#You stole it. No, you stole it!
Macromedia Bites Back Patent Style Vs Adobe
If it wasn't so serious, it'd be dead funny. It goes like this
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Adobe (of Photoshop fame) sue Macromedia (of Flash fame) for alleged violation of a software patent.
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Macromedia scour their software patent portfolio and the Adobe product range with some vigour.
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Macromedia countersue Adobe for allegedly violating two of its software patents.
And I'll bet it ends like this
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They settle by cross-licensing each others' patents (ie. they let each other off, and promise not bother each other again).
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Adobe decide to only sue smaller companies (ie. those without a large patent portfolio) in the future.
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Macromedia execs thank God they took out those patents "just in case". They file lots more patent applications, and consider bringing a few suits of their own.
We Europeans could be enjoying foolish and dangerous corporate shenanighans like this some time after November if the
EPO gets its way.
Sign the petition and try to prevent that unhappy situation.
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# To try and prove that programming computers really is a creative pursuit, my (ahem) studio is in the attic. It's not exactly an "artist's garrett", but it's bloody cold enough.
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# Got round to setting up Animal with USB so I can suck the pictures out of my new digital camera. The immediate result is a new batch of
cheesy baby pictures.
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#Software Patents, Just Say No!
Oh dear. A week or so ago, the administrative council of the
European Patent Office recommended that European Patent Charter clause that prohibits software patents be removed. The recommendation was passed by 10 to 9, and a decision is expected at a
conference at the end of November.
Even though software patents are not officially permitted, thanks to various loopholes around 20,000 software patents have been awarded in the EU. This is apparently why the EPO feels the clause against software patents to be obsolete. However, rather than weakening the European Patent Charter, there are strong arguments to maintaining it as it is, or even strengthening the software patent clause.
So why are software patents such a bad idea? Patents are intended to promote invention and innovation. Software patents do the opposite.
A conventional patent requires you to produce a device that performs some task. You can't just patent an idea. If software patents are permitted, it becomes possible to patent business processes, education methods, consulting methods, even mathematical formulae, simply by writing a piece of software that embodies or expresses that idea. This has certainly been that case in the US where software patents have been accepted for some time. Many of the software patents granted in the US are simply existing ideas with "over the Internet" added to them. Many more are simply obvious.
- US patents 5544320, 5696901 and 5974444 cover 'Remote information service access system based on a client-server-service model'. This essentially covers all database backed websites, including this one. Yours too, if you have a database. Hooking a website to a database doesn't even register as 'an idea' for most people, it's so obvious. Could you come up with a new industrial process so easily?
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Dynamic generation and overlaying of graphic windows for multiple active program storage areas describes a windowing display system (similar to Windows and the Macintosh). Some code I wrote as programming novice in 1992 was pretty close to what's claimed for this patent. I'm not generally prone to spontaneous fits of genius so if someone who's entire programming career up to that point has been on a ZX Spectrum can come up with something in a week that's substantially the same as a patent claimed by a distinguished member of Lucent's technical staff, doesn't that suggest the patent might cover something a touch, well, obvious?
- Try this one. An Australian patent for Continuing education tracking and reporting system and method. The claim is for 'A computer-based system for tracking and reporting attendance of individuals at continuing education activities and the like. One or more suitable identification devices, such as card readers, are placed at the site of the educational activity. An identification card is distributed to each of the prospective attendees prior to occurrence of the educational activity. Upon entering the site of the educational activity, data from the identification card of each attendee is electronically recognized by the card reader. For example, a magnetically encoded card may be swiped through the card reader in a manner similar to that by which credit cards are validated. After all of the attendees have been identified in this manner, data stored in the card reader is transferred to a central computer. The data is then used to update various database files stored in the central computer. The information can then be analyzed, sorted or otherwise manipulated to generate selected attendance reports and the like. '
See all that stuff about and the like. A touch on the broad side maybe?
- Other foolish examples include Amazon's patent on 'one click ordering over the Web' (almost a whole afternoon's work that one) and BT claiming to hold a patent on hyperlinking.
If software patents are allowed, there is a real danger that anyone - you, your company, your school, your sports club - anyone who writes
or uses software of
any kind could find themselves inadvertently in breach of not just one, but many patents and consequently liable to who knows how much in royalties. IBM currently makes $1billion a year from its patent portfolio. Think they wouldn't like a bit more? And they won't get it from BT, because BT probably have a patent on something IBM do, so they'll cross-license. But Tesco maybe, the local council possibly, the electricity company perhaps? Now add Lucent, Microsoft, EDS, Motorola, and so on and so on to that list. Not good is it?
The EuroLinux Alliance has been running an online petition against software patents, collecting 50,000 signatures so far. They do need more, so please consider adding your name.
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#Gasp!
Just been checking what's on at the local cinema. The last time I saw films called Shaft and Snatch on the same bill was in about 1979, at the local porn fleapit.
