« January 2006 | Main

12/10/05

1+1 = 3

Anyone wanting some fun should read some of the letters received by the Register regarding the Business Software Alliance's latest research study on software piracy and the economy.

The phrase "lies, damn lies and then statistics' always comes to mind when I see another BSA sponsored research study published. It's not the first time this year that its research figures have been questioned. Just before the EU Parliament was due to vote on the Computer Implemented Inventions Directive earlier this year out popped a study about patents and SMEs paid for by the BSA whose figures were also attacked in the IT media.

The Register letters can be found here

Posted by Cristian at 1:11 PM
Categories: Swpatents

12/08/05

Good news - no torture today

Phew...the Law Lords have done the decent thing. The House of Lords today confirmed that you can't use evidence obtained from torture against criminal suspects in the UK. Why did it have to get this far through our Court System for common sense to prevail?

Posted by Cristian at 6:30 PM
Categories: Chit Chat

Apples and Blackberries - a patent fruit salad

Looks like after blackberries, it's the apples' turn to turn sour. That's right Creative looks to be on a war path to sue Apple with regard to its iPod in the US for infringement of a software patent that Creative successfully obtained earlier this year for its media player. The patent in question is a software patent for it relates to the user interface on Creative's media player and more specifically the music navigation system. This is an example of patenting functionality so that no other company can use the same functionality (regardless of how implemented). The iPod's system may be written in a completely different language and not share the same code, but with the software patent in the US that Creative has obtained, Apple could be prevented from using the same functionality or be required to be pay licence fees to Creative.

Without software patents, the iPod which so many have come to love would not be troubled and Creative would be required to compete in an open market with Apple, with the best overall product winning the battle. At present, without the prospect of a software patent litigation, the iPod is said to be streets ahead in terms of market share. Patents are meant to be granted to foster innovation - this is just another example of how, when it comes to software patents, this is not what they achieve. Creative's patent is not about innovation. It is being used as a weapon to damage their market rivals over a basic and non-tangible user interface which allows you to chose your music. Ultimately, this kind of battle will only help Creative, not us, consumers. We may find that next Christmas, the iPod may cause a greater dent in our wallets!

For more on this story see here

Getting back to blackberries, the Research in Motion (makers of the Blackberry handheld) vs NTP (owners of software patents) saga continues to be a wonderful case study on the uncertainty and commercial damage caused by software patents. Gartner, the leading business intelligence company, is advising that companies (in the US) should delay any business critical deployment of Blackberry reliant applications until the patent battle is over....

For more on this story see here

Quote of the Day

"Globalisation will force us either to sink or swim. If comparisons with the US are not enough

to galvanise the EU into action, then the ever fiercer competition from the large Asian

economies should issue a wake up call."

Viviane Reading - "Taking-Up ICT in Europe", 30 November 2005 (see here)

Posted by Cristian at 6:29 PM
Categories: Swpatents

12/07/05

Article on year's developments

I have sent my article about software patents and the year's events to SCL in the hope that they will publish it. I will keep you posted on progress.

SCL can be be found here

I intend in the next few days to set up a page listing supporters of LASP. The idea is to build up a list of lawyers, law students and academics who are broadly in line with the aims of the site, i.e., to prevent the patenting of software (and also business methods). I have a few issues that I need to iron out before such a list can go live.

Posted by Cristian at 3:10 PM
Categories: Swpatents

12/05/05

Welcome

This is my first weblog and my first ever post. 

Please be patient over the coming weeks whilst I master this blogging lark and play with the look and feel.

Posted by Cristian at 5:33 PM
Categories: Swpatents