This document summarizes issues around software patents and potential solutions. It discusses that software patents are granting too many patents and fueling unnecessary litigation from patent trolls. This costs companies billions and deters innovation. However, there are defensive strategies developers can take like defensive patent pools or filing their own patents to create a deterrent. The document also suggests reforms at the patent office and through legislation to curb abusive litigation and treat software patents differently to promote innovation.
Software Patents: Who's Behind the Curtain?freedeb
Where are software patnets coming from? Why are there so many of them and what can deveopers do about it? Presented to the Bergen Linux User Group. During Q&A, I recommended Patent Absurdity as a source of more info on the infamous Texas court. That film is here, http://patentabsurdity.com/
An overview for developers of current patent law, legal and judicial trends plus a discussion of the various ways to remedy the epidemic of software patent suits.
Software Patents: Who's Behind the Curtain?freedeb
Where are software patnets coming from? Why are there so many of them and what can deveopers do about it? Presented to the Bergen Linux User Group. During Q&A, I recommended Patent Absurdity as a source of more info on the infamous Texas court. That film is here, http://patentabsurdity.com/
An overview for developers of current patent law, legal and judicial trends plus a discussion of the various ways to remedy the epidemic of software patent suits.
This slide deck is prepared by David Boag of Boag Law for a CoInvent seminar. This event gives an overview of the patenting process for small business owners and startups.
These are the slides for my presentation to the Menai Science Park Enterprise Hub on 30 June 2020.
This presentation explains what is meant by intellectual property and why it is important to business.
It considers different types of IP:
- patents
- trade marks
- registered designs
- copyrights and related rights,
I talked about related rights and how they can be obtained and rights that arise automatically,
I discussed enforcement and sources of further information including the Business and IP Centres at the British Library and Liverpool.
Finally, I mentioned the network of IP experts to assist M-SParc tenants and others in North Wales.
Introduction to IP for Business AdvisorsJane Lambert
Foundation for the later presentation \"Developing and IP Strategy\". Presentaiton discusses policy behind IP, IP strategy, sources of law and professional advisors.
Some background information for a dialogue with Carwyn Edwards on copyright and ICT organized by North Wales Tech and North Wales Creative on 21 April 2021,
This presentation examined the role of Material Transfer Agreements in bioprospecting relationships. Also covered were issues on benefits sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the implementation of the CBD.
Software Patents After Alice: A Long and Sad Tailfreedeb
The United States Supreme Court's ruling in the landmark Alice vs. CLS Bank case has finally given the lower courts some tools they could use to overturn obvious and vague patents. Many judges have found for the defendant and overturned obvious patents. For entities with the time and money to fight bad patents in court, this is fantastic news. As many as four out of five of the software patents on the books in the US might be found invalid under the new doctrines. For everyone else, this is a mixed bag.
This slide deck is prepared by David Boag of Boag Law for a CoInvent seminar. This event gives an overview of the patenting process for small business owners and startups.
These are the slides for my presentation to the Menai Science Park Enterprise Hub on 30 June 2020.
This presentation explains what is meant by intellectual property and why it is important to business.
It considers different types of IP:
- patents
- trade marks
- registered designs
- copyrights and related rights,
I talked about related rights and how they can be obtained and rights that arise automatically,
I discussed enforcement and sources of further information including the Business and IP Centres at the British Library and Liverpool.
Finally, I mentioned the network of IP experts to assist M-SParc tenants and others in North Wales.
Introduction to IP for Business AdvisorsJane Lambert
Foundation for the later presentation \"Developing and IP Strategy\". Presentaiton discusses policy behind IP, IP strategy, sources of law and professional advisors.
Some background information for a dialogue with Carwyn Edwards on copyright and ICT organized by North Wales Tech and North Wales Creative on 21 April 2021,
This presentation examined the role of Material Transfer Agreements in bioprospecting relationships. Also covered were issues on benefits sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the implementation of the CBD.
