Les brevets sur les logiciels et leur danger pour le shareware

Europe Shareware software patents newsletter #9
11 October 2003

Webpage: http://www.europe-shareware.org/pages/brevets/brevets.fr.html
PDF    : http://www.europe-shareware.org/pages/brevets/newsletter9.us.pdf
Archive: http://www.europe-shareware.org/pages/brevets/newsletter9.us.html


CONTENTS:

1. Bavarian SMEs on software patents

2. US government on EU directive

3. 2 millions european SMEs against software patents

4. Lawyers against the European Parliament

5. Intel Chairman and the patent system 

6. Will Australia allow business method patents ?

7. Entertainment Websites sued over DMT patents

8. Latests news on Eolas' "plugin" patent

9. New Instant Messaging patent for Microsoft

10. Bug reports now patented by Microsoft

11. Lawsuit on web filtering patents




----
1. Bavarian SMEs on software patents

"Mittelstand gegen Pläne für EU-Softwarepatente"
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/sz/wirtschaft/red-artikel1889/

In this article Mario Ohoven, president of the SME Union of Bavaria and
president of the European Federation of SMEs (Europäischen Verbände
Kleiner und Mittlerer Unternehmen), outlines that the software patents
directive doesn't take into account the interests of the german software
publishers, the current text could put them in danger.

A few quotes:

  « Der Verlust zehntausender Arbeitsplätze sowie 
    ein drastischer Innovationsrückgang drohen 
    nach Ansicht des Bundesverbandes mittelständische 
    Wirtschaft, wenn der Richtlinienentwurf der 
    EU-Kommission zu Software-Patenten unverändert 
    beschlossen wird. »

  « "Der Vorschlag läuft den Interessen der deutschen 
    Softwareunternehmen krass zuwider," betonte Mario 
    Ohoven, Präsident des BVMW und Präsident der 
    Vereinigung der Europäischen Verbände Kleiner und 
    Mittlerer Unternehmen. »




----
2. US government on EU directive

The US government sent to the British Members of the European Parliament
a lobbying document telling what amendments to vote a few days before the
vote on the software patents directive (which occured on September, 24).

You can find here this document along with comments:

http://swpat.ffii.org/papers/eubsa-swpat0202/ustr0309/




----
3. 2 millions european SMEs against software patents

An alliance representing a total of 2 million small and medium-sized
businesses in Europe says that software patents, as legalised by the proposed
patent directive, are harmful for SMEs.

The declaration can be found here:

    http://swpat.ffii.org/papers/eubsa-swpat0202/ceapme0309/index.en.html




----
4. Lawyers against the European Parliament

"Software patent limits 'go too far'"
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39116709,00.htm

Lawyers of the patent lobby condemn the vote of the Members of the
European Parliament and ask that the software patents debate must be
taken out of the hands of democracy. According to them this matter is too
complicated and decision taking should be reserved to patent experts.

A few quotes:

  « The decision to adopt several amendments to 
    the highly controversial directive, 
    fundamentally altering its effects, is 
    likely to lead to the directive's withdrawal 
    by the European Commission, according to 
    Alex Batteson, IT expert at British 
    intellectual property law firm Bristows. »

  « He suggested that this might not be a bad 
    thing, since patent reform could then be 
    formulated by patent law specialists, 
    without the need for democratic scrutiny. »

  « "The amendments certainly appear to have 
    irritated Frits Bolkestein at the 
    Commission and he may decide to abandon 
    the directive in favour of a renegotiation 
    of the European Patent Convention. This 
    would take the issue out of the hands of 
    the Parliament and give it to national 
    delegations of patent experts." »




----
5. Intel Chairman and the patent system 

"Intel Chairman Says U.S. Is Losing Edge"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6042-2003Oct9.html

Andy Grove, co-founder and Chairman of Intel, tells policymakers about
the negative impact on the US economy of the frivolous patents granted by
the USPTO.

A few quotes:

  « Grove also criticized the nation's 
    overburdened patent system, which he said is 
    causing an abundance of innovation-slowing 
    litigation. »

  « He said that the inability of patent 
    examiners to handle the workload has led to 
    a backlog of important applications, but also 
    less than thorough vetting of patents that 
    perhaps should not be granted. »




----
6. Will Australia allow business method patents ?

