Software patents - The Patented Video Shop and The Patented Word Processor
Ca. 957 ord.
In my struggle against European software patents I tried making an
example that even normal IT users would understand. During discussions
with friends I made a simple illustration of showing tabs (which is
patented). People liked the illustration. This got me thinking if it
was possible to make an illustration showing a lot of patents in a
familiar context, so that people could relate to it.
My first attempt was The Patented Video
Shop. My second attempt was The Patented Word Processor.
You can download:
- 4 pages introduction in Danish (ODT, PDF)
The Patented Video Shop
The idea for the video shop came late 2002. Collecting the actual
patents, translating them to understandible language and selecting the
ones that was easy to show was very boring work and took most of
2003. The first public mockups were released 7. november 2003.
The release spurred others to make video shops in other
languages. Most known is probably http://webshop.ffii.org/[1].
The original video shop had a couple of flaws:
- The LZW patent (GIF) was expired.
- The RSA patent was not European, so we could not go out
and say that these were all European patents.
- The resolution of the image was so low that it would not be
pretty if blown up to A3 posters (because of aliasing).
My original Danish version
GIMP-file
- åbent-døgnet-rundt.dk - ÆØÅ i domænenavne: EP1159820
- [Drama] [Børn] [Action] [Gyser] - Faneblade: EP689133
- Mariehøne er en hyggelig... - Pop-up vindue: EP0537100
- Se - Videovisning via web: EP0933892
- Hent film - Videovisning via web (samme som ovenfor): EP0933892
- mpeg4-format - Udbredt videoformat til download af video: Mere end 40 patenter (herunder DK638218)
- Indkøbskurv - Konceptet indkøbskurv: EP0784279
- Soundtrack.mp3 og Film - E-handel med serviceydelser: DK/EP738446
- Soundtrack.mp3 - MP3 er et udbredt lydformat: DK287578
- Betal med kreditkort - Kreditkortbetaling via internettet: EP820620
- Send som gave - Beregning af korrekt gaveadresse ud fra mangelfulde oplysninger: EP927945 (revoked 2013-01-13)
- Få et lån - Automatisk lån af penge: EP715740
- VISA - Digital signatur i grafikfil til at checke at det er godkendt til at modtage VISA-kort: EP0798657
- Betal via din internetudbyder - Betaling via et telekommunikationsnetværk: EP0848361
- 1-klik - Køb ved hjælp af et klik: US5960411 (Europæisk ansøgning: EP0902381)
- https:// - SSL-forbindelser benytter krypterede sockets: US5657390
- i browser - Visning i et vindue i en browser: US5838906
- Bøger om mariehøns - Link til samarbejdspartner: US6029141
- Mariehøne.gif - GIF-filer benytter LZW-komprimering: EP129439
- https:// - SSL-forbindelser benytter RSA-kryptering: US4405829
My later translated English version
GIMP-file
- 10€-video.eu - international characters in domain names: EP1159820
- [Action] [Children] [Drama] - Tabs: EP689133
- Ladybird is a nice ... - Pop up window: EP0537100
- Watch - Video streaming: EP0933892
- Download film - Video download (same as previous): EP0933892
- mpeg4 format - Widespread video format for download of video: More than 40 patents (including DK638218)
- Shopping cart - Electronic shopping cart: EP0784279
- Soundtrack.mp3 and Film - E-commerce with services: DK/EP738446
- Soundtrack.mp3 - MP3 is a widespread sound format: DK287578
- Pay with credit card - Credit card payment via the internet: EP820620
- Send as gift - Calculating correct address from incomplete information: EP927945 (revoked 2013-01-13)
- Get a loan - Automatic loan: EP715740
- VISA - Digital signature in graphic file for checking the shop is authorized to accept VISA cards: EP0798657
- Pay via your Internet supplier - Payment via a telecommunication network: EP0848361
- 1-click - Buy with one click: US5960411 (European application: EP0902381)
- https:// - SSL connections use encrypted sockets: US5657390
- in browser - Embedding a window in a browser: US5838906
- Books about ladybirds - Link to affiliate: US6029141
- Ladybird.gif - GIF files use LZW compression: EP129439
- https:// - SSL connections use RSA encryption: US4405829
ODF-file with numbers showing each patent.
PDF-file with numbers showing each patent.
The Patented Word Processor
Based on the expierence from the video shop I set out to create
another example. This became The Patented Word Processor which was
released March 5 2005 at LinuxForum. It has only European
patents and the resolution is much higher. A3-posters are not a
problem. The layers in the GIMP-file is used actively to show the
patent numbers.
The original English version
GIMP-file
- EP281742: Spell check combined word
- EP214547 & EP772144 & EP693740:Anti-aliasing, stemming and hinting
- EP665489: Default activate "the right" field in a new window
- EP767419&EP349459 Bring to front & redraw hidden part
- EP689133: Tabs
- EP349459: Activate a window with mouse click
- EP348031: Miniature navigator
- EP743605: Enlargement of text
- EP537100: Tool tips
- EP621528: Multi level undo
- EP249293: Pop-up menu
- EP449322: Formatting text using input character
- EP573262: Formatting text with control code in document
- EP240909: Word processor with dead keys (e.g. accents and umlaut)
- EP394160: Progress bar
- EP205082: Justified text using spaces
- EP262804: Spell check after each word entered
- EP660248: Word Processor
ODF-file with numbers showing each patent.
Thanks
A special thank goes to Carsten Svaneborg, Hans Schou, Anne Østergaard
and Erik Josefsson, who helped by finding patents, discussing issues
and giving moral support.
License
The Patented Video Shop and The Patented Word Processor are released
under (CC-By-SA) by Ole Tange http://ole.tange.dk. If you need it under
another license feel free to contact me.
Note 1: The FFII had a tremendous success
with this - even in Denmark. So even though the original was in Danish
some Danes first discovered the FFII-version.
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