Software Patents After Alice: A Long and Sad Tailfreedeb
The United States Supreme Court's ruling in the landmark Alice vs. CLS Bank case has finally given the lower courts some tools they could use to overturn obvious and vague patents. Many judges have found for the defendant and overturned obvious patents. For entities with the time and money to fight bad patents in court, this is fantastic news. As many as four out of five of the software patents on the books in the US might be found invalid under the new doctrines. For everyone else, this is a mixed bag.
How to Handle Conflict Like a Boss (LinuxCon NA)freedeb
Conflict sucks! The FOSS community is full of passionate people with many, many differing ideas on how to achieve our shared goals. Disagreements seem inevitable, but what if they could be handled rationally, in a way that left everyone feeling at least OK about the outcome? It's possible. You can learn to cut to the heart of the disagreement, mediate and move forward.
Conflict sucks! The FOSS community is full of passionate people with many, many differing ideas on how to achieve our shared goals. Disagreements seem inevitable, but what if they could be handled rationally, in a way that left everyone feeling at least OK about the outcome? It's possible. You can learn to cut to the heart of the disagreement, mediate and move forward.
We want the free software movement to keep growing and one facet of successful movement building is embracing a multi-generational community. The good news is that there is no age requirement for using, promoting and contributing to free software. The bad news is that we aren't always doing a great job of facilitating a diverse, inter-generational movement. We'll take a look at what we're currently doing to bring in young people, how we are treating older people in our communities and where there is room for improvement.
Using examples from other movements and inter-generational communities, we'll identify tactics that aren't being used to build the free software community and see what we can collectively port over. We plan to inspire the audience to find ways to recruit and retain young people, inspire older people to participate and maintain an unbroken thread of free software conservatorship. If the long-term success of the free software movement is important to you, then you should come to this talk!
Software Patents After Alice: A Long and Sad Tailfreedeb
The United States Supreme Court's ruling in the landmark Alice vs. CLS Bank case has finally given the lower courts some tools they could use to overturn obvious and vague patents. Many judges have found for the defendant and overturned obvious patents. For entities with the time and money to fight bad patents in court, this is fantastic news. As many as four out of five of the software patents on the books in the US might be found invalid under the new doctrines. For everyone else, this is a mixed bag.
How to Handle Conflict Like a Boss (Abstractions)freedeb
Conflict sucks! The FOSS community is full of passionate people with many, many differing ideas on how to achieve our shared goals. Disagreements seem inevitable, but what if they could be handled rationally, in a way that left everyone feeling at least OK about the outcome? It's possible. You can learn to cut to the heart of the disagreement, mediate and move forward.
Trolls Are Not the Only Threat Under the Bridge, SCALE12xfreedeb
Many small and medium free software projects are staffed by volunteers that don't have any money to tempt a patent aggression entity. There's been plenty of talk about patent trolls, but money isn't the only motive for a patent suit. Even if non-practicing entities are eventually curtailed, ill-intentioned practicing entities may not be affected. The free software community will still have to worry about anti-competitive suits, nuisance suits and suits designed to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about the adoption of free software. So, what can we as free software builders, promoters and users do to protect the code we care about?
Trolls Are Not the Only Threat Under the Bridgefreedeb
Many small and medium free software projects are staffed by volunteers that don't have any money to tempt a patent aggression entity. There's been plenty of talk about patent trolls, but money isn't the only motive for a patent suit. Even if non-practicing entities are eventually curtailed, ill-intentioned practicing entities may not be affected. The free software community will still have to worry about anti-competitive suits, nuisance suits and suits designed to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about the adoption of free software. So, what can we as free software builders, promoters and users do to protect the code we care about?
NEWS FLASH: //Check our latest course offering on Patent-Business-Strategy over at Udemy here: http://www.udemy.com/patent-business-strategy/ with a 50 per cent launch discount //
A collection of articles on patents, software and technology.
Slides used at presentation given at the 2008-07 Palmetto Open Source Software Conference - Legal Issues in Open Source: Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Licenses
Are we burying our heads in the sand? Exploring issues around intellectual pr...Jennifer Cham
The threat of patent infringement to businesses is perhaps better known in industries such as pharmaceuticals, engineering and manufacturing. However, in the User Experience (UX) field there are potential issues around patent infringement that, as practitioners, we need to be aware of. This session (originally a discussion held at UX Cambridge 2014) aimed to increase awareness and start a discussion amongst UX professionals regarding intellectual property issues that may impact our work.
