[Discuss] Communications with PUBPAT regarding Google patents.

[Paulo Marcondes]

Hi All,

I took the liberty to email PUBPAT regarding the issue of Google's
recently granted patent(s), here follows our communications. I just
stripped the irrelevant headers.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paulo Marcondes <paulomarcondes at gmail.com>
Date: 10/01/2007 07:35
Subject: Increasing concern about geospatial software patents at OSGeo Lists.
To: info at pubpat.org


Hi All,

I am an Open Source Geospatial Foundation (PSGeo) member, and while I
can't speak on behalf of the organization, I am just forwarding some
discussion we are having on the lists [1].

Google was recently granted a patent on a issue we believe there's
prior art, and has a series of other patents following.

We are concerned because said patents may pose a threat to many FOSS
projects or its customers.

So, some members may be willing to work together to contest patents
that revolve around geospatial technologies. We just don't know how to
act. Also we may have some support from a know software company.

[1] http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/mail_discuss/2007-January/001307.html

Please assign someone to join our list and work together, as I believe
I am not the right person to be the liason.

thanks.
--
Paulo Marcondes = PU1/PU2PIX
-22.915 -42.224 = GG86jc
Debian GNU/Linux = http://rj.debianbrasil.org = http://www.debian.org

=====
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 17:59:21 -0500
From: Public Patent Foundation <info at pubpat.org>
To: Paulo Marcondes <paulomarcondes at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Increasing concern about geospatial software patents at OSGeo
 Lists.

Are you or anyone on the list aware of Google actually asserting any of
these patents?  It is usually not worthwhile to challenge a patent
unless and until it is being aggressively asserted by its owner.  This
is simply because there are way too many issued patents that could be a
concern.  Small organizations like PUBPAT must conserve resources to use
on those patents that are a concern.  Given Google's relatively
non-existent aggression regarding patents, our inclination is that their
patents are not ones to be overly focused on.
-- 
Public Patent Foundation
1375 Broadway, Suite 600
New York, NY 10018
(212) 796-0570
(212) 591-6038 fax
info at pubpat.org
www.pubpat.org

=====

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 21:44:49 -0200
From: "Paulo Marcondes" <paulomarcondes at gmail.com>
To: "Public Patent Foundation" <info at pubpat.org>
Subject: Re: Increasing concern about geospatial software patents at
OSGeo Lists.

2007/1/11, Public Patent Foundation <info at pubpat.org>:
> Are you or anyone on the list aware of Google actually asserting any of
> these patents?  It is usually not worthwhile to challenge a patent
> unless and until it is being aggressively asserted by its owner.  This
> is simply because there are way too many issued patents that could be a
> concern.  Small organizations like PUBPAT must conserve resources to use
> on those patents that are a concern.  Given Google's relatively
> non-existent aggression regarding patents, our inclination is that their
> patents are not ones to be overly focused on.

Well, AFAIK, the patent(s) were just granted by the USPO.
So, one could say that PUBPAT's position is to not challenge a patent
unless it is being used in an agressive manner by its owner?

May I forward the these messages to the OSGeo Lists?

=====
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 19:11:49 -0500
From: Public Patent Foundation <info at pubpat.org>
To: Paulo Marcondes <paulomarcondes at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Increasing concern about geospatial software patents at OSGeo
 Lists.

On 01/11/2007 06:44 PM, Paulo Marcondes wrote:
> Well, AFAIK, the patent(s) were just granted by the USPO.
> So, one could say that PUBPAT's position is to not challenge a patent
> unless it is being used in an agressive manner by its owner?

No, that's not accurate.  PUBPAT's position is to generally conserve its
limited resources to defend the public from the most harmful of patents.
  Some factors in determining the harm being caused by a patent is the
identity of its owner, the historical patent aggressiveness of its
owner, and the patentees aggressiveness in asserting the specific patent.

> May I forward the these messages to the OSGeo Lists?

Of course.

-- 
Public Patent Foundation
1375 Broadway, Suite 600
New York, NY 10018
(212) 796-0570
(212) 591-6038 fax
info at pubpat.org
www.pubpat.org
-- 
Paulo Marcondes = PU1/PU2PIX
-22.915 -42.224 = GG86jc
Debian GNU/Linux = http://rj.debianbrasil.org = http://www.debian.org
http://www.kombato.org - Seja seu próprio guarda-costas