Introducing the iKey – Apple's answer to the humble door key: Via Telegraph(UK).

Apple has already revolutionised the personal stereo and mobile phone, but now the computer firm behind the iPhone has its sights set on the humble front door key.

The computer giant, which manufactures the iPod and iPhone, has plans to replace the traditional door key with a hi-tech alternative.

It is developing technology, already being nicknamed the "iKey", which will mean that rather than carrying around a bunch of keys, people will be able to use a single electronic device to unlock their car, front door and gain access to their office.

Users would simply have to enter a pin code and wave the device over an electronic pad fitted beside a door to open it.

The technology is revealed in a newly published patent application, which has generated speculation that the next model of the iPhone will contain this feature. [ Read more ... ]

Copyright Undercover: ACTA & the Web: Via Internet Evolution - The Big Report .

Let's pause a moment to consider the nature of copyright, the Internet, and governance. Copyright law has historically been made by and for the entertainment industry's supply chain. Copyright rules were not envisioned as an adequate or desirable regulation-set for any other realm: We don't try to shoehorn labor law, finance, education, healthcare, election campaigns, or parenting matters into copyright.

But once you take those activities onto the Internet, copyright becomes the first line of regulation governing everything. It's impossible to do anything on the Internet without making copies (you made between 5 and 50 copies of this article just by following a link to it). And since copyright regulates copying, any rule that affects copyright will affect all those realms, too.

That's what makes ACTA's secrecy so troubling, even if you don't care about copyright, fair use, or other wonky subjects. [ Read more ... ]

Secret ACTA treaty can't be shown to public, just 42 lawyers: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.

Turns out that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will include a section on Internet "enforcement procedures" after all. And how many people have had input on these procedures? Forty-two. [ Read more ... ]

Special Interests See ‘Classified’ Copyright Treaty; You Can’t: Via Threat Level.

Want to know the language of the ever-transforming proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement?

It’s classified. And, according to the Obama administration, it carries national security implications. According to leaked documents on WikiLeaks, the proposed treaty would require ISPs to terminate repeat copyright scofflaws, criminalize peer-to-peer file sharing, subject iPods to border searches and even interfere with the legitimate sale of brand-name pharmaceutical products.

But as it turns out, the administration has shared the secret treaty’s contents with more than three dozen individuals in the private sector, from the left and the right of the copyright debate. Those individuals include Business Software Alliance attorney Emery Simon, Google copyright czar Bill Patry and president of Public Knowledge Gigi Sohn. [ Read more ... ]

US Chamber of Commerce cites #19 rank, wants tougher IP laws: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.

The World Economic Forum—otherwise known as the group that throws the fancy Davos shindig every year—has just released an over 400-page report on the world economy (PDF). Global competitiveness was the key metric, and the US lost its number one spot this year to Switzerland. So it goes. But tucked back in the report's list of data tables was a fascinating one about intellectual property, and it put the US in 19th place worldwide when it comes to protecting IP. [ Read more ... ]

EFF and PK to Congress: U.S. Trade Advisory Committee Needs Technology Users' Input: Via EFF.org Updates.

EFF and Public Knowledge this week urged Congress to give American technology users more input in international trade agreements that have broad ramifications for digital freedom. In written testimony submitted to the House Ways and Means Committee, the groups told lawmakers that the U.S. Trade Representative's influential industry trade advisory committee on intellectual property should represent the interests of all stakeholders, and not just IP owners. PK and EFF also called on Congress to amend the Trade Act to change the default rules that allow the USTR to close ITAC meetings and prevent disclosure of ITAC documents to the public.

The current controversy over the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) demonstrates why this is necessary. Representatives of the MPAA, the RIAA, ESA and BSA have called for treaty provisions that would require Internet service providers to engage in filtering of their customers' Internet communications for potentially copyright-infringing material, force mandatory disclosure of personal information about alleged copyright infringers, and adopt "Three Strikes" policies requiring ISPs to automatically terminate customers' Internet access upon a repeat allegation of copyright infringement. [ Read more ... ]

Saudi 'Killer Chip' Implant Would Track, Eliminate Undesirables: Via Science & Technology - FOXNews.com .

It could be the ultimate in political control — but it won't be patented in Germany.

German media outlets reported last week that a Saudi inventor's application to patent a "killer chip," as the Swiss tabloids put it, had been denied. [ Read more ... ]

ACLU: Human Gene Patents Infringe Speech: Via Threat Level.

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Patent and Trademark Office and a research company awarded exclusive rights to human genes known to detect early signs of breast or ovarian cancer. The group claims the patents violate speech by restricting research.

The novel case, if successful, opens the door to challenges of a host of other patented genes: about one-fifth of the human genome is covered under patent applications and claims. The ACLU’s case is believed to be the first to challenge a patented gene under a civil rights allegation. [ Read more ... ]

Broad Coalition Urges Obama to Diversify IP Appointments: Via EFF.org Updates.