The session was an open discussion, where participants shared their experiences and concerns and posed questions for further exploration. The outcome was a sketchnote (https://www.flickr.com/photos/97823772@N02/15058945187/in/set-72157647610886191) which summarised the discussion. This was created by Chris Spalton, https://twitter.com/ChrisSpalton)
[Please note: we are not intellectual property legal experts. Examples are from our own experience in this area, and secondary research sources. The main aim was to start a conversation and to identify the gaps in our knowledge in this potentially important area.]
2014 Crowdfunding and Intellectual Property 101Charles Mudd
A presentation from 2014 on intellectual property concerns and crowdfunding in which I addressed copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, the DMCA, and litigation.
2011 Silicon Flatirons IP (Crash Course) For EntrepreneurersJason Haislmaier
Intellectual Property Crash Course for Entrepreneurs (February 22, 2011) presentation at the Wolf Law Building at the University of Colorado (Boulder, CO)
Open vs. Gang Ki by Bunnie Huang (bb #28)blinkBL_NK
A core assumption of Western IP law is that innovation will not happen unless the government offers innovators and entrepreneurs a limited legal monopoly on the fruits of their labors. It is even written into the US constitution that: "The Congress shall have Power ... To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Developments in open source have demonstrated that innovation can flourish in the absence of a monopoly, although the implementation of open source requires a wry twisting of compulsory copyright law. Emerging IP ecosystems, such as China's, come from a different cultural background. US IP pundits are quick to dismiss these emerging IP ecosystems as lawless, anti-innovation, and unproductive. However, my experience indicates that the weaknesses of the US IP system are understated, and the strengths of the China IP system are uncelebrated. This talk explores these weaknesses and strengths from the standpoint of an SME entrepreneur/innovator.
Software Patents: Trolls and Other Bullies (LCA 2105)freedeb
Lots of small and medium free software projects are staffed by volunteers that don't have any money to tempt a patent aggression entity. There's been plenty of talk about patent trolls, but money isn't the only motive for a patent suit. Even if non-practicing entities are eventually curtailed, ill-intentioned practicing entities may not be affected. The free software community will still have to worry about anti-competitive suits, nuisance suits and suits designed to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about the adoption of free software. So, what can we as free software builders, promoters and users do to protect the code we care about?
Some solutions are only effective against non-practicing entities, while others may impact all kinds of bad actors. The strengths and weaknesses of proposed legislation, recent and ongoing campaigns and academic writings will be examined. If legislators and international trade negotiators won't take a stand against anti-competitive patent aggression, then we must do so as a community. Find out about some of the community solutions that are underway and how we can combat the threat of anti-FLOSS plaintiffs together.
Where do non-profit boards come from? Who serves on them and why? More importantly, if you are on a board or you are setting up a board, how do you make sure you get great people who will serve your mission and keep your organization healthy and growing? While there's no one grand plan that fits every organization, there is a large body of knowledge on this topic.
Board members are at their best when they feel supported and have a clear sense of purpose. This talk will go through the different kinds of non-profit boards, long-term strategies for success and some ways to course correct when it feels like things could be better.
Software Licensing and Compliance: It's All About Communityfreedeb
Software licenses seem a little intimidating, but they don't have to be! If free and open source software is a critical part of your business plan, then you owe it to yourself to learn a bit about licensing and compliance. This talk will help you learn about the various categories of licenses and how to make a plan for handling licenses correctly in your own work. Attendees will learn about:
* Free and open source software licenses and where they came from
* Common misconceptions about license compliance
* What resources are available for further learning
If you're just getting started then you probably have questions about who should be at the table for licensing discussions in your company or project, what your responsibilities are and how to approach license compliance work. Background on the communities that wrote the common free and open source licenses and how they use them will help you make better decisions and forge amicable longterm relationships with your upstream communities. The free and open source software community wants you to get this right, so there's a wealth of resources out there for you.
