IP-WARS.NET || Munich Patents

Munich Patents - A Close Up Look

By JCausey, Section IP Articles
Posted on Fri Dec 24th, 2004 at 05:05:12 EST

Notice: Patent information included in article. Read at your own risk!

During 2004 one phenomonen we've witnessed has been the attempt to start to try to specify what risks Linux may be subject to from patents. While it seems the consensus is that Linux (and perhaps every piece of software ever written) must be infringing on some patents given the way software and business method patents are granted, there has not been a whole lot done to try to identify what those patents may be. This does seem to fly in the face of the "many eyeballs" principle of open source software development in that it does not give developers an opportunity to try to avoid the problems. Of course, there is great financial risk for developers in actually trying to find out what they may be infringing so it can be fixed, so the reluctance to do so is understandable.

Nevertheless, there were two events that appear to have tackled the issue head on though. The first event involved OSRM, a company that claims to have identified 283 potentially infringed patents by the Linux kernel. Unfortunately, OSRM to date has declined to provide specifics regarding the patents it thinks could potentially infringe the Linux kernel, so their research is not verifiable. For this reason, many claimed the "paper" describing the potential infringements constituted FUD. And unfortunately, both Microsoft and The SCO Group used the OSRM study (Computerworld story on Microsoft's attempt; Linux Business Week story on The SCO Group's attempt) just for that purpose in cunning efforts to turn the efforts of an alleged open souce supporter back on the open source community.

The other event that occurred involved the LiMux project (note - link is to the official project site in German). This is a project going on in Munich, Germany, to migrate the local government for the city from Microsoft products over to Linux and open source based products. The project itself garnered much press attention during the decision making phase and continues to be watched as a major Linux implementation by a large government organization.

However, during the summer the project was briefly delayed after concerns about patent issues (link to a Maureen O'Gara story that was surprisingly detailed compared to much of the rest of the coverage) were raised by one of the council members for the City of Munich. The council member in question, Jens Muehlhaus, is a member of the Green Party and describes himself as a supporter of open source. So, many surmised that his actions were intended more to highlight problems with the European Patent Office and software patents for European Union countries (a debate that continues to this day) than it was to highlight problems with patents and Linux. This seems to be partially supported by the fact that the patents involved are derived from the Linux "base package" that the City of Munich is hoping to implement and not the Linux kernel itself.

Fortunately for us, information about the "Munich patents" is available for further research. This article is my attempt to examine the patents that were cited by council member Muehlhaus to see whether there really is a problem for Linux with regard to European software patents (in the sense that the story has played out as being "Munich delays because Linux infringes patents"). In looking at the patents included in the document, I only concentrated on the EPO granted/recognized patents listed in the main body, although a few US patents were included in the document and several other EPO patents are listed in the footnotes. You may note that Grokline has started their own effort to examine "Linux patents" and is using the same document as its base - looking at the "Munich patents" and researching prior art. They are using a slightly different methodology though and the last time I checked, they had only started on three specific patents.

Using the resources available from the European Patent Office, I've put together the following table showing the patents, some basic information about them, and my own brief thoughts/comments on the patent. This table is also available in OpenOffice Calc format and pdf format.

