Software patents
Aharonian sues for software patents
IP consultant and patent advocate extraordinaire Greg Aharonian has presented a lawsuit to attempt to get a court to determine that copyright doesn’t protect software adequately and that patents are sufficient protection. Aharonian edits the popular and interesting site Patenting Art, and publishes an email newsletter. It is difficult to Read more
Announcements
New issue of SCRIPT-ed
The new issue of SCRIPTed is now online. This issue covers a good range of issues, including an analysis of the German case that has declared the validity of the GPL.
Litigation
US Supreme Court readies P2P debate
This is where the great battle of our time will be fought. The P2P debate in the US Supreme Court is upon us, a case that will probably shape the near future of the legal validity of sharing networks. But one must say that sharing will go on regardless of Read more
Patent abuse
Costa Rican canopy tour patent troubles
Some local news from Costa Rica. The weirdest patent claim has made some of the news over here, after a Canadian patented and claimed the ownership of the “canopy tours”, a great way to travel on the top of the rainforest to see the wildlife from close range. The problem Read more
Games
Marvel sues City of Heroes
This is a great article by Fred von Lohmann about the surreal case of Marvel suing the makers of the popular “City of Heroes” MMORPG game. Marvel complains that City of Heroes is guilty of contributory infringement of copyright and trademark because some players in their site are creating characters Read more
Google
Digital trail
This is an excellent article by Regina Lynn about the dangers of Google and leaving a digital trail. We are increasingly leaving a digital footprint that tells people about our interests, opinions and tastes. People can Google and find some amazing details about who you really are. It makes one Read more
Computing
Cheap Windows targets Asian markets
Reuters reports that Microsoft is targetting its cheap (sorry, “low cost”) version of Windows XP to Asian markets. The stated purpose of this is to try to make Windows more appealing in emerging markets. The real reasons are: to hook home users into Windows, to try to stop the rampant Read more
Computing
Isn’t wireless wonderful?
Technollama is coming to you today from the Playfair Library, where we are attending the very interesting conference named “Towards Utopia or Irreconcilable Tensions: the interface between intellectual property, competition and human rights“. More reports later, but I am hoping to load the powerpoints from some of the talks later Read more