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McAfee Granted Far-Reaching Spam-Control Patent
Titusdot Groan writes "Infoworld is reporting that Network Associates, makers of McAfee, have been granted a broad anti-spam patent. The patent covers "compound filters, paragraph hashing, and Bayes rules" and was filed in December of 2002. The patent appears to affect Spam Assassin, Spam Bayes and many other anti-spam products and services. As an aside Paul Graham's "A Plan for Spam" was published August 2002."
IANAL, but isn't that a proof of "prior usage" and makes the patent invalid?
Another question: Can somebody explain me why the "logo" for this article on Slashdot is "fork, knife and spoon" (in German we call it "Besteck" but I know that the english language has no equivalent for it)? Just curious about that... :-)
All this patent will accomplish is it will give McAfee legal right to knock everyone else's products in the dirt, while they try to push their own. If their antispam product is anything like their antivirus, their product will suck. Net result - everyone will lose, except the spammers who will keep doing their thing while McAfee screws everone else out of making effective solutions.
The US patent office is becoming as bad as the US legal system that allows you to sue anyone at any time for any reason. *shakes head in disgust*
A love beyond compare...
Do you really think the represantives would listen to reason ? Here in germany i highly doubt that, our minister did the opposite she said ... very clear case of lobbying. .. so if they'll really pass that law in EU, we vote with our money ... move the core business out of EU ...
As a small company we don't have the money to lobby them
American patents are just a big cash grab for the govt since all the USPTO does is grant and grant, and get paid big bucks for granting such garbage. Of course corporations take advantage in this hoping they can gain control of prior art for their own gain anyways. Patent reform anyone? They keep talking about it, but they been talking about it for a long time now. Seems its just a bunch of hotair. The big software companies would probably just hate it.
With regards to IM, whats to stop IM protocols being abused the same way as email? We already have bots galore on the major chatroom services including Yahoo, MSN and IRC, so basically all we would be doing would be fragmenting across different, incompatible protocols and still dealing with the same problems.
Whilst the InfoWorld article quotes '"To me this looks like a pretty broad patent," said Rob Tosti' it doesn't look as broad as the headlines suggest.
...
The key feature is in claim 1
"paragraph hashing by hashing a plurality of paragraphs and utilizing a database of hashes of paragraphs, wherein the paragraph hashing excludes at least one of a first paragraph and a last paragraph of content of the electronic mail messages wherein a plurality of hashes each has a level associated therewith, and the hashes having a higher level associated therewith are applied to the electronic mail messages prior to the hashes having a lower level associated therewith"
That's quite a tight restriction. If you're hashing the first and last paragraphs, for example, then you're in the clear! Of course this wouldn't stop them chasing you with a law-suit it would just mean you could be acquitted if you could afford to go the distance - [sarcasm] capitalism, I'm loving it!! [/sarcasm]
Also, I note that in the http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html article hashing is only used in terms of words [yeah tokens really, but who's being pedantic?]. Here the restriciton of the claims is to hashing paragraphs. If you're hashing words you're OK (previous disclaimer applies!).
That's not to say that I think they deserve a patent. Just that the knee-jerk - "this is hugely broad" - isn't really justified IMHO.
pbhj
The right to free speech, if applied only to benign conversation is useless. Try to exercise it by telling everybody that the feds requested private information under the Patriot Act's provision. Your ass will land in jail, lightning fast. Also try to publish a way to decrypt some lame ass DVD and prepare to pay fines out of your wazoo (you're breaking the DMCA). Just two examples, there are countless others. Slashdot drivel is not important for the powers that be, I could sau "Fuck Bush" or "Rumsfeld is an idiot" on every forum on the internet, and they wouldn't care, because it's NOT IMPORTANT, since the mindless masses won't see it, notice it or even care. Try to say something that IS important, something that has the potential to affect their interests, or the interests of their corporate friends and see how far you get
Free speech aside, why are American Citizens arrested in the US and jailed without access to a lawyer and due process? Just because somebody labeled them terrorists? Are you sure that in 10 years from now you won't be labeled terrorist if you don't vote Republican?
I'm not a US born citizen. I came here from an Eastern European country that, until 89, was a communist dictatorship (one of the worst). I'm old enough to remember those days. What I see happening here is a slow erosion of civil liberties that brings back painfull memories.
If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?