Patent No.	Subject	Applicant	Date	Notes
EP0689133	Method of displaying multiple sets of information in the same area of a computer screen in applications	Adobe Systems, Inc.	12/27/95	Often described as the "tabbed browsing" patent, it looks like it would apply to any computer software that uses a "tab" metaphor to change the information shown.
EP538888	Information processing method and system	Canon	04/28/93	I can't really figure this one out, though it looks like it might apply to any operating system or computer software.
EP335638	System for facilitating coordination of activities by a plurality of actors	Digital Equipment Corp.	10/04/89	This sounds like it would cover any application that constitutes "groupware" - perhaps Evolution or Outlook?
EP501417	Vehicle transmission gearshift	Ferrari SPA		I'm guessing a typo, as I have no clue why this would be in the list.
EP0807891	Stateless shopping cart for the web	Sun Microsystems	11/19/97	An infamous e-commerce type patent. Not sure what it has to do with Linux/FOSS in particular. Status indicates opposition has been filed and it has lapsed in some EPO countries
EP0927945	Method and system for placing a purchase order via a communications network	Amazon.com Inc.	07/07/99	The "one-click" patent? Or something equally ridiculous that would apply to all e-commerce sites, FOSS or otherwise.
EP1376427	SPAM detector with challenges	Microsoft	01/02/04	Part of SenderID? Or just a general description of a "challenge" type system for e-mail? Wouldn't this apply to all e-mail servers/clients?
EP1378821	Authentication method and apparatus using pairing functions for the elliptic curve based cryptosystems	HP	01/07/04	I don't have a clue. Something to do with encryption I'm guessing.
EP1306749	Elliptic curve converting device, elliptic curve converting method, elliptic curve utilization device and elliptic curve generating device	Matsushita Electric Ind. Co. Ltd.	05/02/03	Something to do with encryption?
EP0892520	Elliptic curve calculation apparatus capable of calculating multiples at high speed	Matsushita Electric Ind. Co. Ltd.	01/20/99	Something to do with encryption?
EP0328232	Public key/signature cryptosystem with enhanced digital signature certfication	Addison M. Fischer	08/16/89	Opposition filed a while back. Wouldn't this apply to any system using a public key system, FOSS or otherwise?
EP870255	Personal access management system	ETA Technologies	10/14/98	Not sure, but it sounds like a description of a smart card perhaps (but using some other hardware).
EP0266049	Coding system for reducing redundancy	Compression Labs, Inc.	05/04/88	Alas, this is way over my head technically. The Munich list refers to this as the jpeg compression patent. Looks like it to me.
EP0561593	Image compression apparatus	Sony Corp.	09/22/93	More compression - I think with video signals in this case.
EP592062	Computer workstation with communications sub-system capable of data compression	IBM	04/13/94	OK, I really do like IBM, but it sounds like they are describing "networking" to me. Is it just Linux that does that? As an aside, reading their patent work is like reading their legal work - straightforward, easy to understand. None of the mumbo-jumbo I've seen out of most of the patent applications. In any case, this patent ceased on 10/15/2003 for non-payment of renewal fee. Another patent that no longer exists?
EP0287578	Digital coding process	Karl Heinz Brandenburg	10/26/88	This is the mp3 file format. Again - is that Linux only? Philips Electronics filed opposition to the patent in 1996 and was rejected.
EP1345393	USB-telephone, method and graphical interface for operating such a telephone	Tenovis GmbH & Co (I think this is now Avaya)	09/17/03	Hmm, looks like a USB phone to me. I think I'd be more worried if I was in the VoIP business. Can't read the German part, so not sure about the graphical interface portion.
EP0548645	Method and apparatus for efficiently displaying windows on a computer display screen	IBM	06/30/93	Displaying windows - don't most OS's do that? Any reason this would be a particular problem for Linux? Especially since it is an IBM patent and they've said they won't use their patents against Linux. The idea did sound good though - windows resizing themselves based on the users proportionate time spent in an application. In any case, looks like this one lapsed back in 1998 and is no longer in effect.
EP988609	Method and system for creating documents	Documents Limited	03/29/00	Looks like a patent on a system that that takes your answer to one question and then generates the next most appropriate question, the end result of which is some type of document (in the description, they use a will as an example). I'm thinking tax preparation software makers might need to be worried about this. Linux? Looks like it ceased in 2003 and is no longer an active patent.
EP686286	Text input transliteration system	Taligent, Inc.	12/13/95	Hmm - a new way of typing in characters for foreign languages and possibly having the computer predict the word? All the text refers to computers running operating systems from IBM, Microsoft, or Apple. No mention of Linux in there. Looks like this patent ceased in 2003.
EP1435053	Section extraction tool for PDF documents	Hewlett Packard Co.	07/07/04	A new way to pull out portions of a pdf to edit them, it sounds like. Adobe might not be happy about this. Not sure about Linux specifically - aren't pdf files supposed to be platform independent?
EP0370008	Distributed file server architecture	American Telephone & Telegraph	05/30/90	OK, a little too technical to me, but I think they are basically describing proxy servers? Obviously from the name, it is something about network architecture (so look out all you network administrators). Again, don't all OS'es use networking features, not just Linux?
EP0644483	Computer system and method for performing multiple tasks	IBM	03/22/95	I'm sure I'm simplifying this too much, but it reads like a patent on multi-tasking. Is that Linux specific? Plus, it is IBM.
EP0193933	Apparatus for control of one computer system by another computer system	WANG Laboratories	09/10/86	Sounds like any type of remote desktop application to me. How many OS'es and third-party apps do that? In addition, EPO indicates patent ceased due to non-payment of renewal fees on 10/24/2001. So likely not even a valid EPO patent anymore.
EP490624	Graphical configuration of data processing networks	IBM	06/17/92	A way to store network topology in a data file. Sounds a lot like Visio to me. And it is another IBM patent.
EP0587827	Process and device for bi-directional data exchange between computer and/or control systems	Prolink AG?	03/23/94	I have no clue on this one. Some type of communication protocal or something? Lapsed in several countries.
EP1420560	Software upgrade over a USB connection	Thomson Multimedia Broadband B	05/19/04	Obvious???
EP0242131	Graphical system for modelling a process and associated method	Nat Instr Corp	10/21/87	Got me - I can't tell whether it is just a description of a flowchart or something more. Looks like it has ceased or lapsed in several countries.

