Comments on: Lawyer insists Microsoft infringed antipiracy patent

Texas attorney with patent on antipiracy system appeals ruling that said company's product activation program didn't infringe.

[hadaso]

What's automatic here?

M$ probably doesn't need the user prompt argument.

The activation procedure probably does not "automatically" check anything but only queries another component (the OS). That component certainly doesn't have to check anything "automatically" because that component intiated the internet connection and is managing it.

Allowing a patent on doing anything "automatically" on a computer is an insult to inteligence. Haven't they heard about Turing's paper from 1936 that described exactly what can and what cannot be done automatically. Anything that is included in what Turing proved 1936 that can be done automatically should not be awarded a patent, and the "automatic" property ahould not be given any weight in decisions to grant patent in any case where it directly follows from Turing's work.

[hadaso]

What's automatic here?

MS probably doesn't need the user prompt argument.

The activation procedure probably does not "automatically" check anything but only queries another component (the OS). That component certainly doesn't have to check anything "automatically" because that component intiated the internet connection and is managing it.

Allowing a patent on doing anything "automatically" on a computer is an insult to inteligence. Haven't they heard about Turing's paper from 1936 that described exactly what can and what cannot be done automatically. Anything that is included in what Turing proved 1936 that can be done automatically should not be awarded a patent, and the "automatic" property ahould not be given any weight in decisions to grant patent in any case where it directly follows from Turing's work.

[R. U. Sirius]

Patents Gone Crazy

Yet another example of the patent system run amok.