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EC: Software is not patentable
News The European Commission said last week that computer programs will be excluded from patentability in the upcoming Community Patent legislation, and that the European Patent Office (EPO) will be bound by this law.
[May 24, 2006, 15:25]
EC slipping software patents 'through backdoor'
Talkback The Community Patent proposal is pretty much dead right now, despite a throwaway reference in an EC document. The Commission has had the goal of bringing a Community Patent into force for a long time, but if the journalist had bothered to check...
[October 8, 2005, 17:08]
EC slipping software patents 'through backdoor'
News The European Commission is attempting to legalise software patents through the introduction of the EU Community Patent, according to an anti-patent campaigner. The introduction of a Community Patent would allow inventors to obtain a single patent...
[October 6, 2005, 17:40]
Doubt cast over Web standard's ownership
News A company claims that a popular Web technology infringes on a patent it owns. Vancouver-based UFIL Unified Data Technologies, a private company, claims that it owns US patent 5,684,985, a "method and apparatus utilising bond identifiers executed...
[January 4, 2002, 9:38]
Patent critics search for prior art
News The Web community is rummaging desperately through dusty technology archives, in a bid to overturn a sweeping patent verdict that could force major changes on the Internet's most popular software products.
[November 3, 2003, 11:25]
Sun exec accuses Microsoft of 'patent terrorism'
News The efforts of Microsoft to pressure the Linux community over alleged and unspecified patents is akin to "patent terrorism", according to an executive for Sun. Sun, which had some patent troubles of its own with Microsoft until they were resolved...
[July 24, 2007, 9:24]
Samba leader quits Novell over Microsoft deal
News In his resignation letter, Allison said Novell's patent pact with Microsoft has crippled the Linux seller's relations with the open-source community. Whilst the Microsoft patent agreement is in place there is nothing we can do to fix community...
[December 22, 2006, 7:40]
Lobbyists prepare for next software patent battle
News Although this consultation does not mention software patents directly, there are fears that the Community Patent legislation could ratify the European Patent Office's current practice of granting software patents.
[January 23, 2006, 16:20]
Group aims to defend Linux from bad patents
News The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has opened up its patent-examination process to the Linux community for the first time for the Peer-To-Patent scheme. The community can participate in the USPTO's established process by supplying...
[February 4, 2009, 17:02]
Open source patent library launched
News A number of companies, including Nokia, IBM and Sun have recently made open source patent pledges. The OSDL patent commons project is designed to increase the utility and value of the growing number of patent pledges and promises in the past year...
[August 10, 2005, 12:25]
Patent directive faces fishy future
Talkback Software patents have been available in europe now for many years, and are routinely granted by the european patent office. I think that the directive must be passed, and passed quickly, if we are to be certain of maintaining the present high...
[December 24, 2004, 10:04]
Sun ready for war over IP litigation
News As Sun moves to tie itself more closely to the developer community by releasing an open-source version of Solaris, chief executive officer Scott McNealy has reinforced the company's willingness to "take bullets" to protect end users from patent...
[November 17, 2004, 11:30]
OSDL considers open-source code repository
News Stuart Cohen, the chief executive officer of OSDL, told ZDNet UK on Tuesday that the organisation is considering working on an open-source database which could be used by companies or patent employees to check for prior art -- whether a patent...
[October 27, 2004, 14:40]
Patent Office considers Wiki peer review
News Recommendation 23 of Gowers states: "The Patent Office should conduct a pilot of Beth Noveck's Community Patent Review in 2007 in the UK to determine whether this would have a positive impact on the quality of the patent stock.
[December 13, 2006, 16:28]
Microsoft exec talks patent politics
News Many in the open-source community remain sceptical about Microsoft's overtures, believing them to be filled with inherent contradictions, such as Microsoft making patent-infringement allegations but also striking a deal with a vendor such as Novell.
[May 25, 2007, 17:13]
Bezos calls for patent reform
News The one-click patent has drawn fire from the Internet community and has even sparked a boycott of the site. Amazon.com's chief executive, Jeff Bezos, under fire for his company's patent policies, urged on Thursday that the United States overhaul...
[March 10, 2000, 14:34]
Microsoft revamps Sender ID
News Consensus became impossible after some people in the open-source community said Microsoft's patent claims could enable the software company to eventually charge royalties. Still, some people in the open-source community are concerned about...
[October 26, 2004, 8:20]
Red Hat stands up against software patents
Blog The open source community has spotted that if the patent office's original decision is upheld, there are plenty of other existing patents that could be challenged as "too abstract" - possibly even most of the software patents in existence.
[April 14, 2008, 12:03]
Samba: TomTom suit tries to undermine GPL
News However, Ronald Zink, Microsoft's chief intellectual-property counsel in Europe, told ZDNet UK last week that Microsoft was not seeking to threaten the open-source community with patent claims. However, Microsoft's patent moves may damage its...
[March 10, 2009, 11:46]
Developers warned over OOXML patent risk
News Although terminology such as "required portion" is understood in the specialist patent and intellectual-property law community, Yu questioned whether even the most technically well-informed and legally-sophisticated developer would be able...
[February 14, 2008, 11:56]
