[FYI] The Patent Busting Project
<http://www.eff.org/Patent/20040419_eff_pr_patent.php>
The Patent Busting Project
Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release
For Immediate Release: Monday, April 19, 2004
Contact:
Jason Schultz
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
jason@xxxxxxx
+1 415 436-9333 x112
Wendy Seltzer
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
wendy@xxxxxxx
+1 415 436-9333 x125 (office), +1 914 374-0613 (cell)
Electronic Frontier Foundation Announces New Patent Busting Campaign
Will Challenge Patents Affecting Non-Profits, Free Speech
San Francisco, CA - In light of growing concerns about illegitimate
software and Internet patents, the Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF) today announced a new initiative to combat the chilling effects
bad patents have on public and consumer interests.
"Patents traditionally only targeted large commercial companies,"
said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "Now bad patents are
threatening non-profits, small businesses, and even individuals who
use software and Internet technology." These threats target non-
commercial personal use, such as building a hobbyist website or
streaming a wedding video to your friends.
The new EFF initiative seeks to document these threats and fight back
against them. EFF has pledged to file "re-examination" requests with
the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), asking the
agency to revoke patents that are having negative effects on Internet
innovation and free expression.
"More and more, people are using software and Internet technology to
express themselves," said EFF Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer. "Patent
owners who threaten this expression are creating a chilling effect on
free speech."
The EFF announcement comes on the heels of two recent public
criticisms of the patent system, one by the Federal Trade Commission
and the other by the National Academy of Sciences.
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/Patent/20040419_eff_pr_patent.php
EFF Patent Busting Project White Paper and related materials:
http://www.eff.org/Patent/
Federal Trade Commission Patent Reform Report:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/10/cpreport.htm
National Academy of Sciences Patent Reform Report:
http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/isbn/0309089107?OpenDocumen
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About EFF:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties
organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded
in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and
government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF is a
member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to
websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/
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