[Fsfe-ie] Two recent reasonably balanced and informative articles on software patents.

Joseph Kiniry kiniry at acm.org
Thu May 5 11:15:40 CEST 2005


Hi all,

Two more articles in 4 May's ACM TechNews discuss software patents.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: TechNews <technews at HQ.ACM.ORG>
> Date: 4 May, 2005 19:44:52 GMT+01:00
> To: TECHNEWS at LISTSERV.ACM.ORG
> Subject: ACM TechNews - Wednesday, May 4, 2005
>
> Read the TechNews Online at: http://www.acm.org/technews/
> Current Issue: http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html
> ACM TechNews
> May 4, 2005
>
> Dear ACM TechNews Subscriber:
>
> Welcome to the May 4, 2005 edition of ACM TechNews,  providing timely 
> information for IT professionals three times a  week.  For 
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> below.
>
...snip...

> "Patent Litigation Worries Tech Industry"
>
> Government and tech industry representatives urged legislators to 
> institute patent system reforms at a recent hearing of the Senate 
> Judiciary Committee's Intellectual Property subcommittee. Reforms are 
> needed as a way to rein in "patent trolls" that obtain patent rights 
> and sue other ...

Summary at
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2005-7/0504w.html#item5
full article at
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0030000026MU

This article focuses on recent testimony before the Senate Judiciary 
Committee's Intellectual Property subcommittee by many parties.

An interesting bit from the USPTO Director:

> "Today," Dudas told senators, "economic success depends increasingly 
> on intangible, information-based assets, such as the creativity of 
> employees and the knowledge gained from research. As a result 
> intellectual property-based industries such as biotechnology and 
> entertainment now represent the largest single sector of the U.S. 
> economy. In fact, IP industries export more American value to the 
> world than the automobile, automobile parts, agricultural, and 
> aircraft industries combined."

I was somewhat encouraged by David Simon's testimony (!).  He is the 
chief patent counsel of the BSA:

> "Too many of these (patent litigation lawsuits) are filed in search of 
> a quick buck through settlement negotiations, rather than a party 
> legitimately asserting a right, because the infringer is interfering 
> with commercial objectives," Simon said.
>
> He suggested to help reduce patent litigation disruptions, Congress 
> should not allow the imposition of triple punitive damages -- which 
> current law permits -- unless there is evidence of willful 
> infringement. Congress also should make sure the courts assess damages 
> based only on the value of the patented component, not the whole 
> product -- "the cup holder and not the car," he said.

Another interesting article is the following:

> "Patents: Cuffing Innovation?"
>
> Forrester Research consultant Navi Radjou says patents are a critical 
> incentive for technological advancement, but acknowledges that they 
> can also impede innovation if they stifle the creativity of others; 
> defining an invention's patentability is therefore a major challenge. 
> Though patents ...

Summary at
http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2005-7/0504w.html#item17
full article at
http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/ArticleID/10192/10192.html

Some interesting bits:
> But a survey sponsored by the Lemelson-MIT Program found that most 
> filed patents have little commercial value. (The Lemelson-MIT Program, 
> which began in 1994, was established to raise the stature of inventors 
> and to inspire invention and innovation among young people.)
>
> For instance, patents filed by European researchers have increased 10% 
> per year since the late 1990s. Yet less than 10% of those patents have 
> commercial importance, and less than 1% have seminal importance.

This is a fairly balanced and reasonably well-informed article, with 
discussions about problems with the USPTO, patent trolls, 
cross-licensing, quotes from the president of the IEEE-USA, and the 
inverse relationship between the health of the technology sector and 
the willingness to litigate over patents.

Joe
---
Joseph R. Kiniry
Dept. of Computer Science, University College Dublin
http://secure.ucd.ie/




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