Digital Property Ownership... Patented!

from the um...-wait dept

Well, here's a Friday afternoon patent stumper. We've had some great discussions lately about the issue of ownership of virtual goods in gaming environments and the crazy legal ramifications it's raising. However, most of us never thought to wonder if the idea of ownership of virtual goods had been patented. Apparently, it has been, as virtual ownership pioneer Julian Dibbell has discovered. You might recognize some of the names of the patent owners too. Ron Martinez, Greg Guerin, and Bruce Schneier happen to own a patent on a virtual property system. Ed Felten takes a look at the patent and suggest that it appears to cover the patent system itself. So, apparently, there's no need to debate the issues related to ownership of digital goods. It's already been patented. I also wonder if this can apply to any of the digital music services, as well.
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  1. identicon
    Ed Halley, 2 Feb 2004 @ 6:48am

    No Subject Given

    Repeat after me: "A patent granted on an obvious idea is not news."

    The USPTO is not a regulatory agency. It is a database of known methods. It has already admitted that it only searches within its own database to find prior art. Adding one more element to the database harms noone. The vast majority of patents are used defensively, or as political bargaining chips between two rival corporations.

    To be newsworthy, there has to be some conflict. Does the patent owner prosecute to withhold those obvious methods from someone else?

    If nobody's suing over the patent, then STFU about patents, already; the story ain't worth the bandwidth it's printed on.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    PhuzzyLogic, 2 Feb 2004 @ 8:23am

    Re: No Subject Given

    Some of us actually enjoy reading the opinions of others, and it is good that you exercise your rights to express your view.

    "Cranky people should not have an internet connection." SAT '98

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Frank Joiuse, 2 Feb 2004 @ 8:11pm

    Re: No Subject Given

    One time I was in a spaceship and saw my house

    link to this | view in thread ]


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