tokyo european software patent

technology patents stifle innovation. You may have heard, and the arguments around it since the first software patents have been issued. Until now, however, the average person in the United States has not noticed, really noticed that the scope of intellectual property rights protection in their daily life. After all, you do not miss this innovation was crushed before the movement of goods in the supply chain. The "" Would not it be nice if we do something like this "" thought doesn 't usually a search for this article only to find that someone is trying to develop, but was either by threats with the high cost of patent infringement, never-ending threats of legal actions relating to the copyright or other rights, or even threats of Federal legislation that their product unusable.

Today, however, instead of squelching possible technology, patent law can be used to optimize the use of technology that already exists and is used by people around the world - the BlackBerry. Given what is at stake, the public really can not hurt and is probably the support of the fans of innovation in their proverbial struggle to create, while the steering free from restrictions of intellectual property. The more people who know what is going on, the more the most Clamor for change in intellectual property law.

It is quite dangerous for BlackBerry users. A company called NTP asks the court to enforce an injunction, the sale of Blackberries in the United States, and would also shut down e-mail to all users except for the U.S. government account holders. Ironically, this would mean that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Federal Republic would judge this case, the e-mail access during the decision on whether those privileges are granted to the rest of us mortals. Since a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington has already ruled that RIM, maker of the BlackBerry, has been in breach against seven NTP patents, things are not very good for BlackBerry users in this space, especially if the USPTO confirmed the validity of the patents in question.

The story is typical - a software patent on the technology already in use, but packaged in a way that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office does not recognize as "state of the art", "from a company whose only task it is to such patents and use them as clubs against any company that something with a technology that is wrongly granted patent protection. This story happens over and over in a typical year in the United States, but rarely has it been so far, in relation to this popular product.

The patent and other intellectual property rights have been raised about the promotion of innovation and production of products in the United States. By granting a limited time monopoly on the technology for the manufacture of certain products or services to the public with the right to use the technology uninhibited when the term of protection (typically 17 years of the patent holder's date of issue) is empty. In the days before computers and software applications, 17 years was a fine time. Is it still a fair time limit for certain products which are the years for their development and research, such as drugs. However, when it comes to basic building blocks, which in many positions, from computer software to wait 17 years, can also kill any hope for development or innovation in all areas, even remotely touched by the patents.

Looking at this from entrepreneurial vision, as I said in Law School, was told that a conservative estimate of the costs you could expect that they probably from a patent litigation would be around $ 125,000.00. Part of the reason is because of the shortage of patent attorneys who have difficulties in finding experts (which are usually quite expensive), and the need to be technologically competent judges. In any case, threatened, when approximately $ 125,000.00 in legal fees, most small businesses (where the bulk of technological innovation comes from these days) will be loathe to roll the dice on a possible product tested. A mere threat could be enough, regardless of whether the small businesses believe that the suit would be won because the product is not using protected technology. Of course, this means that consumers will have the opportunity to choose these products because they never reach the marketplace.

In the case of NTP against RIM, the stakes are even higher, since the BlackBerry is an important staple of the international business. NTP has argued that the BlackBerry infringed 8 of its patents, five of which are currently being re-examined by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its validity. The USPTO generally May, that the patents are valid and enforceable, or they may rule that these patents are invalid, so the probability for RIM with manufacture and sale of BlackBerry, business people and everywhere will breathe a sigh of relief.

What is most interesting in this case is that NTP is not innovative, and not the defense of their own hard drive developed a technology in which it has invested in us big money, time and engineering know-how. Instead, NTP is a company that buys wireless email patents. Five of the patents in question have to do with what we normally do every day, if we are sending and receiving e-mail, the only difference is that these measures are completed "on RF. "RF, or radio frequency, is used in Treos, in airports and other wireless routers and hubs and Ethernet are available, although the RF in this case is in the cable itself. If the patents are valid as somehow kept all e-mail communications would be at risk for patent infringement, and we could shut down us. This is, of course, would the attention of a whole series of e-mail with people around the world.

The next step is anyone's guess. NTP will decide to continue their efforts against all users, the e-mail to send or receive via RF? If enough high-powered business people are angry enough that they are a reform of the patent system demand? Or are things just as they are for the next seven years, until the NTP patents expire? Only time will tell.

Mikki Barry is an intellectual property lawyer in Great Falls, Virginia. She was commenting on the Internet legal issues and politics since 1984. To contact Mikki, please visit http://www.mikkibarry.com