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McAfee Patents ASP Business Model
Rob Kischuk writes: "According to an article at InfoWorld, McAfee.com has been granted a patent on its variety of "software as a service". No specifics on the patent, but the CEO's statement, "You either work with us, or you work around this patent", seems to indicate that more than a couple of ASPs could be affected." kerubi gets a cookie for sending in a link to the patent in question, or read McAfee's press release.
If I have a lobotomy, can I still get a job as a patent examiner?
-russ
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
I wonder how many times I'm going to have to post the simple advice to read to the end, to see that it gets even worse:
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Wasn't Microsoft going to release Windows XP under a 'Software as a service' license and requiring monthly (annual?) fees? But I'm sure Microsoft's legal teams will find a way around it, they alway do.
Things you think are in the Constitution, but are not.
A system, method, and computer program product for delivery and automatic execution of
Don't know about you but this sure sounds like java applets to me and I could have sworn somebody already held the patent for that
From the patent:
PointCast.TM., however, is configured only to deliver content to the browser of a computer over the Internet. It is not designed or equipped with the means to download executable programs to a storage device connected to a computer and execute them at the remote computer.
In other words: PointCast does exactly what our thing does, only we instruct the machine (on the clientside) to run the bytes transferred, while PointCast only displayed them.
Definately an invention worthy of lucrative licencing fees! I guess this makes them Mc-A-Fee.
Oh, and:
Those skilled in the art may make numerous modifications and departures from the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.
In other words: This is a blanket patent. Please remember that when we're in litigation with a zillion other companies to obtain royalties.
"Old man yells at systemd"
Surprise, surprise yeat another patent on something obvious that tons of people are doing... Although considering they filed in 1998 it may not be that hard o find prior art on this one. Arguably any form of web-based installer violates this patent (or counts as prior art) as software installation can be considered 'administration'.
.technomancer
"In a preferred embodiment, the user directs the Internet browser to a Internet clinical services provider web site computer and logs in to the site using an identifier and a secure password and optionally makes a selection of the type of servicing desired, wherein an automatically-executing software package encapsulated within a markup language communication unit deliverable across the Internet is delivered, to the user computer, the automatically-executing software package being adapted to perform security, management, or optimization functions on the user computer."
Isn't that what Microsoft's Windows update does ? Or better said, isn't that what Microsoft's Windows update tries to do?
Windowsupdate.microsoft.com is probably covered by this patent. So are the auto update services used by Red Hat and SuSe. And any other remote update system. Hell, it might cover PC Anywhere. If it does, then it might be partially invalidated on prior art grounds.
But, it looks like portal systems like Zope would be in the clear. Damn broad patent, though.
Best Slashdot Co
I'd patent one (the Moral Compass), but I sure don't think I'd collect much royalties. Anyone out there know of prior art??
"Method and system for securing, managing or optimizing a personal computer"
So basically McAfee is claiming a patent on:
* Passwords
* Locks
* Command Shells
* GUIs
* Defragmenters
* Memory management
You get the idea...this is broader than the side of a barn. The only sentance I can pull out of the abstract that means anything is "you do something with a web browser and something happens on your computer"
Serious...who read this @#%!$ at the patent office and finds anything unique about it at all? I mean AT - FREAKING - ALL?
- JoeShmoe
-- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
There are at least two instances of prior art (that I submitted to Slashdot when I submitted mention of the McAfee story, but oh well...).
In 1997, Symantec partnered with Ziff Davis in launching the HealthyPC.com web site. It was a subscription service that allowed customers access to Norton Antivirus, a subset of Norton Utilities, and the then newly developed LiveUpdate product. I did web design for that launch.
The way the service worked is that the apps were downloaded and installed on the client side, but they could only be activated by a launch script from the server side, so a user had to log in to the HealthyPC.com subscriber area in order to use the tools.
Here are some pages that reference HealthyPC.com and pretty clearly show dates from 1997 (according to News.com, McAfee applied for the patent in 1998):
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-318512.html
http://cypherpunks.venona.com/date/1997/04/msg0024 1.htmlh tmt m
http://www8.zdnet.com/pcmag/insites/sod/sd970310.
http://www.quantum.org/members/issues/1097/7875.h
Before that, there was a site offering similar services that was called TuneUp.com, but it ended up going through a few acquisitions before finally ending up as part of Symantec.
You don't get superpowers until you have >50 karma.
What? A patent that actually limits its scope?. But read right to the end for the gotcha:
Even for a USPTO filing, this is breathtaking. The detail wording of the patent discloses prior art that differs only in small details (at the time of filing) from the claimed method, and the attempt to generalise from a specific implementation to cover pretty much anything you download and install would be hilarious if it wasn't being done by a company with a legal department and a belligerent attitude.
I'm astonished to find that I can't wait for Microsoft to let their lawyers loose on this. I wonder how much longer the USPTO can be allowed to continue in it's current form? It's slipped quietely from being merely incompetent and underfunded into the realms of the farcical.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Definitely sounds like a challenge
Sounds more to me like "Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-hah!!" {strokes cat while adjusting monocle}
Nooo, Mr. Bond, I expect you to pay royalties!
Definitely sounds like a challenge
"The method of claim 6, said software package including a program to detect computer viruses on the remotely located computer"
So if it doesn't include a virus detector then it would appear to be okay.
Still seems a silly patent mind
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Here is an excellent article on IP issues and mad patents.
Also check out IP.com and BountyQuest
so I imagine well be seeing something here about this soon!
I'm tempted to immediately blame the companies for doing this, but I guess they are just trying to work within the system to make money. It's the system that sucks. Still I'm gonna hold off buying that antivirus software for a while now.
I hate software patents and I think this is yet another silly one but it could provide an interesting way to stop Microsoft's .Net initiative. Isn't the .Net model completely based around the ASP model? So perhaps McAffee could simply refuse to license the patent to Micrsoft. By refusing to license, McAffee could at the very least keep Microsoft tied up in court for a long time.
This isn't to say that McAffee has any vested interest in kicking Microsoft around. In fact Microsoft would probably do their best to destroy McAffee through other means if this happened. But it's an interesting idea.
This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
Actually, kerubi gets a cookie just by browsing Slashdot.
(Sorry, I just couldn't resist.)
Developers: We can use your help.
Microsoft don't have their own virusscanner anyhow, so perhaps we can expect Microsoft Viruscan pretty soon ;-)
Okay... I'll do the stupid things first, then you shy people follow.
[Zappa]
... the first lawyer successfully patents a legal argument, or perhaps a clever sequence of filing inter-related lawsuits, as a business process, and then starts charging other lawyers for using it.
Remember, the legal system in general thrives on adding complexity to other people's lives. When the complexity starts removing money from their pockets, things will change.
To a Lisp hacker, XML is S-expressions in drag.
From the Patent:
Abstract
A system, method, and computer program product for delivery and automatic execution of security, management, or optimization software over an Internet connection to a user computer responsive to a user request entered via a web browser on the user computer. In a preferred embodiment, the user directs the Internet browser to a Internet clinical services provider web site computer and logs in to the site using an identifier and a secure password and optionally makes a selection of the type of servicing desired, wherein an automatically-executing software package encapsulated within a markup language communication unit deliverable across the Internet is delivered, to the user computer, the automatically-executing software package being adapted to perform security, management, or optimization functions on the user computer. User identifiers and passwords enabling the downloads may be provided on a per-download basis or on a subscription basis.
Soccer Goal Plans
Hi guys,
Perhaps the best way to protest their action would be to purchase as many Norton & Symantec products as possible.
Regards,
Ben Hallert
Symantec