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28 years ago today: World's first software patent successfully filed
And so it was, approximately 40 years ago, that Satya Pal Asija created Swift-Answer, a piece of software used for "full text, free-form, narrative, information input, storage and retrieval." With his creation, Asija set forth on a quest to get his software patented -- not copyrighted, mind you -- in order to offer software creators the same protection from imitators that other inventors were offered. And 28 years ago, on May 26, the world's first software patent was approved.It took another six years (and a law degree) before he was able to file his patent for Swift-Answer and, after that, a seven year court battle over his right to patent software. On May 26, 1981, Satya Pal Asija was granted US patent number 4,270,182, making him the first person to patent a piece of software and leading the way for thousands of others. And oh yeah, dude's still at it! [Via Patent Arcade] [Image credit]
Taser International vs Linden Lab: Lawsuit dropped!
Quite surprisingly, according to Patent Arcade, Taser International Inc have filed to voluntarily drop their lawsuit against Linden Lab (and numerous others). It isn't often that we get to cover the end of a lawsuit -- they generally tend to drag on somewhat -- but it's possible that this might not be quite over. Linden Lab hadn't yet filed a response to the original complaint, the suit can be dropped 'without prejudice'. That means the suit can be filed again. Perhaps Taser International has found some far more interesting or lucrative basis for a case. It is also possible that the changes to Second Life products that now assert the primacy of the TASER trademark have satisfied the company. Or perhaps, at the end of the day, the whole effort met some unknown marketing targets. This could all be on again. Watch this space. Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.
