standard-setting organization employing Ethernet, a computer networking 
| standard used in nearly every computer sold in the United States.       
`----

http://traderegulation.blogspot.com/2008/08/scope-of-ftcs-unfair-competition.html


Recent:

September 24 is "World Day Against Software Patents"

,----[ Quote ]
| Brussels, 2nd September 2008 — A global coalition of more than 80 software
| companies, associations and developers has declared the 24 of September to be
| the "World Day Against Software Patents". Five years ago, on 24 September
| 2003, the European Parliament adopted amendments to limit the scope of patent
| law and thereby protect small software companies from the harmful effects of
| broad and trivial software patents. A global petition asking to effectively
| stop software patents worldwide will be launched on 24 September 2008,
| together with specific additional requests for certain regions such as
| Europe, the United States, or India.
|
| On 24 September 2008, the World Day Against Software Patents will provide
| volunteers with the opportunity to express the growing concerns of users,
| businesses and developers. The granting of software patents by patent offices
| around the world affects their freedom to innovate. The organisers expect 24h
| of activities across the globe. Volunteers will gather in front of patent
| offices to inform the general public of the problems underlying software
| patenting.
`----

http://stopsoftwarepatents.org/draft:coalition-declares-24-september-as-the-world-day-against-software-patents


Latha Jishnu: The mouse that bit Microsoft
PATENTLY ABSURD

,----[ Quote ]
| Here’s what Gates wrote in an office memorandum in 1991. “If people had
| understood how patents would be granted when most of today’s ideas were
| invented, and had taken out patents, the industry would be at a complete
| standstill today. . . I feel certain that some large company will patent some
| obvious thing related to interface, object orientation, algorithm,
| application extension or other crucial technique.”
|
| This was the year after Microsoft launched Windows 3.0, the first of its new
| operating systems that would become hugely popular across the world. Yet,
| three years down the line, Microsoft had changed from a kitten that was
| content with copyright protection to an aggressive patents tiger. In 1991,
| Microsoft had filed fewer than 50 patent applications whereas last year it
| was awarded 1,637 patents, almost a 12 per cent increase in the number of
| patents it received in 2006. According to IFI Patent Intelligence, the rise
| in Microsoft’s patents portfolio bucked the general trend in 2007 when the
| number of patents issued by the US Patents and Trademark Office dipped by 10
| per cent. Apparently several thousand of the company’s filings are still
| pending.
|
| All this may prompt the reader to conclude that there is indeed a direct
| correlation between IPR and growth — and wealth — as the company claims. Not
| true, says Mark H Webbink, a US Supreme Court lawyer who is a recognised
| voice on IT issues. Charting the company’s revenues, R&D spending and patent
| filings from 1985 onwards, he shows that the spike in patent filings occurred
| long after the Microsoft “had become well established and was being
| investigated for its monopolistic practices”. Webbink contends that patents
| did not spur the launch and rapid growth of the mass market software
| industry. On the other hand, patents have become a threat to software
| innovation, he warns.
`----

http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=330566
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