The Empiricist - Slashdot User

Submission + - IBM files DVD SPAM patent application 2

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 25, 2007 @02:25PM

An anonymous reader writes: Mark Wilson of Gizmodo.com reports that IBM is applying for a patent for DVDs that contain or download "on demand" commercials that cannot be skipped. Consumers would be able to purchase these DVDs at a lower price than regular DVDs and pay extra to enjoy their purchase ad-free without having to buy a second DVD. Perhaps this is part of the massive shift in advertising that IBM predicts.

Submission + - How do you get moderator feedback? 2

Submitted by on Friday November 09, 2007 @05:47PM

An anonymous reader writes: I just read the following message for the umpteenth time: "Thanks for meta-moderating some of Slashdot's many moderations. This gives our moderators feedback and helps the whole system work!" For the umpteenth time, I have wondered why I never receive any feedback even though I have moderated on many occasions. I cannot tell whether my moderations are getting positive or negative feedback from meta-moderators — whether I am considered a good moderator or a bad moderator. What tools does /. provide for obtaining feedback as a moderator?

Submission + - Microsoft Demands Patent for Saying 'Goodbye' 7

Submitted by

theodp

on Thursday November 01, 2007 @05:16AM

theodp writes: "Demonstrating its commitment to high-quality U.S. patents, Microsoft has submitted a just-published patent application to the USPTO for Automatic Goodbye Messages. By automatically sending messages like 'Have a great afternoon!', 'Sorry, I have got to go!', 'Have a terrific day!', 'Ciao, Harry!', or even a simple 'Bye!' at the end of an IM session, Microsoft explains, one avoids insulting a converser with whom a conversation is ended. Hopefully the USPTO will give this one the quick buh-bye it deserves."

Submission + - Judge Blocks Patent Rules; Patent Trolls Rejoice 2

Submitted by The Empiricist on Wednesday October 31, 2007 @05:48PM

The Empiricist writes: "Judge James Cacheris of the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Virginia blocked, for now at least, the patent office from implementing" new rules that were "intended to speed patent reviews by the chronically understaffed USPTO." One blocked reform was a limitation on the number of "continuating patent applications" that could be filed. This raises the concern that a few patent owners may continue using continuation applications to obtain patent claims that specifically cover new products as they come on the market," thus contributing to "an incorrect public perception of a widespread problem and [that has] created a backlash against the [patent] system as a whole."

Submission + - Linux not covered by Microsoft's EU patent pledge (vnunet.com)

Submitted by

pete314

on Monday October 29, 2007 @01:46PM

pete314 writes: "Linux users will not profit from the EU-mandated patent licensing program that Microsoft will offer. Microsoft will license its interoperability patents at a discounted rate, but the EU in an FAQ cautions that "some [open source] licenses are incompatible with the patent license offered by Microsoft".

The GPL is one of the licenses that won't work with Microsoft patent pledge, Mark Webbink says on vnunet.com. Webbink is a director with the Software Freedom Law Center and former deputy general counsel for Red Hat. The license is limited to the software vendor and its clients, but doesn't cover downstream users. The GPL explicitly prohibits such discriminatory licenses."

Submission + - Easy Patent Pool Licensing Patent App. Filed

Submitted by The Empiricist on Saturday September 22, 2007 @10:08PM

The Empiricist writes: Patent pools have existed for over 150 years, helping to keep competitors from destroying their own industries. Suggestions have been made to use patent pools cut through patent thickets in today's high-tech industries. Many have suggested using patent pools to ensure the future of open source software. Open source patent pools have started to become a reality, but skeptics question the effectiveness of such efforts because funding is short and many donated patents are already licensed to companies that might wish to attack open source projects. Perhaps what open source patent pools need are donations directly from open source developers. A March 29th patent application for a "system and method of licensing intellectual property assets" discusses an automated system for licensing patents from a patent pool and automatically allocating collective revenues to patent holders based on various criteria, such as allocations based on patent star-ratings. A system such as this could provide a means for pragmatic open source developers to cover these costs of obtaining patents for open source patent pools, giving open source patent pools a greater chance of long-term success.

Submission + - USDOJ Celebrates 50th Piracy Crackdown Guilty Plea

Submitted by The Empiricist on Tuesday May 15, 2007 @02:13PM

The Empiricist writes: The United States Department of Justice recently announced its 50th guilty plea as part of Operation Fastlink, the Department of Justice initiative that was "expected to dismantle...international warez syndicates and significantly impact the illicit operations of others."

The 50th person to plea guilty was "Christopher E. Eaves, 31, of Iowa Park, Texas, [who] pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for his involvement in the pre-release music group, known as the Apocalypse Crew...He faces up to five years of in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release."

Assistant Director James E. Finch of the FBI's Cyber Division succinctly offered the supporting rational for the initiative by stating that "intellectual property theft strikes at the heart of America's economy."

Submission + - Is the US Suffering an Innovation 'Brain Drain'?

Submitted by

eldavojohn

on Wednesday April 25, 2007 @08:51AM

eldavojohn writes: "A recent article I read was looking for answers in the United States' drop in broadband rankings and proposed an 'innovation brain drain' as one of the reasons. Being an ego-centric American, I initially dismissed the idea but thought more about it and now am more curious as to what everyone else thinks. Do you think that the US is suffering from lack of innovation? If so, what's causing it? What's so different today from a period renowned for innovation? Poor schooling or grade inflation? Governing laws, regulations or patents? Economy? Growing difference in pay? A sense that everything is 'good enough' or lack of necessity? Political & military problems? I know I've read posters warning that the US is falling behind in several fields but I'd like to hear ideas why that is."

