Language Transfer is being sued?!

[rdearman]

Why doesn't he just geoblock people from the usa? It is only a US patent.

[Cavesa]

Why doesn't he just geoblock people from the usa? It is only a US patent.

Because of his values, I would say.

His whole motivation is much more humanitarian than pedagogic or linguistic. He is making courses for people to understand each other better in regions with mixed population, like his home Cyprus. The US could be perceived as exactly such a region. Plus it is a country known to be the worst at languages and not always awesome at understanding others or empathy. Also, he is making those courses for free to help remove the economical barrier to education, and the US is a country with huge differences between the rich and the poor, where such free resources can make a lot of difference.

Geoblocking would go directly against all that.

And not only that. It might also not be the end. I don't think a huge company like MT will just stop. If they win once, they will continue. They may not be that known in other countries, but they are still present on the market. Canada and the EU (right now proving their stance about similar matters and it is not a nice one) will be the next. It is just a US patent for now, but I have no doubt they would have much easier time making patents for other countries than one man with little money. Especially should they attempt it after winning over him once already.

[Cainntear]

Why doesn't he just geoblock people from the usa? It is only a US patent.

The biggest issue is that he appears to be using a US-based host. Whether the lawyer is referring to the Soundcloud hosting or the actual Language Transfer website I don't know.

But certainly, moving out of the US seems like a sensible approach.

His whole motivation is much more humanitarian than pedagogic or linguistic.

Unfortunately he seems to be quite convinced that that means the rules don't apply to him. He talks about not being a business and not having a product to sell, but that wouldn't be a defence even if it was true... which it isn't. He's taking in money for a service, even if he's not making a lot.

And not only that. It might also not be the end. I don't think a huge company like MT will just stop. If they win once, they will continue. They may not be that known in other countries, but they are still present on the market. Canada and the EU (right now proving their stance about similar matters and it is not a nice one) will be the next. It is just a US patent for now, but I have no doubt they would have much easier time making patents for other countries than one man with little money. Especially should they attempt it after winning over him once already.

Patents can only be taken out on something novel which hasn't been published or disclosed. When you file a patent in one jurisdiction you are effectively disclosing the invention, which means the possibility of filing any international patents goes out the window.

Why was the patent only filed in the US? Probably because they figured that other countries would never have approved it -- no country is as friendly to weak or bullshit patents as the USA...

[Jim]

When you file a patent in one jurisdiction you are effectively disclosing the invention, which means the possibility of filing any international patents goes out the window.

Not quite true, priority can be claimed in most countries under the Paris Convention within 12 months of first filing.

Why was the patent only filed in the US? Probably because they figured that other countries would never have approved it -- no country is as friendly to weak or bullshit patents as the USA...

I won’t disagree with you here though! Compared to the UK, the US definitely has a much broader policy for granting protection.

[Cainntear]

When you file a patent in one jurisdiction you are effectively disclosing the invention, which means the possibility of filing any international patents goes out the window.

Not quite true, priority can be claimed in most countries under the Paris Convention within 12 months of first filing.

Fair enough, but that's well in the past now.

[jonm]

Happy to see Language Transfer has legal representation. I'm not a lawyer, but they seem quite capable, judging from the entertaining letter they sent back challenging the patent.

[zenmonkey]

I can see how MT is seeing Language Transfer as a threat, but patenting "the question answer format"? What?!

It's disingenuous to suggest that the MT format is not something unique to MT. When Language Transfer first came out, there was discussion here about "it's an obvious clone of MT, hopefully it's tweaked enough to avoid lawsuits." Guess not!

I have mixed feelings. I totally support the right of the original author to sue, and if MT were here, I'd hope that he'd sue Mihalis for every penny he has ... probably not many.

But ... MT is long gone and it's a corporate thing now. Copyright is supposed to expire at some point after the death of the author, but they keep getting the law changed and extending, which is why the US has no books in the public domain after the appearance of Mickey Mouse.

Copyright doesn't protect a method but a work.
This is like saying someone cannot program because the idea of writing a program language is copyrighted.

They are trying to protect a patent. In my view, it won't work but will have a "chilling effect" of anyone trying to put out learning material in this style.

[zenmonkey]

I don't think a huge company like MT will just stop. If they win once, they will continue. They may not be that known in other countries, but they are still present on the market. Canada and the EU (right now proving their stance about similar matters and it is not a nice one) will be the next. It is just a US patent for now, but I have no doubt they would have much easier time making patents for other countries than one man with little money. Especially should they attempt it after winning over him once already.

MT?

This is an intellectual property fight with Hachette (Hodder and Stoughton is an imprint, H & S owns John Murray Learning and Hodder Education, structures which use the 'MT' related rights (held by Hodder Headline Limited)). In my opinion, like any publisher with brand management, they are trying to slow down any method that might impact their brand value or generate value by forcing licensing. They are basically require to "hassle" and send out that cease and desist to protect potential future rights, force licensing, etc...

They will likely attempt to negotiate a licensing agreement of some sort.

And I don't think they will not try to get patents outside the US for this. I'd guess that a) you can't patent a pause button function for language learning today and b) a patent denial would likely be strategically costly for them.

(This post and any related post on this subject are the my own personal opinion and not intended to question the character of the actors involved. Aside from the actions that the forum can take, a simple request may be made directly to me by private message to address any opinion I post.)

[Serpent]

I thought a key feature of their patent was the presence of two "students", one of which makes mistakes? Does that even apply to LT?

[zenmonkey]

I thought a key feature of their patent was the presence of two "students", one of which makes mistakes? Does that even apply to LT?

A patent may have multiple claims, not all elements or claims of a patent need to present to make an intellectual property infringement case.