Make it Official: In Praise of Official Programs for Diversity & Inclusionfreedeb
Diversity and inclusion programs with metrics, funding and official support from the top perform better, last longer and are more impactful. Well-articulated goals help projects tout successes, which in turn inspires more participation -- so let's make it official!
Once the hard work of choosing strategies to increase diversity and improve inclusion is done, set aside some budget. It's not fair or sustainable to ask employees to do diversity work "on the side." New hiring protocols, outreach programs and promotion systems take time and training to implement if they're going to succeed. Dedicating resources to inclusion programs creates an environment where it is ok for employees to be transparent about the time and effort they're spending, which is crucial for collecting honest metrics.
Making diversity part of your company or project's success story, demonstrates sincerity and commitment that will help you attract more people that share those goals and will gladly work to achieve them.
Harmonize or Resist: A Survey of Global Strategies for Freedom and Fee Softwarefreedeb
There's a lot of pressure from the US (and some of it's allies) to "harmonize" with American ideas about patents and copyrights. The response by different nations has been wildly different -- some have chosen to play along while others have chosen to resist. What makes sense for one country won't make sense for another and it's all in the details. This talk examines existing legal patterns, the state of local economies and varying trade relationships in an effort to survey what kinds of resistance are possible or effective.
These issues have implications for not only free software activists, but for anyone who is concerned about local sovereignty and freedom of expression. Laws are written for the powerful to help them maintain their power, and resistance is always difficult. But what if we could share not only our code, but our strategies for passing laws, rearranging policy and carving out a safe place for free software and free culture to flourish?
This is a top level survey of the global state of software patents and copyright law. Both local and global policies affect our ability to build things that are needful or locally useful, even when they aren't profitable. Local innovation is our best chance to solve many of our local problems, so let's get to it!
Several different patent clauses are embedded in modern open source licenses and there's some confusion about exactly what they each mean. Most developers would prefer to have nothing to do with patents or patent clauses, but avoiding the topic isn't a smart strategy. None of the popular clauses have been tested in court, so no one can predict exactly how the courts might deal with hybrid copyright and patent licenses.
Outside the courts, the opinion of a particular foundation, industry group or technical community is often much more important than a judge's decision but this important knowledge often isn't well documented. Familiarity with this unwritten knowledge will lead to easier open source integration and smoother participation in the large projects using these licenses. Examples from companies already using these clauses may guide decision-making, but ultimately, every company's situation is different.
That said, savvy open source participants can still make some reasonable assumptions based on the license author's intentions, trends in patent law and the way other common open source licenses have functioned. Understanding the players and the history that lead to patent clauses in open source licenses will help practitioners make informed choices about what licenses to apply to their own work and how these various licenses can help large multi-stakeholder projects.
Harmonize or Resist: A Survey of Global Strategies for Freedom and Fee Softwarefreedeb
There's a lot of pressure from the US (and some of it's allies) to "harmonize" with American ideas about patents and copyrights. The response by different nations has been wildly different -- some have chosen to play along while others have chosen to resist. What makes sense for one country won't make sense for another and it's all in the details. This talk examines existing legal patterns, the state of local economies and varying trade relationships in an effort to survey what kinds of resistance are possible or effective.
How to choose an open source license for your project. https://boston-open-researcher-group.github.io/BORG/event/2017/12/04/Open-Source-Software-Development/
Patents, Copyrights & Trademarks: Why the Future Might Curse Us (OpenWest)freedeb
Patents, copyrights and trademark rights have been growing and expanding in scope and application. In most cases, it seems the original intent of spurring innovation or protecting creators has gotten a bit lost, if not completely inverted. Certainly, there must be a way to support inventors without enabling predators and protect creators without empowering trolls. We need to slay our own monsters, instead of leaving them for the next generation. If you've ever wondered why a smell can be trademarked or why math can, no... can't, well... maybe gets patented, then this talk is for you.
In the developer community, nobody cares where their collaborators are physically located. Project leaders and company executives need a high level understanding of the complex interplay between patents and copyright, the varying scope of patentability in different regions, as well as the impact of governmental and international bodies seeking to simplify or regulate the international production and use of software. This talk will give the audience a feel for current trends and offer resources for further education on many of the specific issues.
