The second issue of the International Free and Open Source Software Law Review has just been released.
Issue two is available without charge online at www.ifosslr.org and in PDF format at www.ifosslr.org/public/ifosslr-v1i2.pdf. There is also a call for papers for future issues so I invite all my P.T. readers to submit your articles.
Archive for: patent law
It is out again
January 28th, 2010, Tomasz RychlickiIs it invention or computer software?
October 13th, 2009, Tomasz RychlickiThe Voivodeship Administrative Court (VAC) in Warsaw in a judgment of 10 June 2009, case file VI SA/Wa 2566/08 held that:
it is up to the Patent Office (PPO) to reconsider the matter in its entirety and refer to the statements and allegations contained in the request for the reconsideration the case taking into account the above guidance and administrative procedures by which the Office is bound.
Looks like no big deal, right? But if you could read the whole judgment, which unfortunately is not available in English, you would understand that the Polish Patent Office will have to issue an opinion, and will have to justify and explain it appropriately, on the subject what is an invention and what is a computer program and why the PPO does not grant patents to so-called “digital” solutions.
In this context, I look forward to the EPO decision in G 3/08 case and to the SCOTUS’ judgment In re Bilski, 545 F.3d 943, 88 U.S.P.Q.2d 1385 (Fed. Cir. 2008).
Global patent system?
September 4th, 2009, Tomasz RychlickiIn my humble opinion, the idea of Microsoft’s lawyers is a mistake, or at least and very gently saying, slight mental aberration. My statement is as much insolent as it is to impose a vision of the law by a single corporation. But I have found more funny story. There is an article entitled “Spór o patenty, czyli Microsoft vs open-source“, in English “Dispute on patents or Microsoft vs open-source”. The author of this short piece has insightful findings regarding R. Stallman’s connections with GNU and FSF.
The GNU project founder Richard Stallman warns (…). In an article published on the Free Software Foundation website (nota bene, whose founder is also Stallman).
It is out now!
July 14th, 2009, Tomasz RychlickiMy dear readers. All P.T. readers. I would like to draw your attention to the International Free and Open Source Software Law Review. It is an absolutely free publication on legal aspects of free and open source software. The first issue is available for download (both HTML or PDF versions) directly from its website. There, you’ll find couple of interesting articles. In particular, I recommend Shane Coughlan’s and Andrew Martin Katz’s article titled “Introducing the Risk Grid“. I will also immodestly mention that from the very beginning I was involved in the creation of the IFOSS L. Rev. and I am currently a member of the editorial board. Of course, I invite everyone to write for his periodical. Please do not hesitate to submit your papers.
There is another “Polish theme” in the IFOSS L. Rev. Great logotype and covers for the journal were created pro bono by my good friend Tomasz Politański.
In re Bilski
October 31st, 2008, Tomasz RychlickiWe have an important ruling In re Bilski, (Fed. Cir. 2008). More details and comments are posted by Dennis Crouch.
Commercial propaganda
July 17th, 2008, Tomasz RychlickiI read about this story from the post available at adkuchni.blox.pl website which is devoted to marketing stories.
I found a country without advertisments! It’s Cuba. Only billboards, posters I saw during my trip were governmental expression of revolutionary ideas: Fidel in exchange with Che Guevara and Chavez.
And how should I explain to a Cuban guy I met (my Spanish is fading): ¿donde trabajo? – where do I work?
It went like that:
Cuban guy: ¿Donde trabajas? / Where do you work?
I: En la agencia de publicidad / In advertising agency
C: ¿Donde? / where?
I: Agencia de publicidad / In advertising agency
C: ¿Que es eso? / What is this?
After short explaination I heard from him:
C: Si! Es como la agencia de propaganda comercial! / I get it! It’s like: propaganda agency but for commercial.
You’ll also find a link to flickr.com website in comments. It presents many pictures of São Paulo City without any advertising.
