Internet watchdog challenges VoIP patent

The Electronic Frontier Foundation says it has discovered another bogus patent, and it's taking the newly found evidence to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to have the patent invalidated.

On Wednesday, the EFF, a civil liberties organization that works to protect rights in the digital world, filed a re-examination request to the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, stating it had discovered a prior patent as well as published reference material that should invalidate a patent that had been granted to a company called Acceris. The patent that Acceris was granted describes how voice over IP technology can be used to make calls to and from traditional analog telephones.

The reference material that the EFF found should prove that the technology described in the Acceris patent was already patented well before Acceris filed its claim.

"Bogus patents like this one highlight the problems with our current patent system," Cindy Cohn, the EFF's legal director, said in a statement. "Patenting technology that is an obvious combination of well understood technological conventions opens the door to lawsuits against legitimate innovators who are creating new VOIP products in good faith."

The EFF has been challenging several patents as part of its Patent Busting Project. The purpose of the project is to invalidate bad patents that hurt the public and consumer interests. So far, the project has been successful in getting seven patents, invalidated, narrowed, or re-examined by the patent office.

[Police_States_of_America]

90% of software patents are a large threat to the future of technology

[MadLyb]

100% of made up statistics are a large threat to the future of...statistics.

I agree that many, if not most software patents should not be granted, there are many true inventions based entirely in software that deserve the granted patent and I'll bet it is more than 10%.

[c4s2k3]

I agree with MadLyb. If you put effort and/or money into developing an idea, there should be a way to make sure you are the first in line to reap any potential rewards. That's what patents are for. There are many patents where even basic, common sense indicates are abuses of the system, but I don't believe those instances are the majority. The ones that look like abuses of the system are the ones that naturally get press and get talked about. We don't hear about the countless other cases that actually make sense.


(PS: Can I please get a Nobel Peace prize for this opinion piece?)

[MMcCubbing]

Personally, I think that the patent system has gotten out of hand. Ideally I would love to see the system abolished or overhauled. I do, however, regretfully realize that patents are necessary to protect the copious amounts of R&D time and money that goes into some technology.

Until we get a system that is fair to the creators, the consumers, and others who create similar technology, I will continue to applaud moves such as this.

[SteveChicago]

I am all about making money. However, I do not see how code should fall under the Patent system. It is more akin to writing and therefore should be controlled by the Trademark system. It is just words in a language.

[Renegade Knight]

True but it also results in useful functions unlike a book. Software is unique in this regard. It's a tough challenge to both give creators a leg up in marketing but preserving open compeition as they program better moustraps.