EasyWeb v. Twitter (Fed. Cir. 2017) (nonprecedential opinion)

In this case, the appellate court affirmed summary judgment that all of the asserted claims of five EasyWeb patents are ineligible under the Mayo/Alice interpretation of 35 U.S.C. 101 and therefore invalid.

Representative Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 7,685,247 is directed to a message-publishing-system that “accepts messages in multiple ways, such as by fax, telephone, or email” then verifies the message as being sent from an authorized sender, converts the message to a web format, and publishes the message on the Internet.  Although claim 1 is directed to a computer system, it includes a functionally claimed software component:

A message publishing system (MPS) operative to process a message from a sender in a first format, comprising:

a central processor;

at least one sender account;

at least one storage area configured to store at least a first portion of the message;

and software executing in the central processor to configure the processor so as to:

1. identify the sender of the message as an authorized sender based on information associated with the message in comparison to data in the sender account, wherein the identification is dependent upon the first format;
2. convert at least a second portion of the message from the first format to a second format; and
3. publish the converted second portion of the message so as to be viewable in the second format only if the sender has been identified as an authorized sender.

Following the now standard two-step eligibility analysis, the court first found the claim directed toward an abstract idea.

Claim 1 merely recites the familiar concepts of receiving, authenticating, and publishing data. As we have explained in a number of cases, claims involving data collection, analysis, and publication are directed to an abstract idea.

Of import here for the abstract idea finding is that the claim simply uses generic computer technology rather than improving-upon the technology or designing particularized components.

Moving to step-two, the court looked – but could not find – an “inventive concept” beyond the claimed abstract idea sufficient to “transform the nature of the claim’ into a patent-eligible application.” (quoting Alice).

Although EasyWeb argues that an inventive concept arises from the ordered combination of steps in claim 1, we disagree. Claim 1 recites the most basic of steps in data collection, analysis, and publication and they are recited in the ordinary order. In sum, all the claims are directed to the abstract idea of receiving, authenticating, and publishing data, and fail to recite any inventive concepts sufficient to transform the abstract idea into a patent eligible invention.

Its decision is not quite correct, the Federal Circuit does not find abstract ideas simply because a claim involves “data collection, analysis, and publication.”  However, when (as here), the claim is directed toward these activities at a high level of abstraction, then the Alice/Mayo approach easily fits.

Analytically, the decision adds further weight to the theory that steps 1 and 2 are closely linked and are highly likely to correlate with one another.

via Patent Law Blog (Patently-O)
EasyWeb => Easy 101 Invalidation

When Star Trek Discovery is going to make it to the airwaves is anyone’s guess. Until then, though, we’ve got what looks like the next best thing: Seth MacFarlane’s spoof of the franchise, The Orville.

Fox just released the first trailer for the show, which stars MacFarlane and Adrianne Palicki as a divorced couple who are basically Kirk and Spock on a brand new spaceship with a suitably crazy crew. Here’s the trailer.

I’m not usually a fan of MacFarlane’s shows because they’re always so on the nose with their references and humor. But, in the case of The Orville, I think that works perfectly. There are no qualms that this show is exactly what it is, a spoof of Star Trek, and adding in the romantic dynamic is a fun touch. I’m here for this.

The Orville will air Thursdays later this year on Fox.

[YouTube]

via Gizmodo
The First Trailer for Seth MacFarlane’s Star Trek Spoof The Orville Looks Perfect

via DIYPhotography.net – Photography and Studio Lighting – Do It Yourself
This timelapse shows rare and beautiful phenomenon in Grand Canyon

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Half-man, half-legend. Rubin Eynon made this stunning 8ft-tall bronze sculpture for the Duchy of Cornwall. Gallos – Cornish for “power” – stands on a cliff near Tintagel Castle, a tourist site popular for its association with the legends of King Arthur and his knights.

