Some PayPal Users Criticize Antifraud Measures Some of the payment service’s users say the company needlessly freezes their accounts when large transactions are involved. http://nyti.ms/QuD0EC
Paypal Over Zealous and Uncaring?
From The New York Times:
Smirnoff Responsible for Comments of Users on Facebook
“The Board considered that the Facebook
site of an advertiser is a marketing communication tool over which the
advertiser has a reasonable degree of control and could be considered to
draw the attention of
a segment of the public to a product in a manner calculated to promote
or oppose directly or indirectly that product. The Board determined that
the provisions of the Code apply to an advertiser’s Facebook page. As a
Facebook page can be used to engage with
customers, the Board further considered that the Code applies to the
content generated by the advertisers as well as material or comments
posted by users or friends.”
See Diageo Australia
See Diageo Australia
Computer Patent - Patentable Subject Matter
A system claim which includes as a limitation a computer to perform
steps in a method is ineligible for patent protection under 35 U.S.C.
§101
as a claim to an abstract idea because the computer functions solely as
an obvious mechanism to solve a problem quickly, the Federal Circuit
held July 26, 2012.
Bancorp Services, L.L.C. v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.S.), Fed. Cir., No. 2011-1467, 7/26/12.
The asserted patents are directed to systems and methods for administering and tracking the value of life insurance policies in separate accounts. The Federal Circuit affirmed a district court summary judgment that the patents are ineligible for patent protection because the claimed computer components are no more than objects that facilitate the operation of claimed methods directed to an abstract idea. It held that a machine, system, medium, or the like may in some cases be equivalent to an abstract mental process for purposes of patent ineligibility.
To read the Court's opinion in this case, click here.
The asserted patents are directed to systems and methods for administering and tracking the value of life insurance policies in separate accounts. The Federal Circuit affirmed a district court summary judgment that the patents are ineligible for patent protection because the claimed computer components are no more than objects that facilitate the operation of claimed methods directed to an abstract idea. It held that a machine, system, medium, or the like may in some cases be equivalent to an abstract mental process for purposes of patent ineligibility.
To read the Court's opinion in this case, click here.
Online Auctions - Terms Unfair
See Malam v Graysonline, Rumbles Removals and Storage (General) [2012] NSWCTTT 197
- The CCAAC then went on to recommend that “online transactions (including online auctions such as eBay) should be covered by the national statutory consumer guarantees in the same way as in-store transactions” (Recommendation 10.1, page 111).
- In the light of this recommendation, and the clear intention of the Australian Consumer Law to provide wide ranging protection for consumers, I consider that the purpose of provision will best be met by limiting auctions to physical auctions where the consumer does have the opportunity to inspect the goods before purchasing, analogous to in-store transactions.
- In the circumstances, I am not satisfied this arrangement was a sale by auction and therefore s. 54 and 55 of the Australian Consumer Law apply.
Google's Top Lawyer: Some Apple Inventions are Commercially Essential, Should Be Made Into Standards
Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that he wants other companies to "invent their own stuff", and that Apple shouldn't be "inventor for the world".
Google General Counsel Kent Walker disagrees, and this month wrote a letter to the US Senate Judiciary Committee arguing that commercial inventions that impact "consumer welfare" should be just as important as technical patents.
See Here
Google General Counsel Kent Walker disagrees, and this month wrote a letter to the US Senate Judiciary Committee arguing that commercial inventions that impact "consumer welfare" should be just as important as technical patents.
See Here
e-book pricing
On Friday, the Department of Justice responded to the over 800 comments filed in its settlement with a group of publishers over e-book pricing. The Department responded as part of the Tunney Act proceeding for the settlement, while it is in the midst of litigating the same Complaint against Apple and publishers that did not settle.
The response can be found here: http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f285300/285315.pdf. The comments are posted online and can be found here: http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/apple/index.html
Apple v. Samsung
The Apple v. Samsung patent case restarted in Federal Court of Australia today. See Sydney Morning Herald
U.S. Federal Circuit Responds to Supreme Court on Patent Eligibility
Reversing a summary judgment of patent
ineligibility under 35 U.S.C.§101, the Federal Circuit in a 2-1 decision
responded to the Supreme Court’s recent decision in
Prometheus v. Mayo with the caution that patent eligibility
must be decided by examining claims for specific, concrete applications
of the ideas behind an invention.
CLS Bank v. Alice Corp., Fed. Cir., No. 11-1301, 9 July 2012. Alice Corporation Pty Ltd is an Australian corporation.
According to the Court, if, after taking all of the claim recitations into consideration, it is not “manifestly evident” that a claim is directed to a patent ineligible abstract idea, that claim must not be deemed for that reason to be inadequate under Section 101.
Judge Prost dissented, writing that the majority failed to follow the Supreme Court’s Prometheus ruling by not inquiring whether the claims include an “inventive concept” and by devising its own patentable subject matter test.
The challenged patents in this case are
directed to a computerized trading platform for exchanging obligations
in which a trusted third party settles obligations between a first and
second party so as to eliminate “settlement risk.”
The district court granted a summary judgment motion that the claims
were not patent eligible because they are directed to an abstract idea.
On appeal the Federal Circuit reversed, concluding that the system,
method, and media claims are directed to practical
applications of an invention falling within the categories of patent
eligible subject matter defined by Section 101.
