Slashdot Mirror


Patenting In The Burst Test

gerddie writes "Heise has an interview with S. Kiesewetter-Köbinger, a patent examiner of the German PA, about the cultural break, software patents will impose to Europe if they become valid. He points out the danger to open source and science, and that with patents on software even mathematical methods would become patentable because there is no longer any difference. There is also a companion article competition in the court room, that gives some more insight in the history and current state of the patent system. All is in german, but as always the fish is your friend."

91 comments

  1. Re:If I patent one and zero then... by spiny · · Score: 1
    a case of life imiating art? :

    http://www.theonion.com/onion3311/microsoftpatents .html

    phil.

    --

    Fry: heh, Yakov Smirnoff said it
    Leela: No he didn't.
  2. Re:You can fight software patents yourself... by Tablizer · · Score: 0
    I wonder if the process of on-line patent bounties is also patented? I bet they did it just to protect themselves from others slapping it to them. Lawyers begat yet more lawyers.

  3. The fish is -not- your friend. by sanermind · · Score: 4, Informative

    As, if Hemos had even bothered to read the translated article, he would have realized that it is long, and that babelfish STOPS TRANSLATING it less than a third of a way through the article.

    use freetranslation.com or one of the many other available translators instead.

    yeesh.

    --

    ---
    the pen is mightier than the sword, the sword is mightier than the court, the court is mightier than the pen.
    1. Re:The fish is -not- your friend. by gerddie · · Score: 2, Informative

      Please don't blame Hemos, I was the one to add the babelfish link, because I didn't know of something better.
      Now I do.

  4. Everybody sing along... by DreamSynthesis · · Score: 3, Interesting


    "Software patents, they suck real bad, da da de dum"... in all seriousness, (and I don't have to say this part around here), this is a BAD THING COMING.

    Here's my question: In light of the somewhat unfortunate fact that world economies are growing increasingly intertwined, especially given the rate of advances in digital communications, how great is the chance of my wonderful country (U.S.) eventually just deciding to "take the ball and go home" when it comes to countries that don't play by our current rules regarding software patents?

    This strikes to the core of a problem America has always suffered from, namely a nasty elitist attitude regarding all things involving tech and government. While it's true that the U.S. has enjoyed relatively little fallout for this attitude problem historically speaking, how long can that last?

    As an American, I suppose what I'm suggesting here is simply that U.S. citizens should probably start taking a closer look at how our internal government policy decisions (especially regarding technology issues) may eventually leave us out in the cold on the world economic scene. It only makes sense when you think about it; we've got the edge in a few areas for the moment, but tables have a way of turning whenever our good friend Murphy steps into the room...

    1. Re:Everybody sing along... by DreamSynthesis · · Score: 1


      I don't know why this comment got modded down to zero... although it's got a certain hint of sarcasm to it, it rings true to me. Too bad (s)he posted as AC on it.

    2. Re:Everybody sing along... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
      U.S. citizens should probably start taking a closer look at how our internal government policy decisions

      "Naah... sounds boring. Oh, gotta go. Jerry Springer's on TV."

  5. Re:NO! Communists kill people. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ah don't be a dense dogmatic fuckwad. go read something about communism's origins and history. paris commune? the radical early tendencies of the labour movement, prior to becoming the nice apolitical business unionism it is today? i realize this is a troll and all but the sort of unthinking mindset it parodies is all too common. half the webworking monkeys of the world are proto-fascist reactionaries politically (because in politics as in life, they haven't gotten out much from within the safe comfy box). They call themselves "libertarians" and wax enlightened, but when the shit hits the fan they will pull ranks with their class, whatever hardline neo-fascist form it takes. In a sense they already do, look at the cheery above-it-all dismissals of growing first-world state repression, police militarization etc.

  6. Why should everybody play by YOUR rules? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The rest of the world is NOT run by the US. We have not had software patents, and we like it that way. Why can the US not play ball with us, and drop its silly stance about the patenting of mathematical algorithms, methods, discoveries, and just about everything else that was excluded from patentability in the early days.

    Besides, in contries that don't have software patents, software `inventors' haven't bothered to patent software (for obvious reasons). If a US style system was introduced into their country, surely---to be fair---they should be allowed to back-date patent registrations, etc. invalidating any later US patents currently passed.

    To go back to the reality of patents---they are TERRITORIAL rights in two cases. They apply in the place where the patent was registered, and they grant `intellectual territory' in that place. Everything more should be viewed by people taking advantage of international treaties as good fortune.

  7. Re:You might be relieved to hear this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    You're smart, funny, and insightful

    I disagree. He's only unintentionally funny, and if he were smart or insightful he wouldn't have posted in this thread in the first place.

  8. URL by B0bRoy · · Score: 0

    You could type in the URL to the article you wants to translate.

    Then maybe the fish becomes your friend again

  9. Re:shut up jew by Mr.+Troll · · Score: 0, Troll
    Umm, dumbass:

    A sandnigger is a fuckin arab.

