Summary: Lexology gives Griffith Hack, FB Rice, and AJ Park a platform for influence and marketing that strive to alter how patents are dealt with in New Zealand and Australia
A FEW DAYS ago we saw headlines about Apple “filing [patents] in Australia [for] all Aspects of Siri in Relation to Home Automation” (essentially software patents). We hadn’t lost sight of Australia, where software patents basically remained a problem.
“They just want to market themselves for software patents in the continent.”Recently we saw Griffith Hack, a law firm, alleging that “Australia’s Raising the Bar IP law reforms have created a system that makes oppositions quicker and delivers greater certainty.” The article about Australian patent oppositions is actually shameless self-promotion, as is typical from such sites. We have grown accustomed to that. This same site also published — we presume for a fee — shameless self-promotion from Australian patent law firm FB Rice, which has been pushing for software patents for quite some time [1, 2, 3]. “This is the first part of a two-part series and deals with the current state of software patents,” it said. “The second part will provide our prediction on where software patents will go in the future.”
They just want to market themselves for software patents in the continent. AJ Park, which operates in Australia and New Zealand (where software patents are effectively banned in spite of AJ Park’s heavy lobbying over the years [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]), is still at it, having published in that same site “Should innovation patents be kept?”
In our assessment, AJ Park has been one of the most villainous forces for software patents in New Zealand if not in Australia too. These firms need to be watched as their corrupting influence in policy is well documented. █
Patent Lobbying by Patent Law Firms Down Under
Lexology gives Griffith Hack, FB Rice, and AJ Park a platform for influence and marketing that strive to alter how patents are dealt with in New Zealand and Australia
Ignore So-Called Professional Advice From Patent Law Firms and Share Information
A roundup of patent news and supposed ‘advice’ from firms whose sole motivation is to increase the number of patents irrespective of patent quality and effects on science
If the NSA Pursues Software Patents, Subsidised by Taxpayers, They Should be in the Public Domain, Not up for Licensing
Profit for private companies and tax on the public is “not wittingly” part of this latest patent scheme, which sees public investment turning into a monopoly
EPO Silent About EPO Strikes and Battistelli Leaving
The staff has not been at work since Thursday (due to a strike) and Battistelli’s job is being offered to someone else, but the EPO says nothing about it (in fact, it actively distracts from it)
Links 4/7/2017: Market Share Debate is Back, Libinput 1.8 Released
Links for the day
It’s Official: Battistelli Will Leave the EPO in Less Than a Year
Battistelli’s position is up for grabs, but it remains to be seen who takes this position and what Battistelli does afterwards
4 Days of Strike in a Row (Including Weekend), But Tomorrow is No Independence Day at the EPO
With a tyrant at the Office (not the Oval Office but the European Patent Office) this year’s Independence Day will feel like anything but, even though the staff made it abundantly clear that it is fed up and unwilling to tolerate it any longer
India Has No Software Patents “Per Se” Just Like Europe Has No Software Patents “As Such”
India’s software industry is at risk due to revisions which act as provisions to software patenting loopholes
Links 3/7/2017: Microsoft Layoffs, New Linux Kernel, New Linux Mint, and Older FOSS News
Links for the day
Professor Pamela Samuelson Debunks the Concept of ‘IP’ by Separating Copyrights From Patents and Demonstrating That Copyrights Are Sufficient for Software
In a paper entitled “Functionality and Expression in Computer Programs: Refining the Tests for Software Copyright Infringement” Samuelson explains that working around copyright infringement isn’t as trivial as proponents of software patents want us to believe
India Continues to Reject Software Patents in Spite of Pressure From Foreign Companies Like IBM
The Indian patent office reaffirms its commitment to banning software patents in spite of growing pressure from companies that are not even Indian (and their law firms)
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) is Under Attack From the Patent Microcosm, Which Wants It Not to Exist Anymore
