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EFF Announces New Patent Reform Project
olsmeister writes "On Tuesday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced its 'Defend Innovation' project, which includes seven proposals for software patent reform. These proposals include things like shorter coverage for software patents, and a requirement to demonstrate running code for each claim in the patent."
In other news, the EFF has adopted Don Quixote as their Official Mascot.
No more granting patents for the bloody obvious! Things like Amazon's one-click, or Apple's patent for a slide-to-unlock bar. This includes things which may sound arcane and innovative but are actually obvious to anyone working in the field, which in turn means the examiners will need to be better trained.
Or how about a 'fail fee' to discourage companies from fileing thousands of junk patents in the hope that just a few will be approved by luck and can be used to fill their patent chest?
A ban on patents that provide no obvious benefit to mankind, but rather are intended specifically to prevent interoperability with a specific format? Things like filesystems or file formats. I'm thinking specifically of MSs patent on long file names in fat32.
In a day when even the courts are questioning the validity of the very concept of software patents, EFF should be taking up this issue. Instead, they are lobbying for "shorter durations"???
Boo, hiss. EFF, I expect a lot more from you guys.
I think what might be interesting is to develop a database of prior art/ideas. With thousands of people submitting everything they can think of every conceviable obvious aggregation of technologies any patent application would be required to be checked against the database and rejected if someone else already dreamed of it before the application was filed.
The database would be run by the patent office or it would incorporate cryptographic and distributed features allowing timestamps and content to stand up to any challenge.
Companies not wishing to pay the patent tax might seek to use it in a bid to prevent others from filing first and locking up the same blatently obvious ideas for the next 20 years.
How about making that a crime punishable with prison time for the person who submitted the patent application IF it can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the person who submitted the patent application knew about the prior art and actively suppressed it?
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.