Patent News to Celebrate on the Year's Shortest Day

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Dec 21, 2023

In the northern countries at least...

TODAY we are not expecting to publish many articles because we are busy developing some software for the sites. We've meanwhile noticed some very important news items that are already included in Daily Links, having been added about an hour ago.

The first of these bits of news concerns very good news from right here (the UK), and it is news we weren't quite expecting because we forgot all about this case. The inane and misguided pursuit of patents for "Hey Hi" (AI) finally failed, with no further prospects of appeal. It's a dark week for patent maximalists, not only the British maximalists. This shallow article (buzzwords-fest) says: "An artificial intelligence system can't be registered as the inventor of a patent, Britain's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a decision that denies machines the same status as humans."

It also says: "The decision was the culmination of American technologist Stephen Thaler's long-running British legal battle to get his AI, dubbed DABUS, listed as the inventor of two patents."

So that's it, you are the weakest link, goodbye. Another story about it, this one from a spamfarm masquerading as a news site, says: "The judgment concludes a legal case launched in 2019 by Stephen Thaler, a Missouri-based computer scientist. Thaler has filed similar AI patent applications in the U.S., European Union and Australia that were likewise rejected."

This is the end, my friend.

Is the "Hey Hi" hype over just yet? Nope, not yet, but we're getting there. The EPO latched onto this hype to promote European software patents.

The second bit of news that we wanted to comment on concerns Apple. One can hope that Apple will learn, perhaps the hard way, to join our implicit 'coalition' against software patents, even if for its own 'selfish' interests. "Apple is unclear about the nature of software patents," an associate said to us, "and no amount of "tweaking" will get around a software patent" [1-9] (links below).

As Cult Of Mac put it [9], "Apple engineers reportedly are racing to create a software workaround ahead of a potential Apple Watch import ban in the United States over a patent claim."

Good luck with that.

Maybe start working with us to abolish software patents? That might be easier and way cheaper than hiring all those worthless lawyers for wasteful paperwork.

Apple's agony is (to us) good news because one can hope it'll compel Apple to change its stance on patents. █

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1. Apple Watch ban: everything you need to know

   After 3PM ET on December 21st, you won’t be able to buy the Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2. The last day for pickup or delivery of these models from Apple’s retail stores is December 24th. The reason? The company says it’s to preemptively comply with an ITC import ban following a patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo over its SpO2 sensor.

2. [Old] AliveCor Announces the ITC's Limited Exclusion Order Against Apple Clears Presidential Review

   AliveCor, the global leader in FDA-cleared personal electrocardiogram (ECG) technology, today announced that the Final Determination ruling issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), which imposed a Limited Exclusion Order (LEO) and a cease and desist order on Apple Watches infringing on AliveCor patents, has cleared Presidential review. This is the Commission's first LEO against Apple to clear Presidential review, and sends a strong signal to innovative companies that their IP is protected within the legal framework.

3. [Old] United States International Trade Commission Issues Exclusion Order for Infringing Apple Watches, Finding that Apple Violated U.S. Trade Laws

   Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) today announced that the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) has recommended a limited exclusion order for infringing Apple Watches with light-based pulse oximetry functionality. The USITC found that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) violated U.S. laws by incorporating Masimo’s patented light-based pulse oximetry technology in its products. The exclusion is scheduled to go into effect after a 60-day Presidential review period.

4. Apple ‘caught with its hands in cookie jar,’ says CEO whose company took on tech giant

   “After a thorough multi-year legal investigation, the ITC found that Apple infringed certain of Masimo's patented innovations for measuring blood oxygen. The decision to exclude certain foreign-made models of the Apple Watch demonstrates that even the world's most powerful company must abide by the law,” an ITC statement to the Business Insider read.

5. Apple to halt US sales of Series 9, Ultra 2 smartwatches over patent dispute

   If not vetoed, the ban would go into effect on Dec. 26.

   The company said it would pause sales of the watches from its website starting on Dec. 21 and from Apple retail locations after Dec. 24. Other models that do not contain the blood oxygen sensor, like Apple's lower-priced Apple Watch SE model, are unaffected by the dispute.

6. Masimo CEO on Looming Apple Watch Ban: 'These Guys Have Been Caught With Their Hands in the Cookie Jar'

   While Apple will not be able to continue selling the Apple Watch in the U.S. without a veto, third-party retailers like Best Buy and Target can continue to offer it as long as supplies are available. The import ban will prevent Apple from importing components and assembled devices from countries like China.

7. Apple hopes software changes will help it avoid the ITC’s Apple Watch ban

   Masimo argues that no software changes could avoid the patent violations. If Apple cannot work around Masimo’s patents by updating the watchOS software, the company would be wise to license Masimo’s technology.

8. Apple Races to Tweak Software Ahead of Looming US Watch Ban

   Engineers at the company are racing to make changes to algorithms on the device that measure a user’s blood oxygen level — a feature that Masimo Corp. has argued infringes its patents. They’re adjusting how the technology determines oxygen saturation and presents the data to customers, according to people familiar with the work.

9. Apple scrambles to find software fix to prevent Apple Watch import ban

   Apple engineers reportedly are racing to create a software workaround ahead of a potential Apple Watch import ban in the United States over a patent claim. Apple reportedly hopes to make changes to the algorithm that measures a user’s blood oxygen saturation.