[governance] Re: [A2k] Thursday, Sept 10: KEI brownbag on Scope of Patentable Subject Matter, Bilski ruling

[Jeffrey A. Williams]

Malini and all,

  I have been following this closely and will be very interested in the case on
appeal at the supreme court.  Seems to me that patenting of processes is
a very slippery slope and deserves very specific attention as well as review
given recent events.

  It's my belief that cases like this one will have huge implications on Internet
governance especially in the use and ownership of open source web based
applications.

-----Original Message-----
>From: Malini Aisola <malini.aisola at keionline.org>
>Sent: Aug 31, 2009 2:43 PM
>To: ip-health <ip-health at lists.essential.org>, a2k discuss list <a2k at lists.essential.org>
>Subject: [A2k] Thursday, Sept 10: KEI brownbag on Scope of Patentable Subject Matter, Bilski ruling
>
>
>KEI is hosting a brownbag lunch to discuss the scope of patentable
>subject matter in reference to the Supreme Court's forthcoming decision
>on Bilski's appeal.
>
>When: Thursday, September 10, 2009Time: 12:00-2:00pm
>
>Location:
>Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
>1621 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 500
>Washington, DC 20009
>Tel +1 202 332 2670
>
>The meeting will include presentations by:
>Brian Kahin, CCIA
>John R. Thomas, Georgetown University Law Center
>Dan Ravicher, Public Patent Foundation and Cardozo Law School
>
>Background:
>Many concerns have been raised in the past 15 years about the radical
>expansion of patentable subject matter to include all forms of software,
>human activities (business methods), and diagnostic information. This
>expansion took place with virtually no public input. As one treatise
>puts it:
>
>        [B]road notions of patent eligibility appear to be in the best
>        interest of the patent bar, the PTO, and the Federal Circuit
>        [CAFC]. Workloads increase and regulatory authority expands when
>        new industries become subject to the appropriations authorized
>        by the patent law. Noticeably absent from the private,
>        administrative and judicial structure is a high regard for the
>        public interest. [1]
>
>As a result, virtually all human activity became subject to patenting,
>including established civil liberties. As Professor Thomas, Georgetown
>Law, has written, “the patent law allows private actors to impose more
>significant restraints on speech than has ever been possible through
>copyright.” A wide of variety of tax avoidance strategies have been
>patented, despite the opposition of the accounting profession. Patents
>disadvantage open source software and threaten the development of and
>use of open standards. Health care faces patents linking symptoms and
>conditions with treatments.
>
>Last year, the Federal Circuit cut back on the scope of patentable
>subject in In re Bilski, by limiting process patents to either physical
>transformations or use tied to particular machine. However, the Supreme
>Court recently agreed to hear Bilski’s appeal and will soon issue its
>first decision on the scope of patentable subject matter in 28 years. 44
>amicus briefs were filed in the first round; final amicus filings are
>due October 2.
>
>This is the first time since 1981 that the Supreme Court will address
>the limits of patentable subject matter. This meeting will provide
>background, a survey of the response filings and an opportunity for
>discussion.
>
>[1] Roger E. Schechter and John R. Thomas, Intellectual Property, West
>Hornbook Series, 2003, p. 314.
>
>Bring your lunch! We'll provide coffee and soft drinks.
>
>RSVP: Malini Aisola:  malini.aisola at keionline.org
>
>
>
>--
>Malini Aisola
>Knowledge Ecology International
>1621 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington DC 20009
>malini.aisola at keionline.org|Tel: +1.202.332.2670|Fax: +1.202.332.2673
>
>_______________________________________________
>A2k mailing list
>A2k at lists.essential.org
>http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/a2k

Regards,

Jeffrey A. Williams
Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 294k members/stakeholders strong!)
"Obedience of the law is the greatest freedom" -
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"Credit should go with the performance of duty and not with what is very
often the accident of glory" - Theodore Roosevelt

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P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
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