Management, Legal and Developers: One Big Happy Open Source Familyfreedeb
Choosing new technologies and potentially sharing an employee's work with the community need to be cross-departmental conversations. When managers, developers and lawyers each have a solid understanding of what worries and motivates each other, the process will be much smoother. Luckily, many companies have already navigated these waters are ready to help you tackle the legal concepts, community values and personnel training challenges.
Style or Substance: Free Software is Totally the 80's, LP2015freedeb
The free software community is smart and forward-looking, but sometimes it can be hard to see the big picture when you're part of it. Often the easy choice isn't the best. We've been hearing about this constantly from the DevOps community: "Build systems that don't fail spectacularly in the middle of the night!" Of course, those robust systems are a little harder to build and take a bit more planning to set up. But when you consider "other people's systems" there is no question that the hard work should be done because it will make things better in the long run. The trick is looking at your own systems with that same long-range perspective.
The culture of the 1980's is often depicted as an obsession with neon clothing, valley girl idioms and synthpop. That's an unfortunately shallow portrayal when you consider that the artists and activists of the 1980's were pushing back against the cultural norms portrayed in mass media. They were challenging boundaries about who gets to participate in the creation of art and embracing new technologies to share their ideas. How will our current era of increased free software production and adoption be remembered? Will it be all unconferences and penguin swag or will we be remembered for how we changed the world?
Applying a long-range perspective to the continued growth and success of the world-wide free software movement isn't easy. It will take time and probably money. Can we step outside of our own history and make sure that the community is setting a course for the place we want to end up?
Software Patent Litigation: What Have We Learned? LISA 2015freedeb
The huge increase in software patent litigation over the last 15 years has produced reams of articles, cost fortunes and even snagged the US President's attention. But when something goes on for long enough, it also produces data -- lots of data. So what have we learned?
Surveillance creates a chilling effect on weirdness, especially weird groups. Innovation doesn't happen without groups of people who can freely communicate and questions each other.
Figuring out where you want to go is the first step, then you can start saying no to unreasonable clients, low pay or things that won't really help you in the long-run. The second step is figuring out how to say no gracefully in a way that helps you build and maintain relationships. A little verbal self-defense can help keep you from get "voluntold" or otherwise stuck with work that you really shouldn't be doing. Lastly, clarifying your project or company's larger goals can help you narrow the scope of tasks that seem to have no real finish line so you can get them off your plate in a timely fashion. Say no, like a boss!
7. - Patentable subject matter: new
and useful, no algorithms
- Novel: you can't patent something
people are already using
8. - Patentable subject matter: new
and useful, no algorithms
- Novel: you can't patent something
people are already using
- Non-obvious: it can't be obvious
to someone in that field
9. - Patentable subject matter: new
and useful, no algorithms
- Novel: you can't patent something
people are already using
- Non-obvious: it can't be obvious
to someone in that field
- Useful: must have utility and be possible
13. Un-spoiler alert
- Patent suits are costing us a lot of money
- Activity is increasing, not decreasing
- Lawsuits aren't spurring innovation
- Developers are fed up
17. "...patent trolls... are increasingly
targeting users and adopters,
rather than makers of the technology:
this tactic is used an estimated
40% of the time."
Colleen V. Chien: Tailoring the Patent System to Work for Software and Technology Patents
46. The bad news
Patent validity is not important
●
Patents == a chilling effect on development
● Your international customers can be sued
●
Future “intellectual property” treaties
●
47. What you can do about it
Use a software license that mentions patents
● Defensive filing – Linuxdefenders.org can help
● Join a defensive patent pool
– Open Invention Network
●
Which is also a non-assertion agreement
●
48. For your reading "pleasure"
Colleen V. Chien: Reforming Software Patents
(Houston Law Review)
Tom Ewing & Robin Feldman: The Giants Among Us
(Stanford Law Review)
Dan L. Burk & Mark A. Lemley: The Patent Crisis and
How the Courts Can Solve It