Washington, D.C. - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has joined a broad coalition of public interest groups and trade associations calling for President Obama to diversify future appointments to intellectual property policy positions and create new offices devoted to promoting innovation and free expression.

In all, 19 organizations signed the letter to the president, spearheaded by Washington D.C.-based non-profit Public Knowledge. The coalition includes the Consumer Electronics Association, the American Library Association, and the Wikimedia Foundation. [ Read more ... ]

Apple proposes iPhone that calls the cops when stolen: Via AppleInsider.

In the latest installment of Apple's iPhone security-related patent filings, the Cupertino-based company describes the implementation of loss prevention software that would notify a security agency in the event the handset is lost or stolen, which could in turn lead to a police officer being dispatched to the current location of the device based on GPS coordinates.

Read Original Article (Via AppleInsider.)

Bilski Patent Case Appealed To Supreme Court: Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online

An anonymous reader writes "The landmark ruling of a few months ago that limited patents to inventions which include a machine or which transform physical matter has been appealed up to the Supreme Court 'On the one side of this controversy... are those... who argue that patents must be available to encourage innovation in devising new ways to conduct business in the global information-based economy, including encouragement for new ways of digitizing business methods. On the other side are consumer advocacy groups and free-market devotees who worry that patent monopolies could tie up methods of creative thought processes, including teaching, judging, creative writing, making medical judgments, or picking juries (some current, real examples of claims).' The Bilski decision has already had an impact on potential software and biotech patents, in addition to the obvious limitations on business method patents. The petition (PDF) argues that the 'machine-or-transformation' test conflicts with the broad language of the patent statute and with congressional intent. It's entirely within the Supreme Court's discretion to take the case or not, but for now it looks like the issue is far from decided."

Read Original Article ( Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online. )

minilinks for 2009-01-28: Via EFF.org Updates

• ACLU Requests Bush-era Memos
  In a test of President Obama's commitment to transparency, the ACLU requested sensitive Bush administration memos on torture and wiretapping that have long been sought by privacy and human rights advocates.
  
• Patriot Act Used to Punish Fliers
  Conflicts with airline staff have led to fliers facing federal terrorism charges. 
  
[ Read more ... ]
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Universities Patenting More Student Ideas: Via Slashdot

theodp writes "Working as a NASA intern, grad student Erez Lieberman had a eureka moment, resulting in an algorithm that detects whether a person is standing correctly or is off balance. Unfortunately, MIT liked it so much they decided to patent it. Seeking permission to use his own idea for his iShoe startup, which develops products like insoles to address the problems of seniors, Lieberman was told no problem — as long as he promised a hefty royalty and forked over a $75,000 upfront payment. Whether or not students are aware of it, the NYTimes reports that most universities own inventions created by students that were developed using a 'significant' amount of schools resources. Colleges and universities once obtained fewer than 250 patents a year, but that was before the Bayh-Dole Act gave them ownership of inventions developed through federally financed research. Now they acquire about 3,000 a year, and in 2006 licensing fees and equity in spinoff companies totaled at least $45B — research powerhouses like Stanford and NYU pocketed $61M and $157M, respectively."

Read Original Article ( Via Slashdot. )

Microsoft Invents $1.15/Hour Homework Fee For Kids: Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online

theodp writes "Microsoft's vision of your computing future is on display in its just-published patent application for the Metered Pay-As-You-Go Computing Experience. The plan, as Microsoft explains it, involves charging students $1.15 an hour to do their homework, making an Office bundle available for $1/hour, and billing gamers $1.25 for each hour of fun. [ Read more ... ]

Federal Circuit Reins in Business Method Patents - Via Freedom to Tinker:

This has been a big year for patent law in the technology industry. A few weeks ago I wrote about the Supreme Court's Quanta v. LG decision. Now the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which has jurisdiction over all patent appeals, has handed down a landmark ruling in the case of In Re Bilski. The case dealt with the validity of patents on business methods, and a number of public interest organizations had filed amicus briefs. I offer my take on the decision in a story for Ars Technica. In a nutshell, the Federal Circuit rejected the patent application at issue in the case and signaled a newfound skepticism of "business method" patents.

The decision is surprising because the Federal Circuit has until recently been strongly in favor of expanding patent rights. [ Read more ... ]

Federal Circuit Reins In Business Method Patents - Via EFF.org Updates:

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit yesterday issued a decision that imposes firm limits on business method patents. The ruling effectively overturns a key part of the court’s decision in State Street Bank and Trust v. Signature Financial Group, which opened the door to an explosion of patents on "methods" of doing business so long as the methods involved use of a computer and produced a "useful, concrete, and tangible result." [ Read more ... ]

Sun's OMS Video codec project is a means to an end - Via Linux.com :

Sun Microsystems is setting out to create an open source, royalty-free video codec. Given the considerable head start of well-known, royalty-free video codecs like Dirac and Theora, you might ask why the world needs another. The answer, according to Sun, is the process the company will use to develop it -- starting with a full-on, careful examination of the patent situation.