Attempts to revert back to a system full of lawsuits, trolls and blackmail are publicly seen in the form of “STRONGER Patents Act” — a supposed ‘improvement’ that strives to roll back PTAB
Microsoft’s Troll Intellectual Ventures, via Dominion Harbor, Goes Patent-Trolling in China
The patent assault on the market, funded directly and indirectly by Microsoft and Bill Gates, will target companies that typically use Android or other Linux-based operating systems
The Decline in Patent Quality at the European Patent Office (EPO) Already Causes Mass Abandonment of Patents
The systematic cheapening of patents at the EPO, i.e. the lowering of patent bars by Battistelli with his ludicrous policies, is already causing serious damage to the perceived value of European Patents (EPs)
Links 1/7/2017: Kubernetes 1.7 and Mesa 17.1.4 Released
Links for the day
The Future of the EPO Does Not Look Encouraging as Injustice and Abuse Carry On While the Press Looks the Other Way
In the absence of justice and lack of people who truly care about justice inside and outside (e.g. ILO) the EPO, combined with lack of press coverage and zero accountability from politicians (facing a barrier of immunity), the EPO continues its downward trajectory
Links 30/6/2017: Ubuntu 17.10 Alpha 1, Mozilla Employee Denied Entry to the United States
Links for the day
Caricature: Charlie EPO
The end of Minnoye’s career (that’s today) at the EPO is celebrated by the above cartoon
Former ‘Kats’ Debunk IP Kat (Bristows) on Unitary Patent, Insisting It May Even be Dead
Team UPC, whose entire raison d’être is to promote the UPC, struggles to reinvent itself and instead tries drawing blood from a stone, causing all sorts of disagreements among patent professionals (those who aren’t in Team UPC)
The EPO Has Officially Confirmed That Christoph Ernst Will ‘Boss’ (and Soon Replace) Battistelli
Now that Ernst’s appointment is official (effective within a few months), it remains to be seen where he stands regarding Battistelli, the staff representation, the defunct UPC campaign and more
Lack of Patent Quality at the EPO Already Leads to the Axing of Many European Patents (EPs) in Bulk
The EPO takes away from people something which they thought they had, spurring distrust and anger at the Office and ultimately devaluing EPs (perceived value)
Feedback From the Administrative Council Meeting at The Hague: Worse Than Anyone Expected
Staff of the European Patent Office loses yet more of its basic rights, after the Administrative Council basically nods at/accepts one of Battistelli’s most controversial proposals
The UPC’s Figurehead, Alexander Ramsay, Admits UPC is Stuck, Bristows LLP Comes Up With ‘Alternative Facts’
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) isn’t making progress, but those who are keen to spin, mislead, distort facts and even falsify/fabricate statements would have us believe otherwise
European Patent Office is on Strike Until Tuesday and Insiders Study the New Head of the Organisation
The demise of the EPO as a desirable employer, as an accountable employer, and a reputable employer that actually examines patent applications properly to assure high quality of European Patents (EPs)
Links 29/6/2017: Entroware, Wine-Staging 2.11, Plasma 5.10.3
Links for the day
Christoph Ernst, Long Speculated to be Battistelli’s Successor, Becomes Battistelli’s ‘Boss’
The next Chairman of the Administrative Council of the EPO is Christoph Ernst from Germany
Bristows LLP is Still Trying to Attach Wings to the UPC and Distract From Serious (Likely Fatal) Barriers to It
In spite of the UPC being in a morbid state, Bristows carries on pretending that all is rosy and progress is being made
Letter Warns of “Reform Marathon” a Few Days Before Benoît Battistelli’s Job is Offered to Someone Else
New letter states that “although the AC pressurised the president to halt the reform process, the Office is unilaterally proposing further reforms”
EPO Staff Bemoans “Another Reform à la Battistelli That Only Benefits Battistelli”
A letter from anonymous EPO staff details the ways in which Battistelli’s power grab would further harm the EPO
Ignore the Press Releases and Puff Pieces, the EPO is Going on Strikes
Unrest at the EPO is at an all-time high (strikes planned), but people out there can barely tell because the media — for the most part — ignores all this, just like the last time
http://techrights.org/2017/07/04/griffith-hack-fb-rice-and-aj-park/