So, what can we conclude from this examination? I think the following things:

Many (probably most) of the patents involved affect software or business methods that are not specific to Linux nor to specific open source applications. In fact, several of them appear to not really have anything to do with software per se, but rather with business methods.
Some of the patents have lapsed, if not entirely, in at least some of the "states" covered by the EPO.
Some of the patents are held by companies that have a significant stake in the success of open source software. In fact, IBM has pledged not to use its patent portfolio to slow down or prevent the adoption of open source solutions; instead, the indicate they plan to hold the patents merely as a defensive measure against companies that might try to capitalize on the success of open source through claims of patent infringement.

Overall, it seems to me that Muehlhaus's move to raise the patent issue was an attempt to highlight the problem with the patent process in the EPO and problems that could be created by the proposed EU directives on software patents. It had far less to do with Linux infringing on patents.

From here, you may be interested in helping with Grokline's work on the patents or you may want to do your work here at the ip-wars.net web site if you are so inclined. In addition, you may want to read up on some of the European software patents that are owned by US companies. I will be working on a follow up article to cover some of the other patents mentioned (non EPO patents, footnoted patents) in a similar fashion. And of course, if anyone can ever uncover the OSRM patents, I'd like to start an analysis of them as well.

< Transcript: SCO 2004 4th Quarter Conference Call (14 comments) | A Presumption of Public Access (10 comments) >

Munich Patents - A Close Up Look | 21 comments (18 topical, 3 editorial, 4 hidden)

Re: Munich Patents - A Close Up Look (4.80 / 10) (#5)
by harlan wilkerson on Fri Dec 24th, 2004 at 23:44:21 EST
(User Info)

I agree with your assessment about the patent threats. Microsoft is harmless, but that and OSRM are really a separate story. I'll save that for another time. Here's some of my thoughts and opinions:

Threat : Company : Rationale
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

None AT&T. Through divestiture (Bell Labs and Bellcore) and subsequent trivestiture (the AT&T, Lucent, NCR split) AT&T software patent holdings have been diluted and are now shared among a group of rivals. Most like Lucent/Avaya have open sourced entire operating systems (Plan 9), and made significant contributions to Linux (Lucent libsafe 1.0) (Avaya libsafe 2.0).

Note: Most of the large telecommunications companies have adopted Linux and use it in their daily bread and butter operations (see more below). AT&T and its subsidiaries, like AT&T Labs Research, make extensive use of it. They frequently license their research for a fee to third party telecom companies. They also purchase switch system products from suppliers which contain embedded Linux. The value of those investments, and that licensed work, depends upon the continued availability of Linux under the GPL. Here is a typical example of a Linux paper delivered by some of their research folk in .pdf format Meng-Ju Lin, Hui Luo, and Li Fung Chang, A Linux-based EGPRS Real-time Test Bed Software for Wireless QoS and Differentiated Service Studies, Proc. of ICC 2002, New York, NY, USA, April 2002.

