Sony P2P Patent Refused In UK

[GhostShip]

In the UK software patents are not recognised as in the US, this seems to have put paid to Sonys efforts to gain 2 p2p technology patents.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/17/sony_refused_p2p_patents/

Sony cannot patent inventions in the UK that remove the anonymity of the peer-to-peer (P2P) user experience and put social networking at the heart of file-sharing.
The Patent Office ruled last week that the inventions are not eligible for patents.

Sony filed two patent applications for complementary inventions. One describes a means of exchanging information between computers or other devices in a network. The other describes ways of using that information.
The application for the "system and method for reviewing received digital content" describes building a web community.

Sony's patent agent, Dr Jonathan DeVile, challenged this before Patent Office Hearing Officer Bruce Westerman. Dr DeVile said the examiners were wrong, that the inventions cannot be a program for a computer because, in operation, there are at least two computers involved, communicating over a network. Westerman disagreed.

"To be a participating member of the peer-to-peer community within which these inventions work, it would seem to me clear that each data processing device must contain all the functionality to act as a 'first user' and as a 'second user' or 'previous user'," wrote Westerman. "Therefore, in reality, each device has all of the software, whether or not all of it is in use at any one time."

Well done to the patent office guy for throwing this rubbish into the dustbin where it belongs.

[SamSeeSam]

On what basis do sony claim to be the authors of P2P????

Sony-BMG has embraced P2P before: it partnered with a British broadband-provider called Playlouder MSP last year to make its catalogue available on a P2P network in which subscribers can exchange music from participating record labels freely within the walled garden. A portion of the subscription fees compensates the rights holders.

That however does seem a little sensible. But as usual, with the user history thingy, it have the full potential to be abused.

Cheers