Comments on: Software Patent of the Week: A Poster Child for KSR http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/ Keeping politicians' hands off the Net & everything else related to technology Fri, 25 May 2012 18:27:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Noel Le http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-36323 Noel Le Mon, 11 Dec 2006 17:15:21 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-36323 <p>Tim, James-</p> <p>I don't believe IBM <em>created</em> the clone industry as much as it <em>encouraged</em> it after seeing the potential for licensing revenue from its BIOS. Of course, firms were later able to reverse engineer IBMs BIOS, and eventually even that was not necessary.</p> <p>I see Tim bringing his paper to attention, and of course, I disagree with his pessimistic position on the DMCA. Nevermind that it talks about innovations <em>that might not have happened</em> but ignores the reality that they actually did, and overlooks the fact that today's technology industry is vibrant and innovative rather than the crumbling industry that he predicts; the main point that readers should look at are his points on reverse engineering which I comment on here: <a href="http://weblog.ipcentral.info/archives/2006/11/setting_the_rec_1.html" rel="nofollow">Reverse Engineering</a></p> Tim, James-

I don’t believe IBM created the clone industry as much as it encouraged it after seeing the potential for licensing revenue from its BIOS. Of course, firms were later able to reverse engineer IBMs BIOS, and eventually even that was not necessary.

I see Tim bringing his paper to attention, and of course, I disagree with his pessimistic position on the DMCA. Nevermind that it talks about innovations that might not have happened but ignores the reality that they actually did, and overlooks the fact that today’s technology industry is vibrant and innovative rather than the crumbling industry that he predicts; the main point that readers should look at are his points on reverse engineering which I comment on here: Reverse Engineering

]]> By: Noel Le http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-46235 Noel Le Mon, 11 Dec 2006 17:15:21 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-46235 <p>Tim, James-<br><br>I don't believe IBM <em>created</em> the clone industry as much as it <em>encouraged</em> it after seeing the potential for licensing revenue from its BIOS. Of course, firms were later able to reverse engineer IBMs BIOS, and eventually even that was not necessary.<br><br>I see Tim bringing his paper to attention, and of course, I disagree with his pessimistic position on the DMCA. Nevermind that it talks about innovations <em>that might not have happened</em> but ignores the reality that they actually did, and overlooks the fact that today's technology industry is vibrant and innovative rather than the crumbling industry that he predicts; the main point that readers should look at are his points on reverse engineering which I comment on here: <a href="http://weblog.ipcentral.info/archives/2006/11/setting_the_rec_1.html" rel="nofollow">Reverse Engineering</a></p> Tim, James-

I don’t believe IBM created the clone industry as much as it encouraged it after seeing the potential for licensing revenue from its BIOS. Of course, firms were later able to reverse engineer IBMs BIOS, and eventually even that was not necessary.

I see Tim bringing his paper to attention, and of course, I disagree with his pessimistic position on the DMCA. Nevermind that it talks about innovations that might not have happened but ignores the reality that they actually did, and overlooks the fact that today’s technology industry is vibrant and innovative rather than the crumbling industry that he predicts; the main point that readers should look at are his points on reverse engineering which I comment on here: Reverse Engineering

]]> By: Tim Lee http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-36322 Tim Lee Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:39:33 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-36322 <p>James--Really? IBM explicitly created the PC clone industry? That's news to me! I briefly discuss the history of the PC clone industry in my <a href="http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6025" rel="nofollow">paper</a> on the DMCA, so if I got that wrong, I'd love to learn more about it.</p> James–Really? IBM explicitly created the PC clone industry? That’s news to me! I briefly discuss the history of the PC clone industry in my paper on the DMCA, so if I got that wrong, I’d love to learn more about it.

]]> By: Tim Lee http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-46234 Tim Lee Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:39:33 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-46234 <p>James--Really? IBM explicitly created the PC clone industry? That's news to me! I briefly discuss the history of the PC clone industry in my <a href="http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6025" rel="nofollow">paper</a> on the DMCA, so if I got that wrong, I'd love to learn more about it.</p> James–Really? IBM explicitly created the PC clone industry? That’s news to me! I briefly discuss the history of the PC clone industry in my paper on the DMCA, so if I got that wrong, I’d love to learn more about it.

]]> By: James Governor http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-36321 James Governor Mon, 11 Dec 2006 10:13:12 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-36321 <p>The broader context is exactly what you fail to offer.</p> <p>IBM explicitly created the PC clone industry, with a licensing-based approach, so the revisionism is a bit jarring here. I am no fan of patent abuse (or software patents generally) but given IBM already saw an industry of clones (called plug compatible mainframes)- Amdahl, HDS, Comparex and so on - as forced by the consent decree, this blog entry just seems to be to lacking in context to take seriously.</p> <p>IBM is a very interesting case study in terms of its approaches to IP, patent law and so on. Why not engage with the history to make more compelling analysis?</p> The broader context is exactly what you fail to offer.

IBM explicitly created the PC clone industry, with a licensing-based approach, so the revisionism is a bit jarring here. I am no fan of patent abuse (or software patents generally) but given IBM already saw an industry of clones (called plug compatible mainframes)- Amdahl, HDS, Comparex and so on – as forced by the consent decree, this blog entry just seems to be to lacking in context to take seriously.

IBM is a very interesting case study in terms of its approaches to IP, patent law and so on. Why not engage with the history to make more compelling analysis?

