You Cannot Patent Public Domain Property
October 24, 2017
Oh, Google! Is there no end to the amount of mischief you will cause to make a dollar? Bleeping Computer reports that, “Google Is Accused Of Trying To Patent Public Domain Technology” and that is not right. A Polish assistant professor named Jaroslaw Duda invented a technology called Asymmetric Numeral Systems. He said he released it to the public domain so it would not be trapped in restrictive licenses.
Duda’s Asymmetric Numeral Systems (ANS) is a powerful family of entropy coding methods that is used in data compression systems. These include Apple’s LZFSE compressor, Facebook’s standard compressor, and Google’s Draco 3D compressor. Technology companies love ANS, because it has faster compression and decompression speeds with minimal data loss and computational costs.
Duda has a sarcastic response to Google trying to patent his technology, saying it was a nice “thank you” from a “don’t be evil” company. He is also bringing a very strong case against Google and also strong supporters:
The International Search Authority [ISA], a WIPO department tasked with searching prior patents, has already sided with Duda on the topic and published a scathing review, calling Google’s patent as not comprising ‘an inventive contribution over the prior art, because it is no more than a straightforward application of known coding algorithms.
Writing on online forums, Duda said he had high hopes when he first reached out to Google.
There was a moment they gave me hope for a formal collaboration with my University so I could build a team, but then silence … probably due to this patent application,” the researcher wrote. ‘[Right now,] Google is not responding, probably currently rewriting the patent – showing its determination to reach this monopoly..’
Google might have deep pockets and powerful lawyers, but Duda released ANS as public domain technology in 2014. Good luck trying to overcome that, Google! Not really.
Whitney Grace, October 24, 2017
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