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Have technology lawsuits become patently absurd?

02 Sep 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for fulfilling the letter but not the spirit of the divine law such as Moses handed down in the first reading. In the wake of a billion-dollar verdict in a high-stakes patent infringement battle between technology heavyweights Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc., critics complain the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office grants too many patents and say patent litigation is clogging the courts. One federal judge recently threw out a high-profile case, saying the patent system was in "chaos."Many have questioned whether such complex cases can be decided by juries, while lawyers and judges warn that mounting patent litigation—including cases that encompass everything from smartphones to videogame consoles—will mean mounting costs for consumers."Software patents are clogging the system at every possible point," said Christal Sheppard, an assistant professor of law at the University of Nebraska College of Law. "This could be the bellwether case that goes to the Supreme Court to decide what invention in the 21st century really means for software."Jurors Friday found that Samsung infringed all but one of the seven patents at issue in the case. If upheld on appeal, the verdict could shape how smartphones and tablets are designed as well as the fortunes of companies that make them. Analysts say Apple's legal campaign is partly aimed at trying to beat back the gangbuster growth of Android, the operating system created by Google Inc. which is used by Samsung and other device makers. In the second quarter, Android phones—which are produced by many phone makers—represented 68 percent of smartphone shipments, while Apple's represented 17 percent, according to market research firm IDC. Source: An article by Jessica E. Vascellaro for the Wall Street Journal

google android apple patents samsung smartphones software patents patent litigation
Have technology lawsuits become patently absurd?

02 Sep 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for fulfilling the letter but not the spirit of the divine law such as Moses handed down in the first reading. In the wake of a billion-dollar verdict in a high-stakes patent infringement battle between technology heavyweights Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc., critics complain the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office grants too many patents and say patent litigation is clogging the courts. One federal judge recently threw out a high-profile case, saying the patent system was in "chaos."Many have questioned whether such complex cases can be decided by juries, while lawyers and judges warn that mounting patent litigation—including cases that encompass everything from smartphones to videogame consoles—will mean mounting costs for consumers."Software patents are clogging the system at every possible point," said Christal Sheppard, an assistant professor of law at the University of Nebraska College of Law. "This could be the bellwether case that goes to the Supreme Court to decide what invention in the 21st century really means for software."Jurors Friday found that Samsung infringed all but one of the seven patents at issue in the case. If upheld on appeal, the verdict could shape how smartphones and tablets are designed as well as the fortunes of companies that make them. Analysts say Apple's legal campaign is partly aimed at trying to beat back the gangbuster growth of Android, the operating system created by Google Inc. which is used by Samsung and other device makers. In the second quarter, Android phones—which are produced by many phone makers—represented 68 percent of smartphone shipments, while Apple's represented 17 percent, according to market research firm IDC. Source: An article by Jessica E. Vascellaro for the Wall Street Journal

google android apple patents samsung smartphones software patents patent litigation
Will court let the gene out of the bottle?

21 Apr 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist this Sunday attests to a truth at the center of the Judeo-Christian tradition: God “made us, his we are.” The U.S. Supreme Court this week grappled with the question of whether something as intrinsic to nature as a human gene be patented. Justices seemed skeptical but also worried about what a decision to bar such patents might mean for private scientific inquiry and research.The court is considering a challenge to a decision to award a patent to Myriad Genetics for isolating human genes that indicate a hereditary disposition to breast and ovarian cancer. Doctors and patients must use the diagnostic test that Myriad has developed and others are restricted from research in that area.The patents are being challenged by organizations of physicians and researchers, geneticists, patients, and others who say that the snippets of DNA are “products of nature” and may not be patented, even though the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued such patents for decades.The justices’ concern is warranted, court observers say. Their decision could shape the future of medical and genetic research and have profound effects on pharmaceuticals and genetically modified crops.Homily hint: As science blurs the boundaries between natural creations and laboratory creations, many ethical questions are raised. Though some would like to turn back the clock or stop the experimentation, history suggests that will not happen. The question is whether or not we will experiment with fully informed ethical consciences or not. Source: Robert Barnes for the Washington Post

dna us supreme court genetics patents genes myriad genetics genetic research