Submission + - Change Your Clothes? Nah! Just Turn a Knob

Submitted by

Neil Smithline

on Wednesday April 25, 2007 @07:17AM

Neil Smithline writes: "DailyTech writes that Philips Electronics just published a 2004 patent that features fabric that can act as a display. According to the patent, Philips feels:

The idea of dynamically changing the appearance of the fabric of a garment, for example, is highly desirable and certainly attractive for designers and the fashion industry. There are a number of display devices that utilize informational and decorative manipulatives. Attempts so far include embedded LEDs, thermochromic liquid crystal, and electroluminescent materials applied to the fabrics. However, these techniques employ additional manufacturing efforts and costs.

Perhaps they'll hook it up to a television receiver. I can imagine it now that when you're told to "Stop staring!" you can respond "I wasn't staring, I was checking out the Red Sox score.""

Feed Clean Savings From Reformulated Diesel Fuels (sciencedaily.com)

From feed by sdfeed on Tuesday April 24, 2007 @07:12PM

An innovative methodology developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could help speed to market reformulated diesel fuels recently patented by the Department of Energy, resulting in cleaner air and saving consumers an estimated $3.6 billion over the expected 12-year product impact period.

Submission + - Patents: The end of the (Geek) World as we know it

Submitted by greenbird on Tuesday April 24, 2007 @02:24PM

greenbird writes: It's the beginning of the end (in the US at least). This Forbes article starts with information about a company, DeepNines, who is suing McAfee over a patent that covers combining an IDS and firewall in a single device. The patent was filed on May 17, 2000 and issued on June 6, 2006. Aside from the thousands of linux boxes configured as prior art (including several by me) and the fact that it took 6 years to issue the patent, DeepNines in a January 29, 2003 press release announced a partnership with McAfee to deliver just such integrated solutions.

The Forbes article then goes on to recount the coming apocalypse in the form of investment companies gathering billions of dollars exclusively to fund patent troll companies and lawsuits from such companies one of which is using innovative investment technique's to fund DeepNines in the above lawsuit against McAfee. Is this the end of the tech industry in the United States? Will we all have to move to Europe or Antigua to develop anything new? Will the US manage to drag the Europe into this IP cesspool leaving China, Russia and India as the tech innovators of the world?

Submission + - CATO Institute says Vonage Victim of Patent Abuse

Submitted by jtavares2 on Tuesday April 24, 2007 @12:42PM

jtavares2 writes: Timothy B. Lee, a CATO Institute adjunct scholar, has written an interesting story on Vonage's recent patent woes. He slams the current U.S. patent system and the Federal Circuit's series of rulings in the 1980s which opened the barn doors to software patents. He goes on to talk about potential remedies, including some current cases pending before the Supreme Court.

Submission + - Microsoft's Coupon Dayz

Submitted by

Andy Updegrove

on Tuesday April 24, 2007 @08:43AM

Andy Updegrove writes: "Last week's cross-license between Microsoft and Samsung marks the third deal in which Microsoft claims a partner is buying patent infringement "protection" for Linux users. With the prolifieration of such deals, one can't help asking a few questions.Such as whether Microsoft will ever reveal its mysterious patents, so they can be evalutated? And whether, if all of the terms of each deal were known, would it really appear that Microsoft's partner really thought there was much substance to those patent claims at all? And finally, where will it all end? I don't know the answers to the first two questions, but I thought I'd take a crack at the last one. Let's start with this:
Microsoft-Kellogg's pact includes Froot Loops trademark 'protection'
Provision will protect breakfast cereal vendor and its customers form IPR liability
April 20, 2007 (BreakfastBowlToday) — Microsoft today announced that it had entered into a trademark cross license agreement with leading cereal vendor Kellogg's, granting the grocery giant the right to continue to use the name "Froot Loops" to describe its popular children's cereal."Everybody knows computer software uses loops, and any one who has ever had their Windows-based computer freeze up knows it has infinite loops," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.Ballmer stated that the Redmond giant had no choice but to threaten litigation in order to "get the appropriate economic return for our shareholders from our innovation.""

Submission + - Amazon Patents 1 + 1 = 2

Submitted by

theodp

on Tuesday April 24, 2007 @02:49AM

theodp writes: "The USPTO has issued Amazon a brand spanking new patent for Determining Page Numbers of Page Images, a process which the e-tailer explains involves 'extracting all numbers that are exactly one different than a number found on an adjacent page'."

Submission + - Microsoft responds to EU with another question

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 23, 2007 @05:30PM

An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft has responded to the latest round of EU requests by asking how much the EU thinks they should charge for Windows Server Protocols. The EU has stated the Microsoft should charge based on "innovation, not patentability" and that they have "examined 160 Microsoft claims to patented technologies" concluding "only four may only deserve to claim 'a limited degree of innovation.'" The EU is also starting to discuss structural remedies as opposed to the behavioral remedies they are currently enforcing. At what point has/will the EU overstepped its bounds?

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