]]> By: James Governor http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-46233 James Governor Mon, 11 Dec 2006 10:13:12 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-46233 <p>The broader context is exactly what you fail to offer.<br><br>IBM explicitly created the PC clone industry, with a licensing-based approach, so the revisionism is a bit jarring here. I am no fan of patent abuse (or software patents generally) but given IBM already saw an industry of clones (called plug compatible mainframes)- Amdahl, HDS, Comparex and so on - as forced by the consent decree, this blog entry just seems to be to lacking in context to take seriously.<br><br>IBM is a very interesting case study in terms of its approaches to IP, patent law and so on. Why not engage with the history to make more compelling analysis?</p> The broader context is exactly what you fail to offer.

IBM explicitly created the PC clone industry, with a licensing-based approach, so the revisionism is a bit jarring here. I am no fan of patent abuse (or software patents generally) but given IBM already saw an industry of clones (called plug compatible mainframes)- Amdahl, HDS, Comparex and so on – as forced by the consent decree, this blog entry just seems to be to lacking in context to take seriously.

IBM is a very interesting case study in terms of its approaches to IP, patent law and so on. Why not engage with the history to make more compelling analysis?

]]> By: Noel Le http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-36320 Noel Le Sun, 10 Dec 2006 18:15:40 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-36320 <p>I still think technical disclosure should be used by courts and the USPTO to limit the scope of a patent, as to measure its novelty/obviousness.</p> <p>Carmen raises a good point. There are few problems isolated to software patents. They exists with patents generally, with various issues more pronounced for software. Thus, the solution is to addresses those issues, rather than eliminating software patents entirely since they do provide a lot of benefit to inventors.</p> I still think technical disclosure should be used by courts and the USPTO to limit the scope of a patent, as to measure its novelty/obviousness.

Carmen raises a good point. There are few problems isolated to software patents. They exists with patents generally, with various issues more pronounced for software. Thus, the solution is to addresses those issues, rather than eliminating software patents entirely since they do provide a lot of benefit to inventors.

]]> By: Noel Le http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-46232 Noel Le Sun, 10 Dec 2006 18:15:40 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-46232 <p>I still think technical disclosure should be used by courts and the USPTO to limit the scope of a patent, as to measure its novelty/obviousness.<br><br>Carmen raises a good point. There are few problems isolated to software patents. They exists with patents generally, with various issues more pronounced for software. Thus, the solution is to addresses those issues, rather than eliminating software patents entirely since they do provide a lot of benefit to inventors.</p> I still think technical disclosure should be used by courts and the USPTO to limit the scope of a patent, as to measure its novelty/obviousness.

Carmen raises a good point. There are few problems isolated to software patents. They exists with patents generally, with various issues more pronounced for software. Thus, the solution is to addresses those issues, rather than eliminating software patents entirely since they do provide a lot of benefit to inventors.

]]> By: Tim Lee http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-36319 Tim Lee Sat, 09 Dec 2006 22:42:36 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-36319 <p>Carme, it seems to me that this patent is on the boundary between software and hardware patents. Note that IBM is suing PSI for emulating its hardware in software, so at least in that sense it's a software patent. If Congress or the courts were to adopt a rule against software patents, this one might or might not fit into it, depending on how the rule was formatted.</p> <p>I certainly do agree that our patent system has problems that are much broader than just software.</p> Carme, it seems to me that this patent is on the boundary between software and hardware patents. Note that IBM is suing PSI for emulating its hardware in software, so at least in that sense it’s a software patent. If Congress or the courts were to adopt a rule against software patents, this one might or might not fit into it, depending on how the rule was formatted.

I certainly do agree that our patent system has problems that are much broader than just software.

]]> By: Tim Lee http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-46231 Tim Lee Sat, 09 Dec 2006 22:42:36 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-46231 <p>Carme, it seems to me that this patent is on the boundary between software and hardware patents. Note that IBM is suing PSI for emulating its hardware in software, so at least in that sense it's a software patent. If Congress or the courts were to adopt a rule against software patents, this one might or might not fit into it, depending on how the rule was formatted.<br><br>I certainly do agree that our patent system has problems that are much broader than just software.</p> Carme, it seems to me that this patent is on the boundary between software and hardware patents. Note that IBM is suing PSI for emulating its hardware in software, so at least in that sense it’s a software patent. If Congress or the courts were to adopt a rule against software patents, this one might or might not fit into it, depending on how the rule was formatted.

I certainly do agree that our patent system has problems that are much broader than just software.

]]> By: Carme http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-36318 Carme Sat, 09 Dec 2006 20:27:33 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-36318 <p>"Luckily, the courts were substantially more skeptical toward software patents..."</p> <p> It should be noted that this is not a software patent. The problem, of course, is trivial patents and not just software patents. Software patents are just inherently prone to being trivial.<p> Carme</p></p> “Luckily, the courts were substantially more skeptical toward software patents…”

It should be noted that this is not a software patent. The problem, of course, is trivial patents and not just software patents. Software patents are just inherently prone to being trivial.

Carme

]]> By: Carme http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/comment-page-1/#comment-46230 Carme Sat, 09 Dec 2006 20:27:33 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2006/12/09/software-patent-of-the-week-a-poster-child-for-ksr/#comment-46230 <p>"Luckily, the courts were substantially more skeptical toward software patents..."</p> <p><br><br>It should be noted that this is not a software patent. The problem, of course, is trivial patents and not just software patents. Software patents are just inherently prone to being trivial.</p> <p><br><br>Carme</p> “Luckily, the courts were substantially more skeptical toward software patents…”



It should be noted that this is not a software patent. The problem, of course, is trivial patents and not just software patents. Software patents are just inherently prone to being trivial.



Carme

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