None. Adobe is a member of OSDL
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS3952099073.html

None. IBM is a co-founder of OSDL, has vast patent holdings, and has broad cross-license agreements.

None. Canon Inc. is a founding member of the vendor-neutral trade association Emblix. There are 96 members of the Japan Embedded Linux Consortium, and they enjoy the same government protections most large trade groups do in Japan.

None. Digital Equipment Corp is now HP, also an OSDL member

None. Sun Microsystems is an OSDL member, a distributor of Java Desktop Linux, and have just signed a patent cross-license agreement with Microsoft.

None. Amazon is a Linux end-user. SEC filings indicate the business depends on Linux database severs to locate and handle 1 million packages, and 20 million inventory updates a day. Patents confer the right to enjoin or prevent use. Amazon or Google would be the first likely casualties in any patent licensing war.

Possible Forgent/VTEL - Compression Labs. Currently suing 31 companies (but not end users) over JPEG. The US Federal Trade Commission opened a private investigation of conduct within the standards group, and could rule against Forget's claims. Some evidence suggests that the applicants published the claims prior to the filing.

None. Sony and Matsushita are co-founders of the Consumer Electronics Linux Forum (CELF).

None Tenovis is Avaya-owned (a Lucent spin-off) they do all internal development on Linux and base their products on it.

Note: The International Telecommunications Union recently created the Open Communications Architecture Forum (OCAF) Focus Group. Its working group, Carrier Grade Open Environment (CGOE), makes use of the OSDL's Carrier Grade Linux specification. Companies like Cisco, Nortel, Lucent, Alcatel, Nokia, Avaya have all adopted Linux as part of their common base of specifications. Some had already licensed and used previous non-standard versions like MontaVista CGL.

Possible Wang Laboratories (Kodak) This patent was expired, but Kodak just settled a $92 million suit against SUN over another old Wang patent re:Java. Kodak competes with Linux OEMs like Sony, Fujitsu, and a host of others in consumer electronics and cameras.

Note: They rely on a partnership with IBM for manufacturing of cheap image sensors. IBM licenses their Java VM to third parties like Palm, and Kodak hasn't filed suit over the IBM JDK/JRE.

None Taligent was founded by Apple and IBM. It partnered briefly with HP before becoming a wholly-owned IBM subsidiary. It finally was absorbed, and ceased to exist as a separate business unit.

Possible Thomson Has major holdings that have been acquired from other companies like Alcatel, et. al. Those are likely to be encumbered with grant-backs and non-assertion clauses. The company competes in and licenses to the consumer electronics OEM market. It has to license hundreds of other partners, and to form alliances with many companies that use Linux (OSDL/CELF/EMBLIX) in order to have any degree of success.

Note: There is now a familiar long, drawn-out, standards setting process e.g. VHS/Betamax, DVD-RW/DVD+RW, HD DVD/BlueRay, and etc. That area of activity is closely watched by various US, EU, and Japanese government regulators for undisclosed patents.

Possible Karl Heinz Brandenburg. re:mp3 Thomson has changed the license before, but continues to honor the old non-commercial licenses many of us still hold. Their current policy makes inclusion impossible for the big commercial Linux distributors, but not the small ones. It qualifies as non-free per the Debian FSG, but it permits most uses - even by small businesses :

Note: No license is needed for private, non-commercial activities (e.g., home-entertainment, receiving broadcasts and creating a personal music library), not generating revenue or other consideration of any kind or for entities with an annual gross revenue less than US$ 100 000.00.

Possible. Addison M. Fischer was with RSA. His Fisher International makes an exclusive line of products using his patents. There are cetrainly non-patented ways to handle keys though. The biggest alliances and partnerships are with IBM (on servers) and Siemans in telecommunications. Siemans and Intel now (an OSDL co-founder) partner in the design and marketing of telecommunications gear for switched public networks that utilize OSDL's Carrier Grade Linux.

