Network Associates is granted broad antispam patent
Written by Ken Edwards
Published June 03, 2004
Published June 03, 2004
From The Laporte Report:
And yet another entry in the Annals of Greed... Paul Graham wrote his "Plan for Spam" advocating the use of Bayesian filters in August, 2002. In December, 2002, Network Associates applied for a broad-based patent on anti-spam technologies including, what a coincidence, Bayesian filters. The pathetic USPTO just approved that patent. No word yet on how NAI will apply their patent, but it could impact every spam program out there including numerous free open source programs like SpamBayes and Spam Assassin. Symantec and Postini also have patents on anti-spam techniques. Read the discussion on Slashdot.
What is the USPTO coming to? Patents are not patents any more. They are ideas. They are technologies. They are for phrases (You're Fired). Patents are not for inventions any more. I DON'T GET IT.
I wonder how this will effect the products I use, SpamSieve and POPFile. I hope that Network Associates does not start suing/killing of the commercial, and more importantly the open source bayesian filtering softwares.
Originally posted at Breaking Windows.
Ken Edwards is the Gaming Editor at Blogcritics, and calls Breaking Windows home. Ken works part time for Student Publications at BGSU as the Webmaster and System Administrator. He is also a freelance web developer.
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- Network Associates is granted broad antispam patent
- Published: June 03, 2004
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- Filed Under: Sci/Tech: Software
- Writer: Ken Edwards
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There's no way NA has the money to go after all of the programs that use Bayesian filters so, quite simply, if they do start trying to throw their patent around, all the programs have to do is band together and falt out refuse to give in to stupid demands.