Bad Ideas: Globalizing The Patent System

from the this-won't-end-well dept

It's pretty clear that Microsoft's patent boss, Horacio Gutierrez, and I don't agree on much, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I find nothing to like in Gutierrez's new call for "global patents." I can understand where the complaint comes from. It surely is a pain to have to apply for a patent in many different countries around the world, and to deal with different local systems and responses. And, yes, there is a big backlog at the patent office, which could be alleviated if many patent offices weren't all reviewing the same patents. But, having different patent systems actually serves an important function in better understanding the levers of innovation: which is that we get to compare different approaches and that different countries can try out different ideas to see what works and what doesn't. Unfortunately, we've already lost some of that uniqueness around the world due to the TRIPS agreement, which harmonized many patent systems on certain points, and took away some of the unique features of patent systems.

We've already seen that in "harmonizing" copyrights thanks to the Berne Convention that it's been made much more difficult for countries to correct mistakes (or even admit mistakes) with overly aggressive copyright laws. In fact, it's created a situation where the only direction copyright law seems to go is towards stronger protection -- almost always under claims of a need to "live up to international treaties." If we created a single global patent system, you'd have that problem on steroids. Rather than being able to experiment and cut back on the excesses and problems of the patent system, the entire world would be stuck with a single system, and any changes to the regulations would be driven by those who benefit most from being able to abuse such monopoly rights.

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Microsoft Looks To 'Moneyball' Patents?

from the fascinating dept

I tend not to agree with Microsoft patent boss Horacio Gutierrez on very much when it comes to patents or Microsoft's patent strategy over the past few years. But I have to admit I'm fascinated by his plan to take the lessons of the book Moneyball and try to apply them to patents. Apparently, he's got a team of folks in Redmond, trying to put together data and stats the help judge the value of a patent. I'd be surprised if anything really accurate comes out of it (there are just too many variables and wildcards), but it is an intriguing idea. I wonder if he'll patent it...

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Microsoft Finally Reveals Some Of The Patents It Claims Linux Infringes... Sorta

from the here-we-go dept

For years, Microsoft has waved around the FUD stick concerning the 200+ patents it claimed to hold that Linux implementations supposedly infringed upon. However, when confronted, the company never seemed willing to name a single such patent. However, it looks like the company is starting to swing that stick with a bit more force. Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's "patent guy," fresh off a promotion, is suing navigation device maker TomTom over a variety of patents, including a few that relate to TomTom's implementation of Linux. Gutierrez has a somewhat troubling view on patents, where he believes that all tech companies should effectively be paying pretty much everyone else patent licensing fees before they can build any products. Rather than seeing that as a problem -- he thinks it represents a good thing. It's difficult to see what the benefit is in all that wasted money changing hands... other than it's probably what pays his salary. Not surprisingly, Microsoft is using the infamous ITC loophole to get two shots at forcing TomTom to pay up -- meaning that it's both sued the company in court, and gone to the ITC to have it try to block the import of TomTom products.

As for the patents themselves, looking them over, it's almost scary how broad they are. Some of them apply to basic in-car navigation features, while others focus on the file system TomTom is using (which is an implementation of Linux). If you'd like to look them over, here they are:

• Vehicle computer system with open platform architecture
• Method and system for generating driving directions (check out the claims on this one...)
• Methods and Arrangements for Interacting with Controllable Objects within a Graphical User Interface Environment Using Various Input Mechanisms
• Portable computing device-integrated appliance
• Vehicle computer system with wireless internet connectivity (would be great if some IP lawyers could explain how this one passes the KSR test for combining existing products)
• Common name space for long and short filenames (ditto concerning whether or not this passes the Bilski test concerning pure "software" patents)
• Common name space for long and short filenames (same name, slightly different patent -- same questions raised, however)
• Method and System for File System Management Using a Flash-Erasable, Programmable, Read-only Memory

It's those last three that apply to TomTom's implementation of Linux. While Gutierrez insists this is not Microsoft beginning its patent assault on Linux, anyone wondering about those mythical 200+ patents might want to start checking on those three patents first. Unfortunately, chances are that TomTom will just settle. No matter how strong a case it might have, it's going to be cheaper to settle, and that's exactly what Microsoft is counting on.

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