    Gooks, always fuckin things up

    --
    Kiss my shiny metal ass
  10. FP by Oakey · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    *sigh* someone should patent First Post

    --
    "Dre don't get as high as me.... I'm Cheech and Chong" - Snoop Dogg
  11. i now own PI by B0bRoy · · Score: 0

    Even mathematical methods would become patentable

    I take PI

    1. Re:i now own PI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pi is not a mathematical method. It's a number. Like 3 only bigger. That's not a good example. Like 4 only smaller. Get it now? It's not an algorithm. It's a ratio between one thing and another. Now patenting the method of dividing a circle's circumference by it's diameter to determine the value of pi would be patentable. Gotta go guys. penguinshark

  12. If I patent one and zero then... by CmdrTaco+on · · Score: 2, Funny

    all you base are belong to me!

    --

    saru mo ki kara ochiru

  13. Re:What many americans dont know.. by Bobo+the+Space+Chimp · · Score: 1

    Since software moves so rapidly, if they have patents, I think maybe 5 years would be good rather than 23 years or whatever it is.

    Given the typical software patents, it's obvious that there is not a whole lot of money poured into developing the patent. Things like "1-click buying" or "limiting # of 3D avatars viewable in the client based on distance to client's perspective" may be innovative, but once spelled out in a few words, any number of methods to implement them immediately and easily pop into the mind of a programmer.

    --
    I am for the complete Trantorization of Earth.
  14. Re:Wowsers... by SlippyToad · · Score: 1

    If read the babelfish translation you will, backwards how it is written you will see. Yoda, almost as if it were written by. Normal however I have found, word order for most other indo-european languages that is.

    --
    One day I feel I'm ahead of the wheel / the next it's rolling over me / I can get back on / I can get back on
  15. Re:Europe Should Fight This by pointwood · · Score: 2

    Think we aren't already fighting this?

    Think again! We are fighting!

  16. Re:On my way to work... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Key his precious Merc.

  17. Wowsers... by Tom7 · · Score: 2

    That is the most gramatically awkward submission I've read recently. It's almost as if Taco wrote it himself! ;)

  18. Post Modern Lords and Vassels? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unresolvable debts to long lists of patent and IP holders. Yay. Are there still any drawing boards in the bribery chambers of the government? Certainly a relic from the past but may prove valuable to this long abused and dangerous system of handling invention.

  19. Re:Feedback by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    What I found really funny about this article is that the person quoted an American Axiom. "never touch a running system" He basically said, with a software economy so dynamic and vibrant and working without software patents, why ruin it with patents. In other words IF IT AIN'T BROKEN DON'T FIX IT!!!! Ironic that a German quotes an American AXIOM. My how the tide does turn.... Christian Gross

  20. se-habla-espanol-dept by wiredog · · Score: 2
    Being able to habla espanol will do you no good. The article is in Deutsch. So you must sprechen sie deutsch.

    There, I've demonstrated my full knowledge of both Spanish and German, and probably my lack of spelling skills in both.

    1. Re:se-habla-espanol-dept by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must 'do you speak German'... retard

  21. Re:I guess you're a Nazi-lover. by DreamSynthesis · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Karma be damned... thank you, whoever you are for saying what I didn't!!! There's no room for that kind of crap here, although it's also been stated that if we "don't feed the trolls, they may go away."

    Like I said, Karma be damned, I'll continue to rebuff that kind of crap.

  22. try this by gavlil · · Score: 1

    http://babel.altavista.com/?urltext=http%3A%2F%2Fw ww.heise.de%2Fct%2F01%2F17%2F048%2F&lp=de_en i just hope no one gets the patent to breathing!

    --

    Do Unto Others As You Would Have Others Do Unto You - ONLY HARDER!
  23. What many americans dont know.. by General888 · · Score: 2, Informative
    and many europeans neither, is that software patents have been for some time common practice in European Union. Officially pure software patents are not allowed, but unofficially they are approved. The patents are just labeled as being in the domain of "electronic information processing and data communications" and as such are not pure software patents.

    Check EPC article 52(1)c that says computer software is not patentable, and article 52(3) that has the infamous "as such" clause that EPO uses as a loop hole to grant software patents.

    Unfortunately it seems europe has lost this race even before anyone knew it was an issue.

  24. Europe Should Fight This by KarmaBlackballed · · Score: 3, Insightful

    When I was a kid I remember reading that non-communist Russia was a huge threat to the west because they did not recognize western patents. Of course, I like most people agreed that this was a serious problem.

    Now I am an adult and I understand that earlier opinion was guided and shaped by the corporate marketing machine which has a vested interest in keeping ideas tied to their existing bank accounts.

    Europeans should fight Software Patents and not be shy about it.

    --

    --- -- - -
    Give me LIBERTY, or give me a check.
    1. Re:Europe Should Fight This by osolemirnix · · Score: 1


      No thanks, I think we europeans will just delay the ratification of WIPO treaties with our Brussels bureaucracy for a few more years, wait and watch how the american economy brings itself to its knees by lawsuits, and then simply take over the world...

      (oops, sounds so familiar) ;-)

      --

      Idempotent operation: Like MS software, wether you run it once or often, that doesn't make it any better.
  25. Re:Whew! by kkkalen · · Score: 1

    I read "Burst-Test" and thought the headline was about condom QA/QC. Geeks have other hobbies, too!