The “abstract ideas” test for patent eligibility has become a serious problem because of its “abstractness,” Judge Linn observed. He noted that several Supreme Court decisions have discussed the concept of “preemption” to elucidate the “abstract idea” exception to patent eligibility.
However, he added that Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 188 (1981), addressed claims containing a mathematical equation, and held that they only foreclosed the general use of the equation in conjunction with all of the other steps in the claimed process. Thus, the essential concern, according to the Court, is not preemption per se, but the extent to which preemption results in the foreclosure of innovation.
With respect to implementing inventions in
computer hardware or software, the court stated that the “mere
implementation” on a computer of an otherwise ineligible abstract idea
will not render the invention patent eligible, citing
Fort Props. Inc. v. Am. Master Lease LLC, 671 F.3d 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2011).
However, Judge Linn wrote that a machine limitation can render a method patent eligible where the machine imposes a meaningful limit on the scope of the claim and where it plays a significant part in permitting the claimed method to be performed, citing SiRF Tech., Inc. v. Int’l Trade Comm’n, 601 F.3d 1319 (Fed. Cir. 2010). A machine is insufficient, he added, if it functions solely as an obvious mechanism for permitting a solution to be achieved more quickly, i.e., through the utilization of a computer for performing calculations. A claim that is drawn to a specific way of doing something with a computer is likely to be patent eligible, Judge Linn explained, whereas a claim to nothing more than the idea of doing that thing on a computer may not. He added the following:
To read the Court’s opinion and the dissenting opinion, click here.
According to the Court, if, after taking all of the claim recitations into consideration, it is not “manifestly evident” that a claim is directed to a patent ineligible abstract idea, that claim must not be deemed for that reason to be inadequate under Section 101.
Judge Prost dissented, writing that the majority failed to follow the Supreme Court’s Prometheus ruling by not inquiring whether the claims include an “inventive concept” and by devising its own patentable subject matter test.
The “abstract ideas” test for patent eligibility has become a serious problem because of its “abstractness,” Judge Linn observed. He noted that several Supreme Court decisions have discussed the concept of “preemption” to elucidate the “abstract idea” exception to patent eligibility.
However, he added that Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 188 (1981), addressed claims containing a mathematical equation, and held that they only foreclosed the general use of the equation in conjunction with all of the other steps in the claimed process. Thus, the essential concern, according to the Court, is not preemption per se, but the extent to which preemption results in the foreclosure of innovation.
However, Judge Linn wrote that a machine limitation can render a method patent eligible where the machine imposes a meaningful limit on the scope of the claim and where it plays a significant part in permitting the claimed method to be performed, citing SiRF Tech., Inc. v. Int’l Trade Comm’n, 601 F.3d 1319 (Fed. Cir. 2010). A machine is insufficient, he added, if it functions solely as an obvious mechanism for permitting a solution to be achieved more quickly, i.e., through the utilization of a computer for performing calculations. A claim that is drawn to a specific way of doing something with a computer is likely to be patent eligible, Judge Linn explained, whereas a claim to nothing more than the idea of doing that thing on a computer may not. He added the following:
While the use of a machine in these limitations is less substantial or limiting than the industrial uses examined in
Diehr (curing rubber) or Alappat (a rasterizer), the
presence of these limitations prevents us from finding it manifestly
evident that the claims are patent ineligible under § 101. … In such
circumstances, we must leave the question of validity
to the other provisions of Title 35.
New gTLDs by Australian Companies
Here is my list of new gTLDs applied for by Australian companies, Universities and governments. There were a number of Victorian Universities who applied, plus the NSW Government and the Victorian Government. Commonwealth Bank made three applications, as did iSelect. A number will be contested (as marked in bold) below.
Amazon made over 70 applications for words in English, and a bunch more in non-Roman text. Google made about 100 applications, under the name Charleston Road Registry Inc.. Facebook did not make any applications.
- AFL
- AMP
- ANZ
- AUSPOST
- BEST
- BOND
- BOOK
- CANCERRESEARCH
- CBA
- CEO
- COMMBANK
- NETBANK
- COURSES
- FILM
- GLOBALX
- IINET
- KRED
- LATROBE
- COMPARE
- SELECT
- ISELECT
- CPA
- MELBOURNE
- MONASH
- NAB
- UBANK
- PHYSIO
- RMIT
- SALON
- SBS
- TAB
- TENNIS
- SEEK
- SELECT
- SEVEN
- STUDY
- SYDNEY
- WEBJET
- WOODSIDE
- YELLOWPAGES
There are a number of multiple applications for the one gTLD, such as ART, AUCTION, BOOK, BET, BABY, HOTEL, HOT, GROUP, GREEN, GAME, CLOUD, CLUB, AUDIO, AUTO, SECURITY, FREE, RIP, MOBILE, MUSIC, NEWS, NOW, ONLINE, PIZZA, PLAY, POKER, PROPERTY, RACING, RADIO, RESTAURANT, RUGBY, SALE, SCHOOL, SEARCH, SHOP, SITE, VIP and SUCKS. There was one PORN application and two SEX applications (and one SEXY application).
There were two applications from New Zealand, KIWI and RIP.
There were two applications from New Zealand, KIWI and RIP.
Tomorrow is gTLD Reveal Day
It is anticipated that 1,900 applications have been made for new gTLDs. Information will be posted here tomorrow.
See also ICANN and here and WIPO LRO page.
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