July 31, 2007 3:31 PM PDT
US Supreme Court paving the way for patent reform
I've written before about the Supreme Court's landmark patent-reform case, KSR v. Teleflex [PDF]. It appears that this case has been having its desired effect, according to the Wall Street Journal (Subscription req'd):
...[J]udges have begun to rule in favor of companies defending themselves against infringement lawsuits - in one case dismissing a suit and in another ordering a review...[with Judge William Schwarzer throwing out a lawsuit brought by a patent troll against Real Networks because] "The Supreme Court has made it clear what it thinks....Patents are being issued on obvious inventions, and it tightened the reins."
We're a long way from full reform of our broken patent system, but this news is heartening. Maybe someday our kids will be able to innovate without wading through a silly morass of patent claims. But don't hold your breath.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
He basically said that the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals decides these things and a single ruling by the Supreme Court isn't going to make them change their ways. The Supreme Court's case load is so small that they won't hear another patent case for years so the Circuit Court will still dominate.
http://blog.snaplogic.org/?p=69