Ridiculous eCommerce patents - should I be worried?

[Arnoud Galactus Engelfriet]

Jan Wildeboer wrote:
> As our program fits quite exactly in these patents - must we be worried 
> about possible legal actions against us or our core team members in USA?

If your program is distributed on the US market, you may be
in trouble. Even your US team members may be in trouble, as
"making a patented invention" is forbidden without permission.
However, the big question for them is whether you're worth the
effort. 

And I really really would like to stress that you should never
say "our program exactly infringes those patents". If you get sued,
and the opposing party finds this message in the public archive
or something, you've basically lost the trial.

I don't know whether this company also holds European patents on
e-commerce techniques. The EPO is more restrictive than the USPTO,
and the legal situation differs from country to country. The
German Supreme Court appears to be in favor of e-commerce patents
(BGH Sprachanalyseeinrichtung,
http://www.patentgesetz.de/kommentar/sprachanalyseeinrichtung.pdf)

> Or does the GPL mak esure we will have no problems?

No, the GPL cannot help you here.

> IMHO there is prior art - Vend/Minivend was first published in 1995. But 
> does that count in any way?

Only if you start a lawsuit (or file a counterclaim when you
get sued). You can then use that prior art to prove to the
judge that the patent is invalid and should be annulled. But
this may be difficult and most certainly is expensive. Don't
do it without a (patent) lawyer.

You may also want to read
http://www.iusmentis.com/patents/businessmethods/
and
http://www.iusmentis.com/patents/obviousness/

Kind regards,

Arnoud Engelfriet

-- 
Arnoud Engelfriet, Dutch patent attorney - Speaking only for myself
Patents, copyright and IPR explained for techies: http://www.iusmentis.com/