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Antivirus Firm Pays Up To Avoid Being Barred From Selling In The US
from the yup.--that's-innovation dept
Last summer we noted that a seller of anti-virus appliances was on the verge of being completely barred from selling in the US for infringing on a patent held by Trend Micro for server-based anti-virus software. It seemed a bit odd that server-based anti-virus software could be patented -- but that's what happened. Of course, with the risk of having its US sales blocked out, Fortinet has decided to settle the lawsuit. The terms aren't stated, but you can assume that Fortinet had to pay some sum to Trend Micro just to keep selling its product in the US. Considering just how obvious the "invention" is, it hardly seems likely that Fortinet needed Trend Micro's info to create its appliances -- but now it has to pay up just to keep selling. That doesn't seem like promoting innovation at all.
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No Subject Given
Thats sucks does'nt it?
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Response: Antivirus Firm Pays Up To Avoid Being Ba
Read the Patent #5,623,600 from April 1997. The concept of server-base virus software is not the core of the patent. It is the 822 process steps that are documented make the patent defensible. Trend has quite specific definitions for how the technology is built - the dispute must have some merit. I believe defending intellectual property is important to defend in the US as nearly 70% of our economy is service-based (we don't make capital goods like we used to) http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srch num.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5,623,600.WKU.&OS=PN/5,623,600&RS=PN/5,623,600
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Re: Response: Antivirus Firm Pays Up To Avoid Bein
U need to check out http://www.tinyurl.com
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Re: Response: Antivirus Firm Pays Up To Avoid Bein
You need to look at the TLD: ".gov". When has anything done by the .gov ernment been tiny?
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Re: Response: Antivirus Firm Pays Up To Avoid Bein
OR just make a hyperlink
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Re: Response: Antivirus Firm Pays Up To Avoid Bein
Trend is Japanese, no?
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Re: Response: Antivirus Firm Pays Up To Avoid Bein
Trend is German, yes.
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Re: Response: Antivirus Firm Pays Up To Avoid Bein
Problem is about 90% of all software patents have some basis in prior art and should be summarily ruled invalid. Patent Office doesn't have the staff nor the skill to make this determination, which leads to a lot of undeserved patents being issued.
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No Subject Given
Here is the above link done through tinyurl. http://tinyurl.com/b6czf
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Blackmail Sucks
Re: I believe defending intellectual property is important to defend in the US as nearly 70% of our economy is service-based (we don't make capital goods like we used to)
Strange use of the word "defend", to describe one company attacking another.
And surely patent lawsuits make a bad situation worse, not better, by increasing the costs of manufacturing in the USA?
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Re: Blackmail Sucks
"And surely patent lawsuits make a bad situation worse, not better, by increasing the costs of manufacturing in the USA?"
I don't think I'd be too happy if someone else was making money off of something I patented. I also don't see where the manufacturing cost of software that is already completed and sold on the retail market would rise because of their lawsuit.
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Re: Blackmail Sucks
I don't think I'd be too happy if someone else was making money off of something I patented.
Which misses the point entirely. Hey, I wouldn't be too happy if someone opened up a competing pizza shop next to the pizza shop I run, but THAT'S COMPETITION. You have to compete in the marketplace -- not the patent office.
As for patents increasing costs, they add greatly to the legal fees associated with being in the software business.
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Re: Blackmail Sucks
Not to mention extortion payments, which are also passed on to the customer
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Software patents suck
they are the biggest thing threatening inovation in software
its a virtual mine field, you cant really write ANY new software that does anything without using patented obvious code. fortunately most of the time you arent sued on it. didnt i see a case a while back where microsoft got sued for some kind of browser plugin system? i mean microsoft makes the OS, makes the dll loading mechanism, makes the browser, makes the ability to load browser plugins for it ;) and someone else does it, and patents it.. its like .. someone builds a road, and you patent driving on it and sue them..
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Re: Software patents suck
someone builds a road, and you patent driving on it and sue them.. More accurately: Someone builds a road, you build and patent a car to drive on that road and they copy your car.
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