"Australia's ecommerce patent solution nears"
http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/ebusiness/story/
0,2000048590,20278623,00.htm

The Australian government is considering allowing patents on business
methods (dubbed "patents over business systems" in Australia). 

A few quotes:

  « Research conducted by ACIP shows the number 
    of applications for business method patents in 
    Australia grew 1000 percent between 1995 and 
    2000, corresponding with a 30-fold increase in 
    the US over the same period. »

  « The ACA [Australian Consumers Association] and 
    the Australian Computer Society (ACS) are 
    aligned in the belief that patents that include 
    business methods are too broad and would have 
    the effect of inhibiting innovation rather than 
    promoting it. »

  « In Australia, [...] groups on both sides of the 
    debate indicated that the federal government 
    should ensure that they [patents] are subjected 
    to tougher tests for validity than are currently 
    applied. »

  « Brendon Scott, a Sydney-based solicitor who 
    works closely with the IT industry, said that 
    the easing of US laws applying to business 
    methods patents had eroded the credibility of 
    patent offices. 

  « According to Scott patent offices lack the 
    necessary experience and access to records of 
    prior art to make adequate judgements about 
    business method patents. »

  « Scott said many of his clients had already 
    stopped giving assurances that their products 
    are free from competing patent claims as 
    patenting offices had failed to reject 
    "spurious" applications during preliminary 
    stages. »

  « According to Argy [Philip Argy, senior partner 
    in the Intellectual Property & Technology 
    Group at law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques, 
    and chair of the ACS' Economic Legal and 
    Social Implications Committee], Australia is 
    a signatory to international patent 
    cooperation treaties that allow claims filed 
    in Australia to be back-dated to the time of 
    they were filed in their country of origin. 
    Companies can file for patents in Australia 
    within 20 months of filing in their home 
    country. As patents are not publicised until 
    they are granted, a locally-based company 
    could implement a solution within the 
    20-month window, unaware it infringes on 
    intellectual property rights. »




----
7. Entertainment Websites sued over DMT patents

"Acacia Utilizes Court Injunction to Close Down Go Entertainment Websites
Violating DMT Patents"
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030919/195471_1.html
 
Acacia Research Corp. has caused 42 websites owned by Go Entertainment,
Inc. to be closed down. The websites were continuing to utilize Acacia's
Digital Media Transmission (DMT) technology in violation of a Court
Order. 

Acacia's DMT patents relates to audio and video transmission and
receiving systems, commonly known as audio-on-demand, video-on-demand,
and audio/video streaming, and is used for distributing digital content
via several means including Internet, cable television, and wireless systems. 




----
8. Latests news on Eolas' "plugin" patent

"W3C to study patent's threat to HTML"
http://news.com.com/2100-1032-5082046.html



"Rivalries set aside in defense of Internet Explorer"
http://news.com.com/2009-1023_3-5082004.html

This interesting article shows how deep is the impact of the Eolas'
"plugin" patent on the internet itself and the internet software
publishers. Putting aside rivalries, Microsoft competitors strongly
criticize Eolas' patent and the US patent system.

A few quotes:

  « Microsoft's competitors fear that Eolas' 
    lawyers will target them next, and its 
    partners--such as Macromedia and Sun 
    Microsystems--worry that an enjoined IE 
    browser would be prohibited from running 
    their software plug-ins without awkward 
    technology alternatives. »
		
  « "We're no big fan of Microsoft, but I'm 
    a big fan of the Web," said Dougherty, 
    who is in charge of online publishing at 
    O'Reilly and testified on behalf of 
    Microsoft in its recent patent trial. 
    "What worries people is that this is 
    the first successful patent offense on 
    the Web, and lots of other things could 
    be coming." »

  « For others, the end of IE plug-ins could 
    be disastrous. "Macromedia is clearly the 
    most vulnerable," said Richard Smith, a 
    noted computer security analyst and a 
    participant in a W3C online discussion 
    about the Eolas patent. »

