Software Patents; Credit Together With Drm

Court of Appeal to listen “software patent” case

Techworld here). Lord Justice Jacob held that the compass of the calculator software exception to patentability is "of world interest, sufficiently uncertain in addition to therefore worthy of consideration past times the Court of Appeal” in addition to that Macrossan's arguments "have a existent prospect of success".

The illustration concerns Neil Macrossan’s application for a patent for an automated method of acquiring the documents necessary to comprise a company. The Patent Office hearing officeholder described the would-be innovation equally follows:

"The essence of the innovation is that past times agency of posing questions to a user inwards a number of stages, plenty information is gleaned from the user's answers to hit the required documents. Questions posed inwards the mo in addition to subsequent stages are determined from previous answers provided in addition to the user's answers are stored inwards a database structure. This procedure is repeated until the user has provided plenty information to allow the documents legally required to practise the corporate entity to last generated. H5N1 number of document templates are likewise stored in addition to the computing machine is configured to merge at to the lowest degree ane of these templates alongside the user's answers to generate the required legal documents. The documents may in addition to then last sent inwards an electronic divide to the user for the user to impress out in addition to submit, mailed to the user, or submitted to the appropriate registration ascendancy on behalf of the user."

says that certainty inwards this surface area is much needed, but don’t larn to excited chaps – whatever the Court of Appeal decides, it remains jump past times the wording of the exceptions inwards the Patent Act.


Paying OHIM fees past times credit card

There’s a novel Decision on the dependent plain from the OHIM President here.

APIG (but non inwards a poke)

The All Party Internet Group has issued its report on digital rights management (DRM), next its world enquiry on the matter. They’re non peculiarly inwards favour.

Key recommendations are:

“* H5N1 recommendation that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) pick out forrad appropriate labelling regulations so that it volition run out crystal clear to consumers what they volition in addition to volition non last able to practise alongside digital content that they purchase. [ says that this could last an oversimplification. It’s all real good telling consumers what DRM volition or won’t allow them do, but it must likewise last made clear that only because DRM doesn’t halt consumers from doing things, that doesn’t hateful that they’re non copyright infringement]
* H5N1 recommendation that OFCOM position out guidance to larn inwards clear that companies distributing Technical Protection Measures systems inwards the UK would, if they accept features such equally those inwards Sony-BMG’s MediaMax in addition to XCP systems, run a meaning opportunity of beingness prosecuted for criminal actions.

* H5N1 recommendation that the authorities practise non legislate to brand DRM systems mandatory. [ wasn’t aware of whatever plans to practise so – is this a straw man, or tin his readers enlighten him?]

*A recommendation that the Government reckon granting a much wider-ranging exemption to the anti-circumvention measures inwards the 1988 Copyright, Designs in addition to Patents Act for genuine academic research". [ says that this sounds good].