On 2003.06.15 23:59 Tim Churches wrote:
Richard Schilling <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Don't fret too much, Tim. At least in the U.S. such patents can be > challenged on the grounds that a) someone already invented it and/or > b) > it's too obvious (e.g. patenting fundamental computer science > concepts/processes like multithreading).
Both of those are true everywhere. They are part of the international patent conventions. But often it is not clear cut whether related work really represents prior art or not, which means that the issue can only be settled in a court of law. I
Correct. Open Source software has an advantage however in that it can usually be shown (e.g. is well documented) when a particular product was released. Few, for example doubt that Linux was first released in 1992. Did you know that the owner of the term "Internet Explorer" successfully defended his trademark against Microsoft.
He not only showed he was the owner of the trademark, he also showed that he lost business because Microsoft stole the name, and got enough money from Microsoft to pay legal fees, his debts, etc . . . (he was in bankruptcy at the time). But, the point is he was successfull, and had it not been for settling with Microsoft out of desperation you might not be seeing the name Internet Explorer on Microsoft's product.
Yes, cost of defense is also a problem. However the legal conventions can be enough to settle problems before going to trial. Companies would like litigation to be a last resort, and I think a lot of people forget that.
> I haven't seen patent challenges with open source code happen yet, > but > I take great comfort in the publically available repositories that > document pre-existing inventions. Should it be discovered that some > college student invented the process first, Timeline would owe > him/her > some money . . .
Huh? No, that is not the case at all. If the student had patented the idea first, then sure, but the act of publically describing an invention merely
In the U.S. the owner of an invention is the first person to invent it (which occurs when you first start *writing down your notes*). In the UK, it's the first person to file. So, in the U.S., such a student would indeed have the rights to defend their invention. It has happened before that the inventor defended his/her invention when someone else went to get a patent. You might be surprised, but a certified letter from a lawyer can make a whole company jump quickly.
You might be surprised how easy it is to document your inventions. Publishing your code online, in a public place, in a way that is verifyable publically certainly does it (e.g. at Sourceforge). As long as you document when your invention occurred (which is the moment you put pen to paper), you're protected. You can also do other nice tricks, like mail your source code to yourself (it will have the postmark and the cancellation date), and don't open the envelope. Or, burn a CD Rom, or even print out your idea, sign along with a witness, take a picture of it next to the day's newspaper (with the date visible), and file it away. It's all valid form of documentation.
prevents, in theory, others from patenting it, it doesn't automatically provide patent protection. You
Well, you have to be proactive. If you don't enforce your rights you get nothing, but at least sending a few certified letters is a start.
need to spend (lots) of time and money obtaining patents - which is one of the reasons why the entire system is tilted in favour of large corporations.
A patent for an individual can run about $5,000. But registering the official date of your invention can be done at the US PTO for under $200. A small price to pay to get your ideas documented in the government's archives. All code this group writes, for example ideally should be filed under copyright at the US PTO. It's not that expensive.
--Richard
