"A claim to an abstract idea is not a patent-eligible process," Bilski holds, they point out, but exactly where is the line? How do you know an abstract idea when you see it? So the USPTO is asking for public comment on what they came up with for their understanding. They want to hear from the public by September 27, and they provide some specific questions and a list of factors examiners are to consider when evaluating an application.

You know pro-patent companies' lawyers in droves will be telling them that their clients should be able to patent God's method and process for creating the heavens and the earth, so you may wish to comment yourself and let them know politely where you think the line should be drawn on the abstract idea exception to subject matter eligibility as set forth in Bilski, if this is a topic you care about. Otherwise, I can see it now, their report: We got 3,201 comments saying X and only 3 saying Y, so X carries the day.

What Psystar wants is nothing less than to overturn copyright law as we know it and create a new doctrine of per se copyright misuse any time a copyright owner restricts use of its software to particular hardware.

Wait. Isn't that kind of what TurboHercules is whining about too? Here's what TurboHercules told us it wants: "We simply want IBM to agree to allow legitimate paying customers of its z/OS mainframe operating system to deploy that software on the hardware platforms of their choice – including, should they so choose, on low-cost servers using Intel or AMD microprocessors and Hercules." Psystar and TurboHercules are going after different software, but they want exactly the same thing, to force the software creator to let them use it on hardware the owner doesn't want it used on. And of course, they are two noble hearts with no interest in the buckets of money they'd thereby gain, without having to do the hard work of actually creating their own software. Let Apple and IBM pay for all that, and then they swoop in and make sure the creators don't benefit from their labor, so that Psystar and TurboHercules can.

You know what I find so striking? This is just one of four cases trying to grab some measure of control or use of other people's software against the owners' will, starting with the SCO v. IBM case.

Is SCO trying to lose this motion? Or just half-hearted? If it knows the court will not grant the motion, why file it? No. Really. Why? To keep things going as long as possible? They think Judge Ted Stewart will be more favorable to them than Judge Dale Kimball? Nothing else has changed.

When you are the paralegal, all you do is take the old document, change the dates to upgrade it, and hand it to your boss for him to add his touches, if any. I puzzle over why SCO is even bothering. But I'm thinking about that more and more. Why is SCO continuing when the outcome is so obvious?

“When one jailbreaks a smartphone in order to make the operating system on that phone interoperable with an independently created application that has not been approved by the maker of the smartphone or the maker of its operating system, the modifications that are made purely for the purpose of such interoperability are fair uses,” the Copyright Office stated.

“It’s gratifying that the Copyright Office acknowledges this right and agrees that the anticircumvention laws should not interfere with interoperability,” commented Electronic Frontier Foundation senior staff attorney, Corynne McSherry.

But Linux got bonked on the head again. They essentially ruled that if you want to access DVDs or streaming videos, like with Netflix's "Watch Instantly" service, you have to buy a PC or an Apple computer or a DVD player. I wonder why they don't see that this situation is identical to the jailbreaking a smartphone, or should be? What's the difference? Linux users want to view movies too, and all they want is interoperability so they can. I wonder how Hollywood would like it if the government told them that to make their movies they couldn't use Linux but instead had to use a Windows PC or an Apple computer? Hollywood uses Linux to make their movies, but they oppose letting us view their products on Linux? Why? If the government is going to regulate operating systems and compel citizens to buy certain vendors' products as opposed to the ones we want to use, I think it should at least be consistent. Actually, I don't think any government should compel use of any private company's products, and I wish that argument had been presented. Maybe next time.

I'll show you the relevant language in the document Determination of the Librarian of Congress and Text of the Regulation [PDF].

What does SCO want? What it has always wanted, the UNIX copyrights. It wants the appeals court to rule that Judge Stewart erred in ruling that Novell had the right to waive. After SCO lost the jury trial, it filed some motions, essentially asking Judge Stewart to overrule the jury and grant SCO judgment as a matter of law that the copyrights did transfer in 1995, despite the jury's ruling otherwise, or alternatively SCO wanted a new trial. The judge didn't do either, and SCO now wants the appeals court to rule that was error on his part. Finally, if all that fails, SCO wants the appeals court to rule that SCO is entitled to specific performance, compelling Novell to hand over the copyrights now.

In short, they want to win. They thought the jury "just got it wrong", they asked Stewart to fix that, and he didn't, so now SCO is asking the appeals court to help them win something, one way or another. Why? It wants to sue Linux folks, I presume, and it can't without the copyrights. And it wants to sue IBM, too, and unless it can get the appeals court to rule that Novell has no right to waive and get the copyrights, SCO can't sue IBM. I guess it would be more accurate to say SCO wants to not lose. It's in quite a pickle as things stand. Think of IBM's counterclaims for just a minute, and you'll understand why SCO probably feels it has nothing to lose by trying.

You'll find a copy of this calendar on each page, so you can navigate any way you like. Enjoy!

For SCO's side, Stuart Singer begins the opening argument, and then Brent Hatch finishes up the last part of it. For Novell, it's Sterling Brennan all the way. Then SCO puts on its first witness on the stand, Robert Frankenberg, formerly CEO at Novell, who is examined by SCO lawyer Stuart Singer of Boies Schiller, then on cross for Novell by Sterling Brennan, then Singer on redirect and Brennan on recross. Here's Groklaw's coverage of that day.

This is technically not the trial itself, but jury selection and instructions to the jury from the judge, the Hon. Ted Stewart. The actual trial didn't start until the following day.

If SCO was hoping for a jury that was tech-challenged, they certainly did not get a jury pool like that. And the number of potential jurors who knew about Linux, had friends or relatives that used it, or who used it themselves was strikingly high. Either Utah loves freedom or someone has been seriously underestimating how many people in the U.S. use Linux. Maybe a little of both. Judge Stewart told SCO that he wasn't going to remove people from the jury just because they knew what Linux was or used it, but a couple of them got weeded out for other reasons.

The day begins with some initial judge/lawyer brainstorming, and then the jury pool is brought in, all 52 of them, and the process begins unfolding. The clerk was expecting 55, but there are always a few that don't show up due to illness or unforeseen occurrences. Judge Stewart tells them how grateful everyone is that they are willing to serve. He tells them that juries are necessary for the legal system in the US to work:

If we did not have individuals such as you who are willing to take your time to be here to allow us to select a jury, and those of you 13 in number who will ultimately be asked to serve as jurors in this case, if they were not willing to serve, then our entire judicial system would collapse. And if we did not have an operating judicial system in this country, we would not have a country.

As I look quickly through them, it looks like at the end of May, SCO could have paid back the Yarro loan in full. I realize they had just got it in March, and that that wasn't the goal in May. And this is July, not May. They took the loan to be able to keep the litigation going. And going. And going.

Guess how much they've spent in professional fees since this bankruptcy started? $5,097,729 plus $321,753 in expenses, not counting May or bills outstanding. So, the Chapter 11 bankruptcy has pretty much wiped out what they had when they started it, all to lawyers and other professionals helping them. Helping them do what? No wonder they keep postponing meeting with the bankruptcy judge lately. And no wonder they can't pay any creditors. Anyone notice this Chapter 11 thingie doesn't seem to be pointing toward success?