Course James Boyle

Sun Mar 23 01:22:04 UTC 2003

I just came across  James Boyle's academic course on
"Intellectual Property in the Information Society"
under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License
http://www.law.duke.edu/boylesite/ipmaterials2001.pdf  [pdf, 553 pages]
http://www.james-boyle.com/

Nice to have as a background reference for many patent, trademark and 
copyright issues.
Or just to impress your friends by quoting U.S. Constitution Article. I, 
§ 8, cl. 8.  :)

Wouter

Seth Johnson wrote:

>A very good slide show providing an overview of the software patent issue as
>it is being played out in Europe:
>
>  
>
>>http://gibuskro.lautre.net/patents/
>>    
>>
>
>W3C PPWG members may find the XML-related software patents at
>http://gibuskro.lautre.net/patents/slide25-0.html of particular interest.  I
>have pasted the contents of that slide at the bottom of this message.
>
>Below is the table of contents, as well as the contents of several slides
>describing the juridical transition in Europe toward allowing patents on
>"mental methods."
>
>>From a message to the patents at aful.org list.
>
>Seth Johnson
>
>---
>
>  
>
>>http://gibuskro.lautre.net/patents/
>>    
>>
>
>The non-patent side of software patents
>by Gérald Sédrati-Dinet (mailto:sedrati at bigfoot.com)
>
>Interest of software patents for a small software publisher
>
>Detailed Table of Contents
>
>First patent (obvious) justification : Defensive 
>   Defensive - Other means of "protection" 
>   Defensive - "Protection" from what ? 
>   Defensive - Cost of law suit 
>   Defensive - Cross-licensing 
>
>Second patent (obvious) justification : Offensive 
>   Offensive - Incentive to R & D 
>   Offensive - Software intrinsic properties 
>   Offensive - SMEs 
>   Offensive - Economic model 
>   Offensive - Economic model and natural experiment 
>
>Last patent (obvious) justification : Advertise 
>   Advertise - Dubious patent quality 
>   Advertise - Inside a vitiated system 
>   Advertise - Other means 
>
>Beyond the software patent system : Social impact 
>   Social impact - Software "as such" 
>   Social impact - Road taken by EPO leading to privatization of ideas 
>   Social impact - Examples of mental methods (1/2) 
>   Social impact - Examples of mental methods (2/2) 
>   Social impact - Software's specific nature 
>
>Conclusion 
>   Conclusion - Profit vs Loss 
>   Conclusion - Non-patent side 
>   Conclusion - Example of potential infringement 
>
>The End  
>
>---
>
>  
>
>>http://gibuskro.lautre.net/patents/slide18-0.html
>>    
>>
>
>Social impact - Road taken by EPO leading to privatization of ideas
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Computer programs are not patentable 
>Europe Patent Convention, Munich, 5 October 1973
>
>Inventions containing a computer program are patentable 
>Case of Schlumberger, Court of Appeal of Paris 15 June 1981: Whereas the
>process claimed comprises six successive stages, some of which indisputably
>involve the application of computer programmes, but the whole description of
>the patent is not reduced to information processing by computers.
>
>Machines containing an innovating computer program are patentable 
>Generic robot containing a computer program that control the robot: stress
>on hardware part
>
>Algorithmic process processing information with a technical effect are
>patentable 
>Case of Vicom T 208/84 Technical Board of Appeal 15 July 1986: Even if the
>idea underlying an invention may be considered to reside in a mathematical
>method a claim directed to a technical process in which the method is used
>does not seek protection for the mathematical method as such.
>
>The virtual machine theory 
>Koch & Sterzel case T 0026/86 Technical Board of Appeal 21 May 1987:If the
>program controls the operation of a conventional general-purpose computer so
>as technically to alter its functioning, the unit consisting of program and
>computer combined may be a patentable invention.
>
>Computer programs that are not "as such" are patentable 
>Case of International Business Machines Corporation T 0935/97 Technical
>Board of Appeal 4 february 1986:Programs for computer must be considerated
>as patentable invention when they have a technical character.
>
>Process of management by a computer 
>EP756731: Interactive Information Selection Apparatus (for selecting the
>items for a meal)
>
>Mental methods ? 
>
>---
>
>  
>
>>http://gibuskro.lautre.net/patents/slide19-0.html
>>    
>>
>
>Social impact - Examples of mental methods (1/2)
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Educative methods
>
>US5443036 1993: Method of exercing a cat 
>US6015947 1999: Method of teaching music 
>US6024577 Fujitsu 1997 : Network-based education system with capability to
>provide review material according to individual students' understanding
>levels 
>
>Management methods
>
>EP209907 1989: General-purpose management system, method for operating said
>system and transfer slip 
>US6070142 Andersen Consulting 1998: Virtual customer sales and service
>center and method 
>
>Electronic trading methods
>
>US5724424 Open Market 1995: Digital active advertising 
>US6029141 Amazon.com 1997: Internet-based customer referral system 
>
>---
>
>  
>
>>http://gibuskro.lautre.net/patents/slide20-0.html
>>    
>>
>
>Social impact - Examples of mental methods (2/2)
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Consulting methods
>
>US5734890 Gartner Group 1995: System and method for analyzing procurement
>decisions and customer satisfaction 
>
>Financial methods
>
>US4752877 & EP0278132 College Savings Bank 1986: Method and apparatus for
>funding a future liability of uncertain cost 
>
>Social methods
>
>US6092051 & EP1017025 NEC 1995, 2000: Receipt-free electronic voting method
>and system
>
>---
>
>  
>
>>http://gibuskro.lautre.net/patents/slide25-0.html
>>    
>>
>
>Conclusion - Example of potential infringement
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>SME that publishes a software on an XML repository and that is applying
>software patents for a dynamic page ranking strategy for a crawler and for
>sorting responses to queries
>
>Results of Search for "xml repository": 2 patents. 
>Results of Search for "xml database": 6 patents. 
>Results of Search for "xml query": 2 patents. 
>Results of Search for "page rank": 8 patents. 
>Results of Search for "sort query": 18 patents. 
>
>US6263332 Vignette Corp 17 January 2001: System and method for query
>processing of structured documents
>A computer-implemented method of retrieving information in a first markup
>language through a query engine and presenting the information in any
>required markup language. A user inputs a query and may invoke a number of
>transformative sequences. These sequences contain a markup language pattern
>and an action, which may include transforming the tags in the first markup
>language to tags in a different markup language. The appropriate
>transformative sequence is selected and the pattern from the transformative
>sequence is compiled. The compiled pattern is used to perform rapid and
>efficient searches of documents in the database. A predicate check using the
>binary coding of the node as well as ancestor information confirms the node.
>The leaf information associated with a confirmed node is then stored. If
>necessary, the action from the transformative sequence is applied to change
>the markup language of the leaf information to that of the user 
>
>http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/search-bool.html
>
>  
>