W3C launches appeal to scupper Apple patent

[froggyswamp]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/17/w3c_apple_prior_art/



The patent, filed in 1995 ... , covers an application contacting a central server to see if a new version is available, and downloading the replacement if it is.
Folks, I can't even express my anger, how can such a simple idea be patented..! I think it's time to take our baseball bats and pay a visit to both the lobbyists and those who accept such patents.
Do they really think we're all so brainless to accept everything?
Makes me wanna move to countries like Brasil they seem to be more reasonable about patents.

[3rdalbum]

That could be a tough patent to scupper. I don't remember seeing such a thing until later on in the 1990s. It's an obvious idea to us now, but it probably wasn't so trivial back in 1995.

What angers me is that Apple has told the W3C that they can't design a "widget" update specification unless it pays Apple a licensing fee. The W3C is around solely to create standards for the Internet, not to sell products. I don't think the W3C has any worth these days, but Apple's actions here were totally wrong and I wish the W3C the best of luck in finding prior art.

[dspari1]

The good news is that Apple can only hold on to this patent for 6 more years since it will expire by then.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/help/item/When-does-a-patent-expire.html

Obviously, this means that software patents will always put us 20 years behind, so it's up to the Open Source community to think of ideas and license it under GPL before anyone can patent it.

[froggyswamp]

6 years..
So.. patents live for 20 years, wow, that's the most effective way to stall innovation, to patent obvious technical decisions and then ask the world to pay you for that for 20 years just because you were the first to manage to patent it. wow.. this world has gone crazy, greed obviously is taking the innovation to a standstill and pretends the opposite through bafflegab and half truths.

PS: I heard there are lobbyists who try to make patents live even longer.. way to go folks

[ghindo]

I think it's time to take our baseball bats and pay a visit to both the lobbyists and those who accept such patents.Let's breathe in, breathe out, and perhaps calm down a little. :p

[starcannon]

Apple has been teetering on the edge of annoying me to the point of a personal boycott as it was; this seals it, I will buy no more Apple products, this is just ridiculous.

[Grant A.]

Apple has been teetering on the edge of annoying me to the point of a personal boycott as it was; this seals it, I will buy no more Apple products, this is just ridiculous.

You need to write them a letter about it, too. As just saying it on a forum, that they probably don't read, will not tell them.

[jonian_g]

I'm going to patent more than 3 seconds continous farts. So everyone that farts for more than 3 seconds without having a break will have to pay money. #-o