#Google Attacks #Oracle ‘720 Patent

via Foss:

As Oracle’s action in the Northern District of California for infringement by Google of seven Java platform patents continues apace, the reexamination at the PTO of those patents grinds on as well.  Oracle’s U.S. Patent No. 7,426,720, for instance, stands rejected as being invalid over the prior art.  Oracle disputed that rejection in a paper filed in early July, and last Thursday, Google commented on Oracle’s filing.

Essentially, Google asserts (1) that the ‘720 patent claims were originally allowed as a result of Oracle’s adding the limitation of copy-on-write to the claims after a final rejection, and that Oracle relied on this copy-on-write limitation to distinguish the claims from the prior art of record, (2) that the copy-on-write technology central to alleged novelty of the ‘720 patent was present in most Unix operating systems as early as 1994, and was widely-known in the art at least as early as 1988, and (3) that Oracle’s filing in July admits that the Bach reference satisfies the copy-on-write limitation.

As always, it is difficult for an outsider to judge how a reexamination is proceeding.  Still, Google appears to be doing well, at least with respect to the ‘720 patent.

http://www.whda.com/blog/2011/08/two-updates/ 

If you want to see more jobs created – change #patent laws

I’m not talking about a new company that had an idea that someone beat us to. No sir. I’m talking about companies that have been doing business the same way for years that are getting hit by patent trolls . These aren’t operating companies that are trying to protect their business. These are companies that aggregate patents and raise capital for the sole purpose of suing companies and extorting money from them.

It’s bad for my little companies. It’s horrific for bigger companies. It’s so bad that  major tech companies are  buying big collections of patents not because they want to own the intellectual property but rather because they want the ability to respond to patent lawsuits with a lawsuit of their own. It’s like playing a game of thermo nuclear war. If all sides have “nuclear patents” they can respond to patent litigation with equal force . In other words, if you have enough “nuclear patents” no one will sue you for patent infringement because you have enough power to respond in kind. Its crazy and costing this country jobs.

Google just bid $900mm to buy a patent collection. Those patents ended up being sold for $4.5BILLION dollars .  That is money that for could have  gone to job creation.

http://blogmaverick.com/2011/08/06/if-you-want-to-see-more-jobs-created-change-patent-laws/

Martin Fowler on Software #Patents

Everyone in the software field has seen a parade of patents which do nothing but try to claim rights on techniques that have already been in use for years, let alone developments that while new, are are still obvious to those of us with ordinary skills in programming.

Although this debasement is quite enough to ruin the integrity of software patents, there are some other debasements worth mentioning too. Patents were originally created with a limited time in mind - the 1623 law placed them at fourteen years. This, of course, at a period of time when change was much slower than it is now, let alone than it is in our field. Proper software patents should hold for a shorter period than that.

http://martinfowler.com/bliki/SoftwarePatent.html 

Time To Really Deal With The Broken Software #Patent System

I’ve been railing against software patents for a number of years. I believe software patents are an invalid construct – software shouldn’t be able to patented.

For a while, I felt like I was shouting alone in the wilderness. While a bunch of software engineers I know thought software patents were bogus, I had trouble getting anyone else to speak out against software patents. But that has changed. In the last few month the issue of software patents – and the fundamental issues with them – have started to be front and center in the discussion about innovation.

 http://www.businessinsider.com/time-to-really-deal-with-the-broken-software-patent-system-2011-8#ixzz1URzyLePq

The accidental revolution: How #Apple 's #iPhone transformed enterprise IT

There's a good article over at Fortune about how Apple's iPhone -- always intended as a consumer device -- opened the floodgates for Apple's invasion of the enterprise with mobile devices.

