Red Hat VP explains software patent threat at Linux Expo
By Ryan Paul
Red Hat VP Rob Tiller discussed the need for patent reform during a presentation at the Southern California Linux Expo. He spoke about the detrimental impact that patents are having on the technology industry and explained how the recent Bislki decision could impact the future of software patents.
Rob Tiller, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Red Hat, explained the need for patent reform and discussed the implications of the recent Bilski decision during a presentation on Saturday at the Southern Cailfornia Linux Expo (SCALE).
The patent system, which was originally conceived as an instrument for promoting progress by encouraging disclosure of inventions, is poorly suited to accommodate the complexities of modern innovation. The Patent Office isn’t equipped to process the rapidly growing volume of technical patent filings and the boundaries of patentability aren’t drawn clearly enough to block excessively broad patents.
This is particularly troublesome in the fast-moving software industry which has become increasingly bogged down by patent litigation. Some of the most fundamental principles of computer science are now covered by patents, Tiller says, and it’s almost impossible to develop original and innovative software without fear of infringing on patents. Patent litigation is also costly and highly unpredictable, which has made it easy for companies to use junk patents to extort out-of-court settlements.
These conditions, which largely undermine the purpose that the patent system was created to serve, pose what Tiller characterizes as a systemic problem for the United States as a whole. Since 1994, he says, the cost of litigation has vastly exceeded the profits generated from patent licensing in virtually all industries with the exception of chemical and pharmaceutical companies. According to some studies, over $11.4 billion every year is spent on software patent litigation alone. Congress has been struggling to fix the problem for years but hasn’t been able to build consensus around meaningful reforms.
Software patents raise some particularly difficult questions about patentability and also pose some challenges for open source software. Most patent licensing models conflict with the principles of unencumbered downstream redistribution that is at the core of the open source development model. Several initiatives, such as the Open Invention Network, have been launched to create a vehicle for conducting patent cross-licensing agreements and building a defensive patent portfolio in a manner that is conducive to open source development. Such solutions are a band-aid rather than a cure, however.
Patent law technically defines algorithms and mathematical concepts as being outside the scope of what is patentable. Software patents were originally not permitted and have no legislative foundation, but they were permitted on the basis of a legal precedent established in the 1981 from the Supreme Court decision in Diamond v. Diehr which concluded that a physical process that is controlled by software is patentable. This created a loophole that has been broadly abused by software companies.
Many critics believe that Diamond v. Diehr was poorly decided. The federal circuit recently decided to revisit that the issue of methods patents in the landmark Bilski case. The final decision in Bilski dealt a major blow to business methods patents, but left significant ambiguity about the status of software patents.
Tiller says that the federal circuit declined to address software patents specifically because the court did not want to apply broad patent exclusions to specific areas of industry. He explains that this leaves many unanswered questions about the future of software patents and how the court will interpret the association between software and the underlying machine with respect to patentability.
Red Hat is currently fighting back against a patent litigation lawsuit filed by IP Innovation, one of the most litigious patent-holding companies in the United States. The patent in question originated at Xerox/PARC in the late 80s.
Red Hat only negotiates licensing agreements when it can secure broad downstream redistribution privileges that are consistent with open source principles, as it did in its settlement with Firestar last year. As I correctly predicted at the time, the Firestar patent was later invalidated. It seems unlikely that Red Hat will be able to achieve a similar agreement when facing a stronger patent.
Red Hat is currently looking for help finding prior art that could be used to defend against the IP Innovation patent. The Linux distributor is calling for the open source community to submit potential prior art at the Peer to Patent website.
Tiller is hopeful that patent reform legislation will be passed this year. There are several improvements that he thinks could contribute to repairing the system. Specifically, he suggests better patent review practices, requiring a higher burden of proof for willful infringement claims, more consistent rules to govern how damages are decided, and shorter patent duration. He also sees a clear need to educate the public and bring greater awareness of the issue to citizens and lawmakers.
Although the vast majority of software companies acknowledge a need for reform, their is very little consensus about how the system should be improved. The patent problem has been a source of considerable controversy for years, so it’s unlikely that we will see a complete solution any time in the near future.
Source: arstechnica
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )The Top Ten Cities for Outsourcing in India
India has 35 major cities. Not all of them are good offshore outsourcing hubs.
In the recent past, several studies have been carried out to identify the best or most attractive cities in India. Gartner Inc, National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) and KPMG, neoIT, Mercer, A T Kearney, Merrill Lynch and several others have carried out city studies for a wide range of objectives.
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Important parameters that were considered when developing the rankings in these studies include:
Important parameters that were considered when developing the rankings in these studies include:
• Availability of Infrastructure (Power, Transport, Telecommunication, Housing)
• Cost of Living
• Real Estate Costs
• Availability of Skilled Manpower
• Attrition Rates
• Quality of Living
• Political Climate
• Educational Institutions
Urban infrastructure in India is not the best in the world. Indian cities are facing overpopulation, indiscriminate growth and shortage of urban services like public transportation, water supply and sanitation. It is important to point out that the 2006 World-wide Quality of Living Survey by Mercer for 350 global cities has the top Indian cities Mumbai and Delhi ranked at 150th place. Not impressive at all. On the networking front, India ranks 40th out of 115 countries with the network readiness index of 0.23.