I browsed through specific or peculiar artworks of Rob Nance that are available at his website – www.artforrobots.com. I started to think more when I saw “Poseable Paper Pope”. Parody. Bad taste? De gustibus non disputandum est. Publicity right? It is quite relaxing situation for Mr Nance that Vatican does not sue so eagerly as it usually happens in the US. Just check such case as White v. Samsung, 971 F. 2d 1395 (9th Cir. 1992). Ms Vanna White (I have to add that Magda Masny was her counterpart in Poland) has sued Samsung for using her “image” in Samsung’s ads. I really really recommend you to read this judgment. Below, on the left, you’ll find a black and white image of Ms White and on the right, her “likeness” that was used in Samsung advertising campaign.
Judge Alex Kozinski wrote opinion for Vanna White v. Samsung, 989 F.2d 1512, 26 U.S.P.Q.2d 1362, 21 Media L. Rep. 1330 (9th Cir. 1993), which was the petition for rehearing in the above mentioned case. You may already know that I like his style and I often cite his profound deliberations as I did it in the post titled “Oh, those Internet’s contracts“.
These curious patents
April 8th, 2008, Tomasz RychlickiThe case In re Bilski, No. 08/833,892 (Fed. Cir. 2008) will be heard en banc by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Dennis Crouch wrote more detailed post regarding this issue and problems with business models’ patents. Yesterday, Red Hat has issued an official press statemement that is available at redhat.com website.
EPO :)
April 1st, 2008, Tomasz Rychlickiesp@cenet provides users with information on the latest technology, in the form of the most recently published patent documents. Similarly, we try to use the latest developments to ensure that esp@cenet delivers its results reliably and accurately via intelligent database design and a user-friendly GUI and search engine.
esp@cenet should not only provide users with the information they are looking for, but also offer a relaxing and rewarding search experience – which is why we will be investing in usability and navigation studies later this year.
In the meantime, as from today we have implemented a biometric application which runs in the background. You may not be aware of this application initially but, put simply, it senses the speed and force of the keystrokes you make on your PC keyboard. If you are tired, anxious or stressed, these will tend to be faster and more forceful; if you are relaxed, then they are likely to be slower and less powerful. So by measuring the speed and force of your keystrokes, the application detects whether you are tense or relaxed. If you appear to be tense, the search you are doing will be temporarily halted – a new browser window will open and display slow, randomly changing shades of muted blues and greens, and if you have a sound card you will hear whalesong (later versions will offer user-selectable images – such as restful landscapes – and a choice of mood music).
After a few minutes, depending on the level of tension detected, your computer will be unlocked and you will be able to resume your search in a more relaxed state. By reinforcing this stress-detection/calming system response in a positive feedback loop, we hope to ensure that esp@cenet users are always calm and relaxed when searching.
We would greatly appreciate your views on the effectiveness of this biometric application, and on whether it really does have positive effects on your relaxation levels whilst using esp@cenet.
More details at ep.espacenet.com website.
Patents, trolls and anonymity
February 25th, 2008, Tomasz RychlickiThe successful strategy of Chicago plaintiffs firm Niro, Scavone, Haller & Niro of representing patent-holding companies with strong infringement claims on a contingency basis has spawned many imitators.
The term “patent troll” was famously coined in reference to firm co-founder Ray Niro. But in the past few months the firm has been involved in such controversial situations that a question arises: Is this how a patent plaintiffs firm acts in middle age?
(…)
By that time Niro was involved in a growing spat with an anonymous blogger called the “Troll Tracker”. Niro doesn’t like to be called a “troll,” but Troll Tracker started referring to Niro that way. So Niro pulled out an old weapon. He e-mailed the blogger, informing him that he may be infringing on patent number 5,253,341.
(…)
For the moment, Niro and the Troll Tracker are at a standoff because the blogger refuses to reveal his identity. But Niro is willing to use his unorthodox tactics to surmount that obstacle. “I’ll offer $5,000 to anyone that can provide information that leads me to the identity of Troll Tracker,” Niro says, announcing the bounty publicly for the first time here in IP Law & Business. “I view these people [anonymous bloggers] as know-nothings,” he says, “afraid to reveal their identity.”
These are excerpt taken from the article available at law.com website. And now, all is suddenly clear. Troll Tracker is a blog owned by Rick Frenkel, who is currently working for Cisco.