Smalltalk with James Robertson

It's now long past time to take patents for software out back and shoot them. Heck, I might be convinced that patents in general aren't working any longer, but it's very clear in software. Consider the latest example of patent trolling:

A company called Lodsys claims to own four patents covering the in-app purchase mechanism found on iOS devices, and is seeking licensing fees from at least five individual developers, the Guardian reports. Some developers have received hand-delivered documents threatening patent infringement lawsuits if they don't pay up.

In what universe should that concept have been considered a patentable innovation?

Technorati Tags: patents, software, trolls

If the sort of patent trolling that Paul Allen is up to doesn't demonstrates the utter uselessness of the USPTO, then nothing does. Is it too much to ask that a patent have a working implementation associated with it?

Technorati Tags: stupidity

Amazing - there's a patent troll that somehow managed to get a patent on - get this - rollover menus. Arstechnica is as unimpressed as I am:

Hello? Pardon our dropping jaws, but is Webvention suggesting that it owns rollover online pictures with embedded hyperlinks?

Every time I see stuff like this, it makes me think that patents themselves are no longer useful...

Technorati Tags: patent troll

How dumb is the US PTO? Dumb enough that they issued a patent troll company, Sharing Sound, a patent on "web distribution of music" in 2001.

Yeah, as if there wasn't any prior art. It's gotten to the point that patents are actively harmful; I'm not sure that even having them is useful any longer. Especially when trolls can set their settlement fees lower than the cost of litigation, and get away with free money leeched from the system. Follow the link for more details; here's a great summation though:

As Winston & Strawn attorneys Gene Schaerr and Jacob Loshin argued rather convincingly in a September 22 Washington Legal Foundation Web Seminar, the risk-benefit analysis on litigating vs. settling more often comes out on the side of fighting patent trolls. This should especially hold true in situations where a patent is as glaringly weak as the Sharing Sound patent.

Technorati Tags: patents, music, stupidity

I'm not sure how or why this should be something that can get a patent:

Bank of America was just awarded a patent for a process that lets it make sure any teller at any branch will know not to give you a refund on a disputed overdraft fee.

What would you call a working model? A person standing behind a teller window saying "no"?

Now Listening to: Twilight by Thriving Ivory from: Thriving Ivory

Technorati Tags: patents, USPTO

More evidence that the patent system is completely broken - Apple has been sued over iTunes being able to download video. The patent was granted in 2009, and according to a quick Google search, the company that filed the patent has only existed since about 2005. Wikipedia tells me that iTunes was launched in January of 2001, aqnd video support was added in May of 2005. So.... the timing at least is odd. Never mind pre-existing systems based on RSS enclosures.

Generally speaking, there are two issues with this suit so far as I can tell:

• The PTO never should have granted the patent based on prior art
• The company given the patent hasn't implemented anything based on it

That second aspect is what I find really stupid. If a software patent can be granted based on nothing more than an idea, then we're all doomed to a future of endless litigation and stupid patents.

Technorati Tags: stupidity, patents

The more you read about the TechCrunch/JooJoo thing, the more you have to shake your head and be amazed. From what I can see, the only winners in this mess - regardless of the eventual outcome - will be the lawyers, who get paid by the hour.

Technorati Tags: TechCrunch, JooJoo, Fusion Garage

Looks like Paul Allen has gone to the dark side - he's decided to sue companies that - unlike the ones he was involved with - actually brought useful technology to market. And no, I don't mean Microsoft - I give Gates most of the credit for that.

Billionaire Paul Allen has made major forays into cable television and sports teams since leaving Microsoft Corp. more than two decades ago. Now he's adding another pursuit: patent litigation.

Patent litigation is the last refuge of the incompetent, IMHO. Along with copyright, I think patents have become more of a hindrance than a help.

When I first heard this claim about a New York guy who claims that he owns Facebook, I was sure that it was bogus. Now I'm wondering - are the statements from Facebook's lawyers typical legal stuff, or is there actually something there?

A lawyer for Facebook Inc. said she was “unsure” whether company founder Mark Zuckerberg signed a contract that purportedly entitles a New York man to 84 percent of the world’s biggest social-networking service.

Technorati Tags: facebook, social media

Apparently, being a judge means not being able to think - instead, you just robotically take the claims of absurd claimants seriously:

A New York judge has issued a temporary restraining order restricting the transfer of Facebook Inc.'s assets, following a suit by a New York man who claims to own an 84% stake in the social-networking company.

Why do I say this is absurd? Well, the claimant says that he was contracted (in 2003) to deliver a website for Facebook - and hasn't done so in 7 years? Then there's this:

In 2009, New York's Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo accused Mr. Ceglia of defrauding customers of his wood-pellet fuel company, according to a news release from the Attorney General's office.

One wonders whether the judge who issued the restraining order can read, much less use Google....

Technorati Tags: facebook, greed