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Rubin Eynon: Gallos

North Korean state media just released a video showing the country’s latest missile test, the first successful test in some time. The intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) has been identified as the Hwasong-12, a new name given to the missile by North Korea. The missile was first put on display during a military parade on April 15, 2017.

The missile is believed by experts to be a variation of the rumored KN-08 or KN-14 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that North Korea has never tested publicly. This new Hwasong-12 is the longest range missile that North Korea has ever tested, with a longer range than the Hwasong-10 missile that was tested in June of 2016.

Early reports indicate that the Hwasong-12 has a range of roughly 2,500 miles—though the missile largely proved its capabilities vertically, reaching an altitude of roughly 1,242 miles, but splashing down just 489 miles from its launch site.

The North Korean monitoring website 38 North, an organization run out of Johns Hopkins University, says that the newly demonstrated missile “represents a level of performance never before seen from a North Korean missile.” But the site also stresses that this missile can’t reach the US mainland.

From 38 North:

What would change the strategic balance is an ICBM capable of reaching the US mainland. This is not that missile but it might be a testbed, demonstrating technologies and systems to be used in future ICBMs like the KN-08 and KN-14. A full three-stage KN-08 would be very unlikely to work the first time it was tested, and the failure would be both expensive and very provocative. This missile would allow North Korea to conduct at least some of the testing necessary to develop an operational ICBM, without actually launching ICBMs, particularly if it includes the same rocket engines.

The North Korean state news agency KCNA quoted Kim Jong-un as saying that, “if the United States were to face our republic with a harsh, miserable blunder, the US would not be able to suffer the greatest disaster ever.”

The UN Security Council is set to meet on Tuesday at the request of the United States, Japan, and South Korea. It’s yet unclear what actions the US may call for, but the White House statement on the issue was peculiar in that it was very concerned with Russia.

From White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Sunday:

With the missile impacting so close to Russian soil—in fact, closer to Russia than to Japan—the President cannot imagine that Russia is pleased.

North Korea has been a flagrant menace for far too long. South Korea and Japan have been watching this situation closely with us. The United States maintains our ironclad commitment to stand with our allies in the face of the serious threat posed by North Korea. Let this latest provocation serve as a call for all nations to implement far stronger sanctions against North Korea.

Curiously, the New York Times conducted a new poll that shows Americans who can find North Korea on a map are more in favor of diplomacy. The map produced for the poll showing where Americans thought North Korea might be located was downright embarrassing.

Americans as a whole may not be able to find North Korea on a map, but they’re certainly in favor of tougher sanctions and even cyberattacks on the country. There’s less appetite for all out war, something that is completely unnecessary given the fact that the US has plenty of missiles of its own, should North Korea do anything stupid.

In fact, just a few weeks ago, the United States tested its own missile, shooting a Minuteman III from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California some 4,000 miles in North Korea’s direction, landing in the Marshall Islands. The April 26, 2017 test wasn’t exactly subtle.

With any luck, we’ll avoid a war. But let’s just say that with Donald Trump in charge, a lot of people aren’t feeling very lucky.

via Gizmodo
North Korea Releases Video of Latest Successful Missile Test

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“We are stormtroopers. You know what we do best? We die.” Three stormtroopers are in the middle of a battle when one of them sees Darth Vader enter the fray. He geeks out and insists that they all come up to him in this short but sweet fan film. Captions available.

via The Awesomer
To Shake Darth Vader’s Hand

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Review – OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock is the only game in town for FireWire 800

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SNL just came up with a hilarious version of Alexa designed for senior citizens

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National Geographic and filmmaker Mile Nagaoka introduce us to Yuasa Town, Wakayama, Japan – the first place make soy sauce, and continues to do so for 750+ years. The process, which involves fermentation of soybeans reminded us of how spirits are made.

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How Soy Sauce Is Made

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Nike adds trio of Rosche, Air Force 1 sneaker-inspired iPhone 7 cases to store