    --
    If you don't believe me, ask that guy over there.
  26. Whew! by imac.usr · · Score: 4, Funny

    After giving the headline a cursory glance, I thought it said, "Patenting The Burn-In Test"....although somebody's probably already working on that one.

    --
    I use Macs for work, Linux for education, and Windows for cardplaying.
  27. Could someone clear this? by Sulka · · Score: 2

    Every single software patent I've seen begins with explaining what the patent covers, by describing an apparatus that implements the patent. Most of the time this means a PC running a piece of software.

    Since IANAL, I'm interpreting this so that providing only part of the solution (ie, the software component) isn't covered by the patent since no hardware is provided. If providing part of the solution is a breach, wouldn't it imply that providing the hardware part only (a pc) is infringing? If providing some part of the solution is infringing the patent and some other part is not, where does the line go?

    --
    "Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid, it is true that most stupid people are conservative."
    1. Re:Could someone clear this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also, clear up:

      difference.competition

      and whats this comma doing :

      about the cultural break, software patents will impose to Europe

      Sort it out.

  28. On my way to work... by chemical55 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    ...some guy ignored a line of geese crossing the road. Instead of waiting, he proceeded to drive his Mercedes into the line of birds, nearly running several over. When I confronted him about it (our companies are next door to each other), he became defensive and started to swear at me. As I walked away he started yelling about "me coming over there to do someting about it". I laughed at him, thinking that its not worth my time. But now as I sit in my cubicle my rage bubbles over. What should I do?

  29. You can fight software patents yourself... by osolemirnix · · Score: 2, Interesting


    ...and make money at the same time.
    Check out Bounty Quest, they reward people for finding documents that mention the idea before it was registered as a patent. That way the patent does not fulfil the new criteria and becomes invalid.

    You get paid too... :-)

    --

    Idempotent operation: Like MS software, wether you run it once or often, that doesn't make it any better.
  30. Re:Dangerous Ground by sanermind · · Score: 1

    heh.

    Of course, as most of us know, he speaks fluent german and surely must have read the article in it's entirety in the original form. He only pointed out babelfish for us stupid non-polylingual types, and overlooking it's translation limitation is understandable. An easy mistake, after all.

    --

    ---
    the pen is mightier than the sword, the sword is mightier than the court, the court is mightier than the pen.
  31. You might be relieved to hear this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...or you might not be. I'm going to tell you anyway. Sir, take a look behind you. Look over there. Do you see that hidden camera? And that one over there?

    Congratulations, sir. Smile, you're on Slashtroll Camera!

    That's right. Nobody thinks you're a racist. Nobody has contacted the ADL. Nobody is boycotting your company. All those messages are from me, and I was engaged in a practice commonly known as "trolling." I usually don't tell my victims that they've been trolled, but you seem to have fallen for this particular troll a bit too hard, and I don't want to be responsible for you having a coronary or something.

    Here's how you COULD have figured out that you were being trolled:

    1. One of my "Anti-Racism" links was actually a link to an Olsen Twins webpage. Blind Olsen Twin links are a hallmark of High-Echelon Slashdot Trolls, just like blind blind goatse.cx links are a hallmark of Slashdot Crapflooders. But most people are so aware of the Crapflooders that they're ignorant of the fact that real Trolls actually exist -- that makes them vulnerable to us.

    2. 1-800-ASK-FISH ring a bell? The word "trolling" comes from a form of fishing, and fishing metaphors abound: what you did was referred to as "biting" or "taking the bait."

    For once, I'm practicing "catch and release" by letting you "off the hook" in the hopes that you'll be a little less gullible next time.

    I dropped more clues, but I can't tell you all the secrets at once, you know.

    And by the way, it's nothing personal. I've read all your stuff. You're smart, funny, and insightful. And I really like the looks of your company also, and I wish you much success. I hope you keep posting on Slashdot, and hope that you'll someday consider joining the trolls so that you can inflict^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hbestow the same agony^H^H^H^H^Hwisdom on others that you've just experienced.

    Now for the formalities:
    YHBT. YHL. HAND.

    I'm signing off. As Doctor Laura would say: "Now go do the right thing!"

  32. Re:Quality music at work by Smedrick · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Go preach your idiocy somewhere else, you bible-humping freak.

    --
    "I strongly urge both the faint of heart and the faint of butt to leave the room at this time."
    - Strong Bad
  33. Feudal roots? by mmol_6453 · · Score: 1

    One of the advantages to the old feudal system was that if you didn't like the way your town was run, you could (conceivably) go somewhere else. Nevermind the serf system.

    There's probably another way out of town aside from the main road.

    --
    What's this Submit thingy do?
  34. That sounds fine, but just one question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    huh???

    First, I have no clue what you're talking about. Second, you shouldn't label everything you disagree with a "troll." Communists MURDER people, and that's the simple fact of reality. The Libertarian philosophy IS the only one that represents freedom. Communism is fascism, and I don't care what you think it is "in theory", theory is NOT reality.