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Domain: callaw.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to callaw.com.

Comments · 4

  1. The man responsible by cretog8 · · Score: 3 · on Wormhole Generator (Kinda) Patented
    Perhaps it's time to question the person responsible for the current state of the USPTO, and the preposterous patents we see granted. People are quite willing to hold Janet Reno personally accountable for the failings of the Justice Dept., why not this guy?

    Q. Todd Dickinson is the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks. He's only been on the job for 4 months, so we can't blame him personally for many past failings, but he's the one to address about making it stop. According to his biography, "Under Dickinson's leadership, the PTO is implementing the most sweeping reform in patent law in a half-century and its restructuring into a performance-based organization."

    Since IANAL, I can't make much sense of Dickinson v. Zurko, but it might give some insight on Disckinson's attitudes. It vaguely makes it look like he tried pretty vigorously to strenghten the legal force of PTO decisions that something was prior art and couldn't be patented. It may or may not also strengthen decisions that something is patentable. He says he's trying to hire many more people familiar with software, and make more resources available for recognizing prior art.

    There's several of his speeches available at the PTO site.

    Dickinson did praise the late Judge Giles Sutherland Rich, who wrote the opinion in the State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group Inc. case that explicitly made it acceptable to patent mathematical algorithms and business models.

    It would be great if the slashdot masters could arrange an Ask Slashdot with this guy.

  2. There is no precedence by Carnage4Life · · Score: 1 · on Net Gambler Sues Credit Card Company

    The case was settled out of court. The man is probably going to lose the case because after almost getting sued by the previous lady from California, most credit card companies established some baseline rules for dealing with online gambling to ensure that there were no repeat lawsuits.

    Bad Command Or File Name

  3. Re:What is the world coming to? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on MS Attempt to Find Pirated Software Fails Miserably
    Believe it or not, it's a valid concern of copyright holders such as Microsoft in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent 5-4 decision in the College Savings Bank case.

    Basically, the Court ruled the State of Florida immune from federal patent and trademark law. This is an interpretation of the 11th Amendment, which limits the power of federal law in suits against states. It would not be surprising now if a copyright infringement claim against a state agency is rejected out of hand by the federal courts.

    Now that the state apparently enjoys immunity against copyright suits, Gov. Davis is making a policy as well as a promise to software companies not to use that against them.

    Good point, glad you brought it up.

  4. Some Perspective on Patents by symbolic · · Score: 1 · on Slashdot infringing on Microsoft patent #US5819032


    Here's an article I came across in the newsgroups.