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The Patent Busting Project

<http://www.eff.org/Patent/20040419_eff_pr_patent.php>

The Patent Busting Project

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

For Immediate Release: Monday, April 19, 2004

Contact:

Jason Schultz Staff Attorney Electronic Frontier Foundation jason@eff.org +1 415 436-9333 x112

Wendy Seltzer Staff Attorney Electronic Frontier Foundation wendy@eff.org +1 415 436-9333 x125 (office), +1 914 374-0613 (cell)

Electronic Frontier Foundation Announces New Patent Busting Campaign

Will Challenge Patents Affecting Non-Profits, Free Speech

San Francisco, CA - In light of growing concerns about illegitimate software and Internet patents, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today announced a new initiative to combat the chilling effects bad patents have on public and consumer interests.

"Patents traditionally only targeted large commercial companies," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "Now bad patents are threatening non-profits, small businesses, and even individuals who use software and Internet technology." These threats target non- commercial personal use, such as building a hobbyist website or streaming a wedding video to your friends.

The new EFF initiative seeks to document these threats and fight back against them. EFF has pledged to file "re-examination" requests with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), asking the agency to revoke patents that are having negative effects on Internet innovation and free expression.

"More and more, people are using software and Internet technology to express themselves," said EFF Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer. "Patent owners who threaten this expression are creating a chilling effect on free speech."

The EFF announcement comes on the heels of two recent public criticisms of the patent system, one by the Federal Trade Commission and the other by the National Academy of Sciences.

For this release: http://www.eff.org/Patent/20040419_eff_pr_patent.php

EFF Patent Busting Project White Paper and related materials: http://www.eff.org/Patent/

Federal Trade Commission Patent Reform Report: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/10/cpreport.htm

National Academy of Sciences Patent Reform Report: http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/isbn/0309089107?OpenDocumen t

About EFF:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/

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