I spoke with Gerard Fernando and Rob Glidden about the project, which was unveiled in April. Fernando is a senior staff engineer at Sun, and Glidden is the company's global alliance manager for TV and media.

Fernando says the video codec idea dates back to 2005, when the Open Media Commons (OMC) initiative was launched by Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz. It just took a back seat to OMC's first large-scale project, the DReaM digital rights management (DRM) system. [ Read more ... ]

minilinks for 2008-08-14 - Via EFF.org Updates: [ Read more ... ]

• Oops! FBI Sorry For Spying on Journalists
  FBI Director Robert Mueller called the NY Times and the Washington Post to express regret for a breach of reporters' phone records.
• Google Comes Clean On Targeted Advertising
  The Internet giant confessed to using DoubleClick cookies to deliver targeted advertising to users.

When the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Principle Doesn't Apply - Via EFF.org Updates:

When I was a kid, it seemed that every third commercial I saw was for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. In these commercials, a chocoholic would collide with a peanut butter lover, quickly followed by the memorable exchange of "you got peanut butter in my chocolate" and "you got chocolate in my peanut butter." But then something amazing happened. Each of them sampled the combined treats, and their faces lit up with delight as they unexpectedly discovered "two great tastes that taste great together."

The converse is also true: When you combine previously known concepts and the result is utterly mundane, that's not a new invention. Moving peanut butter from glass jars to plastic tubs, for instance; it may be a new combination (peanut butter and plastic, hooray!) but it’s not a novel end product. A year ago, in the case KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., the Supreme Court reminded everyone of just this fact. As the Court explained, "The combination of familiar elements according to known methods is likely to be obvious [and thus unpatentable] when it does no more than yield predictable results." At the time, a lot of people wondered whether this spelled the end for many lame patents that did little more than claim well-known business models recast as novel inventions by requiring that they be done on the Internet.

Less than two weeks after the KSR decision, the Federal Circuit picked up on the Supreme Court's hint in Leapfrog Enterprises, Inc. v. Fisher-Price, Inc. [PDF], invalidating as obvious a patent that simply applied modern electronics to old fashioned devices. [ Read more ... ]

Rick Falkvinge - Copyright Regime vs. Civil Liberties - Via IT Conversations:

Rick Falkvinge is a Swedish politician who recently founded a new party. Its values include freedom, upholding laws, and rights to privacy. These may sound like safe and just laws - things that are constant and don't need defending; so what's jeopardizing them? According to Falkvinge, that would be copyrights and patents.

(Read Original Article - Via IT Conversations.)

ACLU Introduces First Amendment Argument In Key Patent Law Case - Via American Civil Liberties Union:

Patenting Abstract Ideas Violates The Constitution, Group Says

WASHINGTON - Introducing a rare argument applying the First Amendment to patent law, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a friend of the court brief today urging a federal court to uphold the denial of a patent that would, if awarded, violate freedom of speech. In the brief, the ACLU argues that Bernard L. Bilski is seeking a patent for an abstract idea, and that abstract ideas are not patentable under the First Amendment. [ Read more ... ]

Reexamination Improves Patent Quality: A Look at the Latest USPTO Filing Data - Via EFF: Deep Links:

Coauthored by Policy Intern Raeanne Young

The latest statistics [PDF] from the Patent and Trademark Office prove what EFF has been saying for years: third party challenges to patent validity provide an invaluable check on improper and overbroad patents. According to these records, in the 25 years since ex parte reexamination became possible, the PTO has granted the vast majority of reexamination requests. In other words, the PTO found that the third party challenge raised substantial new questions of patentability. Thus, rather than overburdening the examiners, reexamination requests are helping the PTO separate the wheat from the chaff, fix mistakes and meet its stated goal: to promote innovation. [ Read more ... ]

Canon Files For DSLR Iris Registration Patent - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online:

An anonymous reader writes "Canon has filed for a patent for using iris watermarking (as in the iris of your eye) to take photographer's copyright protection to the next level. You set up the camera to capture an image of your eye through the viewfinder. Once captured, this biological reference is embedded as metadata into every photo you take. Canon claims this will help with copyright infringement of photos online."

(Read Original Article - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online.)

TiVO Patent Upheld, Dish May Have to Disable DVR - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online:

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a ruling by a lower court that Dish Network DVRs infringe upon TiVO's patent on a 'multimedia time warping system'. According to some analysts, this could not only make Dish liable for damages, it could force them to shut down their DVR service, harming their customers. [ Read more ... ]

Slashdot | EFF Busts Bogus Online Testing Patent - Via Slashdot YRO :

Panaqqa writes "It's taken some time, but the EFF's Patent Busting Project is making progress. In the latest news, the USPTO has now officially rejected one of the 10 awful patents targeted, making the world safe again for administering tests over the Internet. [ Read more ... ]