Re: [xml-dev] Patents on XML software, file formats, schemas, vocabulari

[sterling <sstouden@thelinks.com>]

I think the US congress has in mind capturing to its friends "the monopolg 
profits imposed by patents" on any part of KIT (Knowledge, information and 
Technology) that they can be lobbied to do so. 

The US patent lobby is the most powerful lobby, backed by the movie, 
music and biotechnology industries, second only to the power and  
influence enjoyed by the foreign lobby Merscheimer and Walt pointed out. 

I also think the multinationals are lobbying the EU very hard to impose 
software patents.  The opposition hopes to avoid patents that prohibit 
patenting such things as color for a particular purpose (as in patenting 
"blue" for use as a computer screen background color if it is 
used to generate via a software algorithm a part of a computer screen 
presentation. 
 
Should left handed single click patents and right handed single click 
patents be enabled?  Maybe one could patent the use of "ambient air" as 
an oxygen transport medium for any purpose which exchanges the gases 
in blood with the oxygen in the air transport medium. 

This patent thing is out of hand, I think.


On Tue, 18 Jul 2006, Ken North wrote:

> There is a debate going on in Europe about the European Patent Litigation
> Agreement (EPLA). The EPLA opposition includes people who waged a successful
> campaign against European patents on software.  The European Parliament 
> rejected> a measure that legalizes software patents.
> 
> Do those decisions apply to XML file formats, schemas and vocabularies? And do
> they apply retroactively?  For example, Microsoft holds patent EP1376387 for
> "Word-processing document stored in a single file". It filed for the patent in
> April 2003. Microsoft has said it would not enforce the patent on Office 2003
> XML Reference Schemas.
> 
> >From the UK Patent Office:
> http://www.patent.gov.uk/about/consultations/responses/comsoft/atof/cox.htm
> 
> "Patenting file formats allows companies to actually sue competitors when file
> interchange is possible. The US is now in the situation where future word
> processors may not be able to read each others files, regardless of user desire,
> because patents are taken out on algorithms to read the file. This is not to the
> benefit of society."
> 
> Are we looking at the EU not patenting software, but the US will patent
> software, business methods and file formats?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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