Virtual Subdomain Patent Revoked by Patent Office
The patent is now held by Hoshiko, LLC, that may appeal appeal the choice. The opensource community’s public record of the technology development proved to be the linchpin to EFF’s patent challenge. “In the reexam, the Patent Office methodically rejected each of Hoshiko’s debates as well as the patent claims,” Mc Leod announced in an announcement. “We were lucky to have the web repository and Usenet repository as validation of the previous work by the open-source community.
EFF legal director Cindy Cohn declared this patent was discouraging as it attempted to take possession of open-source developers’ work and use it to threaten others.
“Ironically, the clear opensource development process gave us the tools to bust the patent.
The challenge to the Ideaflood patent was the second patent utterly “busted” by the EFF’s Patent Busting Project. Built to combat patents, which a detrimental effect on public and patron interests, the Patent Busting Project is concerned in the ongoing reexaminations of 3 more possible patent abuses.