Note: Siemans used to partner with SCO and used their MK2 with the Chorus micro-kernel. Fisher's biggest independent reseller today is T3. It mainly bids SBA contracts to supply DoD, FBI, NSF, DOE, NASA. Fischer might enjoin T3 sales, but not use by those federal agencies. He is unlikely to sue customers like Siemans, Intel, or IBM either. Linux itself doesn't rely on this patent claim. In the past, the RSA licensing model was low cost on high volume.

None. National Instrument Corp. This is a Labview patent. It's been around so long that it is a test instrument and workbench staple in the electronics industry. There is already a Linux product line. National and scores of third party test equipment manufacturers like HP "virtualized" things like oscilloscopes, and etc. years ago. Labview was one of the first visual programming languages. You drag objects off a stencil and "wire" or "connect" them just like a Visio or Kivio flowchart. There are custom and general purpose PC I/O cards for almost any local or network measuring or control application.

None Prolink They are a wholly owned subsidiary of ETM Software. ETM authors custom Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) software applications for the Linux operating system. Here's a .pdf with a screen shot.

Re: Munich Patents - A Close Up Look by mikey, 12/25/2004 00:12:44 EST (4.28 / 7)

Re: Munich Patents - A Close Up Look by harlan wilkerson, 12/25/2004 05:12:22 EST (4.88 / 9)

Re: Munich Patents - A Close Up Look by mikey, 12/25/2004 11:22:38 EST (4.00 / 7)

PS: On Submarine Licensing by harlan wilkerson, 12/25/2004 17:33:48 EST (4.11 / 9)

Re: PS: On Submarine Licensing by mikey, 12/26/2004 11:06:50 EST (3.60 / 5)

Re: PS: On Submarine Licensing by harlan wilkerson, 12/26/2004 14:35:53 EST (4.27 / 11)

Re: Munich Patents - A Close Up Look by harlan wilkerson, 12/25/2004 15:47:13 EST (3.75 / 8)

Re: Munich Patents - A Close Up Look by br3n, 12/28/2004 17:33:55 EST (4.00 / 6)

Re: Munich Patents - A Close Up Look by harlan wilkerson, 12/28/2004 19:19:06 EST (2.75 / 4)

Tabbed Browsing (3.80 / 10) (#1)
by mikey (mikey at badpenguins dot com) on Thu Dec 23rd, 2004 at 23:40:55 EST
(User Info) http://www.ip-wars.net

Did you notice that the page that displays the patent information uses tabs to display different aspects of the patent :)

Ok, stupid question about tabbed browsing. The patent specifically mentions:

A selected set of information may also be moved out of the selected area by pointing to its selection indicator and dragging it away.

If the app does not allow you to do that, would it be infringing? For example konqueror has tabbed browsing, but you have to right click and select detach tab, you can't click and drag it. Would an infringing app have to match everything specified in the patent exactly?

You mention that all software might be exposed, but you forget one thing. A lot of these corps might have cross licensing agreements that allow them to get away with it, where f/oss does not...

---
DISCLAIMER:
IANAL, may have no idea what the heck I am talking about, yadda yadda yadda.

Re: Munich Patents - A Close Up Look (3.60 / 5) (#16)
by pgk (PG_King zzzzzzz (yahoo.com)) on Tue Jan 11th, 2005 at 09:03:09 EST
(User Info)

I notice this article on linuxtoday concerning IBM giving access to 500 of it's patents for FOSS developers. Wonder if any of those listed in the article are covered by this 500.

Re: Munich Patents - A Close Up Look by pgk, 01/11/2005 09:15:10 EST (3.33 / 3)

Bye bye spambot (none / 0) (#21)
by Potential Recruit on Tue Nov 28th, 2006 at 10:48:43 EST

This used to be a spambot post that is flooding the site. Due to volume, I had to resort to this while I work to block access by these bots. My apologies - thanks for your patience.

Jeff

Munich Patents - A Close Up Look | 21 comments (18 topical, 3 editorial, 4 hidden)

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