  « "If you look at embedded content in Web 
    pages--that is, plug-ins--Flash has to be 
    No. 1 by a mile," he said. "In my reading 
    of the patent, the ways that Macromedia 
    operates--and the things that it does--
    make it seem that it would fall under the 
    patent." »

  « The prospect of having such a basic 
    necessity as running plug-ins subject to 
    the whim of Eolas has the industry in a 
    near panic--not least among those 
    organizations whose rules restrict or ban 
    the use of patented technologies, such as 
    open-source browser makers and the W3C. »



"Critics say Microsoft IE changes premature
Company may be forcing developers to rewrite aspects of the Web"
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/10/08/HNiechanges_1.html

  « "They will have to make changes to those 
    few Web pages that have ActiveX controls or 
    Java applets on them to avoid dialog boxes 
    on those pages," explained Michael Wallent, 
    the general manager of Microsoft's Windows 
    client platform group. »

  « However, the work required to review and 
    modify any site with extensive flash 
    animation would be a "notable expense" 
    for some companies [...] »

  « "It's only a minor change, but if there 
    are hundreds of millions of pages out 
    there that have to be re-authored, that's 
    a lot of work," said a source familiar 
    with the matter [...] »



"Eolas files motion to enjoin IE"
http://news.com.com/2100-1028-5088349.html

  « Eolas [...] asked the U.S. District Court in 
    Chicago for an injunction against 
    distributing copies of IE capable of running 
    plug-in applications in a way the Eolas 
    patent covers. »

  « "If they're not going to pony up and take a 
    license under the patent, then they shouldn't 
    be using it," Martin Lueck of Robins, Kaplan, 
    Miller & Ciresi said in an interview. »




----
9. New Instant Messaging patent for Microsoft

Patent: US 6631412

"Microsoft pockets an IM patent"
http://news.com.com/2100-1028-5088150.html

  « Microsoft has won a patent for an instant 
    messaging feature that notifies users when 
    the person they are communicating with is 
    typing a message. »




----
10. Bug reports now patented by Microsoft

Patent: US 6629267 

"Microsoft hält Patent auf Fehlerreports"
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/ps-03.10.03-000/

Microsoft was granted a patent on a method for sending bug reports to a
central authority. Unfortunately the USPTO didn't do its job again since
this method was already used years ago by competitors such as Netscape.

A few quotes:

  « So soll das System offenbar erst dann 
    umfangreichere Daten sammeln, wenn sich 
    Fehler häufen. Angedacht scheinen auch 
    Funktionen, die betroffenen Nutzern gleich 
    den Weg zu eventuell bereits vorhandenen 
    Korrekturen für die Software zeigen und die 
    Anwender bei der Installation unterstützen. »




----
11. Lawsuit on web filtering patents

Patents: EP 1193941
         DE 10045279
         DE 19958638
         EP 1109370

"Heftiger Patentstreit in der Web-Filterbranche"
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/jk-25.09.03-001/

Leipzig company Nutzwerk is suing Cobion AG over web filtering patents
infringement. It appears that these patents simply cover the use of a
proxy server and anti-virus software to make internet surf secure. 

A few quotes:

  « Nach dem Sieg in München soll Cobion jedoch 
    weitere Forderungen gestellt haben: 
    "Für 20.000 Euro pro Jahr ziehen wir die 
    Klage zurück und lassen die anderen Patente 
    in Ruhe." »

  « Cobion entgegnet, dass die Zitate grob aus 
    dem Zusammenhang herausgerissen wurden und 
    verweist auf die Kosten, die durch die 
    Einstweilige Verfügung und den Rechtsstreit 
    entstanden sind. Der Geschäftsbetrieb sei ein 
    Jahr lang stark behindert gewesen, weil 
    Kunden ungern Produkte kauften, die von 
    Patentklagen Dritter bedroht sind. »

  « Wonneberger kann die Entscheidung des 
    Patentgerichts nicht ganz nachvollziehen. 
    Ihrer Firma sei ein Patent "kaputtgemacht" 
    worden. Vor Gericht seien die gleichen 
    Dokumente vorgehalten worden, die auch dem 
    Patentamt vorlagen. Auf dieser Grundlage 
    habe das Amt das Patent schließlich 
    ordnungsgemäß erteilt. »

 

software patents page