Despite the constrains imposed by the infrastructure or lack thereof, availability of skilled manpower and the low cost advantage continues to drive investment into urban India.
An analysis of city rankings by different surveys and study of recent outsourcing trends reveals that the top 10 outsourcing destinations in India are:
1. Chennai was the poor cousin of Bangalore and Hyderabad during the initial years of the IT boom in India. Today it is the lead outsourcing destination due to the low cost advantage, improving infrastructure, international connectivity, availability of land, skilled manpower and lower attrition rates compared to Bangalore and Hyderabad.
2. Hyderabad continues to woo investors by focusing on improving its urban infrastructure. The Governments, both past and present, have been very clear in their focus and support to the IT industry. The city has been among the most favored destinations due to the infrastructural improvements and the planned growth phased in by the governments in the twin cities.
3. Bangalore is the technology hub of India. It is increasingly becoming a global melting pot of cultures. The original garden and pub city of India has a comfortable climate compared to the other Indian cities that are happening in terms of outsourcing. However, the city’s infrastructure is inadequate to meet the demands of the exploding population. There is a growing feeling that other cities will overtake Bangalore if it continues to suffer due to political bickering, skyrocketing real estate prices and poor urban planning. According to a recent survey, it still ranks as the top city for living, earning and investing.
4. National Capital Region (NCR) includes Delhi and its surrounding suburbs. Delhi is expensive and not as popular for outsourcing. It is the suburbs, Gurgaon and Noida that have become important outsourcing destinations due to their proximity to the capital. They continue to be a major draw due to improving transport connectivity with Delhi, good international linkage and availability of skilled manpower.
5. Pune is Maharastra’s response to Bangalore. Its proximity to India’s financial capital, Mumbai and availability of trained manpower has led to the development of a thriving hi-tech outsourcing industry in this erstwhile retirement and education haven. Apart from other infrastructure components, the city is focusing on township projects to improve housing facilities.
6. Chandigarh and Mohali are twin cities. Chandigarh is one of the few planned and good cities of India. Mohali is its twin. Together, they have the space as well as the intellectual and financial capability to become India’s best outsourcing destinations. It does not yet have an international airport, but is well connected to New Delhi by road and rail.
7. Kolkata, the capital city of the state of West Bengal is high in intellect and has an advantage in terms of low costs. However, the city is famous for its traffic snarls and trade union shut downs. The current state government under chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is making the right noises to encourage investors. Early indications are that it may actually emerge as a good outsourcing destination.
8. Mysore is one of India’s smaller cities, which have joined the outsourcing bandwagon. Its proximity to Bangalore and presence of companies like Infosys and Wipro has helped the cause. It is emerging as a preferred choice over Bangalore as India’s silicon city is now congested, expensive and has higher than average attrition rates.
9. Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala is well known for some of the leading science & technology research organizations in India. The city has the infrastructure and skilled workforce to attract IT investments. It is early days yet and remains to be seen whether Thiruvananthapuram can woo investors away from Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.
10. Coimbatore is the emerging engineering outsourcing hub located in the state of Tamil Nadu. The government of Tamil Nadu is keen on developing Coimbatore as a major IT destination in the state. Coimbatore’s strength is its rich engineering tradition and young graduating engineers to meet the manpower demands of the growing industry.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )GridIron Flow Takes Workflow Organization To A Whole New Level
by Leena Rao
GridIron Software, the provider of workflow tools for professional creative market, has launched a new workflow product for businesses, GridIron Flow. Flow tried to eliminate bottlenecks in a project, such as searching for files, for graphic designers, video editors, developers and other creative professionals. Users can track every move that is made in the creation and completion of a project. The software is also helpful coordinating workflow between multiple workers on a project; it helps gather all the files on a project together before a project is handed off to another worker.
The interface is clean and visually easy to use. Using a workflow map, the software tracks every file or software that is used in a creative project, from Adobe Flash to Microsoft Word to Apple Final Cut Studio. Flow also provides the user with instant access to every version of files created in a project. Key features of the product include the ability to track offline and online files in a workflow map, visual search options, and the ability to track how much time is spent on a file or a project.
GridIron’s CEO, Steve Forde, feels that the ability to measure time spent on a project could be particularly useful to freelancers in the creative world, who will need to measure hours spent on a project for billing purposes. Ideally, the SaaS company wants to sell to both freelances and enterprises that dabble in creative projects, such as studios, advertising agencies and graphic design businesses. GridIron’s software is priced at $249 (the price will go up to $299 in May) but users can download a free trial. And currently the software is only available for Mac computers; a Windows version should be released shortly, according to GridIron.
Forde said that GridIron worked with Adobe, Apple and other creative suite software makers to adjust its own software to meet the needs and specialties of these specific kinds of applications, like Final Cut and PhotoShop. Its pretty fascinating that big software makers are willing to work with smaller SaaS shops to help tailor offshoot operational applications. The organizational capacities of this product are pretty impressive; it’s definitely worth a demo for anyone in the creative professional business.
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