This topic was covered in a March Network World feature that detailed the almost immediate impact of the iPhone on enterprises. As Chris Hazelton, mobile and wireless research director for The 451 Group in Boston, said at the time, "The iPhone enabled Apple to enter a door into the enterprise. But that door has been opened by employees already using the device."

http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/nsm/2011/080811nsm1.html 

4 reasons #Windows Phone 7 will beat iPhone and Android

#Microsoft doesn't tend to invest time and capital into market segments it can't dominate, which makes one wonder how it is still a distant fifth in the worldwide #smartphone market. According to IDC, Windows Phone 7/Windows Mobile will capture roughly 4% of the worldwide smartphone market by the end of 2011.

However, IDC predicts that once the next version of Windows Phone 7 arrives in products later this year, Microsoft will be on firmer footing. In fact, IDC is so bullish on the future of Windows smartphones that it predicts Microsoft will capture more than 20% of the market by 2015, moving ahead of iOS and behind only Android.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/080811-windows-phone7.html

#Apple faces infringement lawsuit over fast booting #patent once owned by LG

Apple's facing yet another patent infringement lawsuit -- this time, in Florida, where a company called Operating Systems Solutions (OSS) is taking aim at OS X's fast booting operation. According to court documents, the plaintiff alleges that Cupertino's function (most prominently displayed on this year'sMacBook Air refresh) violates at least one protected claim, which details a four-step method for speedy booting, and involves files like config.sys and autoexec.bat (seriously). Interestingly enough, the patent in question was originally granted to LG Electronics, back in 2002, but is currently owned by the little-known OSS.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/08/apple-faces-infringement-lawsuit-over-fast-booting-patent-once-o/ 

#Apple Becomes Top #Smartphone Vendor For The First Time

In the rapidly growing smartphone market, where (almost) everyone’s a winner, Apple is currently the winningest of them all. According to research firm IDC, in the second quarter of 2011, Apple’s iPhone outsold all other brands for the first time.

Year-over-year, the smartphone market has shifted wildly and dramatically. Apple’s market share jumped from 13% to 19.1% to give it the top spot, but number-two Samsung actually grew by a far greater percentage, from 5.6% to 16.2%.

http://hothardware.com/News/Apple-Becomes-Top-Smartphone-Vendor-For-The-First-Time/ 

Hargreaves Report: Patently Sensible Stuff

Hargreaves Report: Patently Sensible Stuff

Although that suggests the main focus of the report is on copyright, one of the most important recommendations of the report concerns software patents:

In Europe, in contrast to Japan and the US, there are restrictions laid down by the EPC on how far computer programs may be patented. Programs considered to make a “technical contribution” - such as controlling a robot, or making the internal operation of a computer more efficient - can be patented; general application programs - such as word processing software - cannot.

However, applications for patents on computer programs face differing interpretations of precisely where this boundary line lies on the part of the EPO and the UK IPO. The EPO, having started from a position similar to the UK, has in recent years become more open to awarding such patents than theIPO. Submissions to the Call for Evidence differed on the question of whether computer programs should be afforded patent protection, but many appealed for consistency between the IPO and theEPO.

This presents a dilemma for an evidence-based patent policy; the evidence points to significant benefits arising from European harmonisation (as discussed in Chapter 3), but also to the UK’s current position of denying or at least severely restricting patents to non-technical computer programs. In this case, the Review believes the balance of evidence lies in continuing to withhold patent recognition of non-technical computer programs as part of a sustained effort to deal with the growing and dangerous problem of thickets. The UK should seek to convince its European partners of the force of this case.

Samsung licenses patents from Myhrvold's Intellectual Ventures

Samsung licenses patents from Myhrvold's Intellectual Ventures:

Samsung Electronics has struck a long-term licensing deal with Intellectual Ventures, giving the South Korean electronics giant rights to the technology patents held by the Bellevue-based firm run by Nathan Myhrvold, the former Microsoft chief technology officer.

No financial terms were disclosed as part of the announcement. The deal 'grants Samsung access to a broad and comprehensive IP portfolio under terms attractive to Samsung,' said Dr. Seungho Ahn, a Samsung Electronics senior vice president, in the news release.