Software Patent Debate Rages Online

I recently attended a conference in Las Vegas where 3 presenters got on stage and said that consumers, software developers, and website designers risked massive fines and even criminal charges for using MP3 audio online.

After I recovered from my initial shock, I realized they were talking about a software patent debate held by a French based company, Thomson, which enables them to charge licensing fees for any developers and designers using their MP3 audio technology.

Upon opening this proverbial "can of online worms" I discovered that a whole world of what many consider unenforceable software patents exists online with developers and designers.

From my research, much of the online software patents debate stems from patents issued in Europe that may or may not get enforced. Did you know that someone patented the process of an online shopping cart application?

Sun Microsystems developers patented the "shopping cart" process and could try to collect a royalty from any developers and designers who use a similar system (which rates as anyone selling anything online). http://l2.espacenet.com/espacenet/viewer?PN=EP807891

Another company patented paying with a credit card over the Internet, which would definitely shut down the vast majority of all ecommerce developers and designers if they could enforce that patent application! http://l2.espacenet.com/espacenet/viewer?PN=EP820620

Log on to www.nosoftwarepatents.com and http://webshop.ffii.org for some startling debate information.

I contacted an attorney specializing in Internet law, Bob Silber of www.InternetLawProducts.com, to get his opinion specifically on the debate about MP3's developers and designers.

"The mp3 licensing issue is not new, but recently resurfaced after an Internet marketer did a 'scare tactics' campaign for his own marketing purposes. Thomson is the company holding the portfolio of patents related to MP3... Currently Thomson doesn't require an mp3 license for non-commercial activities or for businesses generating an annual gross revenue less than US $100,000."

So, unless you're making MP3's or software that creates MP3's and making over $100,000 a year doing it, it doesn't appear you need to worry about making application to this particular patent issue.

Even then, it appears the owners of the MP3 patents would find it very difficult to enforce application of their patents with so much new technology emerging that builds on, and fundamentally changes, the original technology.

But this does open up a greater debate about what should and should not get patented when it comes to software application.

I'm fully in favor of people protecting their rights when they create any intellectual property (software, audio, written material, etc.), but that's a copyright issue, not a patent application issue.

"Copyright" means nobody can do it the way you did it (with exact words, computer code, etc.).

"Patent" means nobody can do it at all without paying someone else a fee / royalty or "TAX" because they patented the application "result!"

That makes a big difference when you talk about fundamental application elements necessary to make the Internet and computers run.

It was fine for Bill Gates to copyright DOS, but what if he patented "computer operating application system?"

Would that give him dominion over every computer that booted up for next 50 years? Impossible!

Unless the courts want to shut down the Internet or computers in general, software patents are, by their nature, unenforceable.

With so many different computer languages, methods, and means to do anything with computers, it's not fair or practical for one person or company to own a "result" or a "process" like online "shopping carts" or "online audio."

That would be just like allowing someone to patent "bottled water," and charge us all every time we took a swig from aplastic bottle.

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Author Notes:

Jim Edwards contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.home-income-101.com. Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the creator of an amazing course that will teach you step-by-step and click-by-click how to finally create your own money-making mini-sites...