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#Asteroids Threaten Earth
Earth tells Mum.
A few years ago, I spent an entertaining couple of hours in the company of Alex Bevan, a Professor at the University of Western Australia. Earth being hit by an asteroid impact was in the news then too, specifically the extinction of the dinosaurs. He was telling us how the University would be contacted by local radio and tv stations for expert comment. He was the expert, so he spoke to a lot of journalists about it.
After going through how the dinosaurs kicked off, they always ended their interview with something like "So Professor, will the Earth be struck by an asteroid again?" He would look them in the eye, and with a straight face say "Yes." As he told us this, to much laughter, he said "I left out the bit about some time in the next 10,000 years. That always puts the wind up 'em".
What a top man.
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#It'll all be over by Christmas
When ever the nation is seized by "panic buying" why is it always milk and bread which sell out first. It's not like they keep particularly well or anything, and besides the nearest most people come to milk is splashing a bit in their tea. Perhaps that's it - in order to remain calm everyone drinks more tea than they would otherwise.
Is a good strong cup of tea and a slice or two of toasted Mother's Pride really all that stands between us and rioting on the streets?
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# Two copies of the AnotherUniverse catalogues flopped onto the doormat this morning.
It must be some kind of punishment for
speaking out.
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#Go West Young Man
You gotta love these Internet cafe arrangements. I'm sitting in one at Changi Airport lolling around for my plane back to Blighty.
To say I wasn't keen to come out to Singapore in the first place would be something of an understatement, but I've actually quite enjoyed myself and even the work part seems to have gone well. The customer feedback from my arm-waving was generally pretty good, and we had a trip out to see a potential new customer today. I'd thought I'd have to do what I usually do when (to steal Pete's phrase) my employer sends me to a customer meeting. Smile, nod and say yes reassuringly when a technical question comes up. What happened this time was I finished up more or less running the meeting, asking questions of a big-noise in a highly-valued Singaporean dot-com company, which if they don't get the act together is going to end up fully fucked. It's probably not that bad, but you might have expected a company which must have known they were going to produce a website in English, then Chinese and later Korean, Thai and who know what else they would have given some thought to the impact of multi-languages on their software, only they haven't. They've actually acted just like an American or UK company. Do it English first, then discover that most of the world actually would much prefer in their own language, thank you very much.
People here seem to eat almost constantly. When we described a typical office lunch as a can of Coke and a dried up sandwich you could hear the jaws hit the floor. Lunch in Singapore is a large bowl of noodles in broth with dumplings, a dish of fried rice with chicken and prawns, perhaps some fried noodles with spicy beef and steamed vegetables. Quality and quantity, often at very low price. (Singapore, while things are generally cheaper than the UK is a very rich and prosperous society, much more so than its neighbours). Then you do it all again in the evening, only more so. The night before last I managed to round out a dinner of Asian salads and noodles with a fantastic (and fantastically large) portion of bread-and-butter pudding.
Did the typical busines-trip-to-Asia shopping (not prostitutes!) and bought a digital camera. Got some killer OshKosh baby clothes too - Nat's been dying to get some, but you can't get it in the UK. I was looking for some bit of Oriental trash culture - a t-shirt or something - but was hampered by the fact that Singapore isn't trashy, and even a large shirt sized for a Chinese would leave me revealing more midrift than Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera put together.
It's been all of about an hour and half since my last meal, so it must be time to eat again. Fear I've turned native at the last minute.
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# Did my presentations yesterday. I had a run through on Monday, another on Tuesday, then finally clipped on my radio microphone and strode about like Peter Snow on election night waving my arms around. They seemed to go well, and I even raised a laugh by feigning being able to read Chinese. Velly funny.
Singapore is universally clean, and the people are polite, friendly and short. The population is about 80% Chinese, 15% or so Malay and rest assorted Thai, Indian, European and wherever. Walking down a busy shopping street, packed with people talking into their phones I felt like a Triton amongst the minnows, lumpen and ungainly, as I stood about 8 inches taller and at least 5 stone heavier than everyone around me.
The Singapore weather forecast for tomorrow and the day after and the day after that, and so on and on - 28 to 32 degrees centigrade, humid, showers (some heavy) in places.
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#Go East Young Man
I'm in transit to Singapore, hanging around the terminal four departure lounge at Heathrow. I've been up since five, I'm tired, and I feel queasy from the combination of a large cup of not-very-good coffee and 140 pages of James Ellroy's Silent Terror. I'm sure I'm in for a fun week, providing 13 hours on a plane doesn't leave me seized up and unable to walk, and that I can successfully give a marketing presentation I've never given before (in fact I've never done
a marketing presentation before) to an audience of 100+ non-native English speakers.
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# I've mentioned past
baby food mix-ups. Natalie's now doing it purpose - this evening she's served up avocado and banana mash for the little chum's dinner.
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