Dynamic Webpages? Patented!
from the ugh dept
Phil writes in with the latest examples of patent silliness. Apparently Epicrealm has a series of patents on things such as dynamic webpage generation that they're now using to sue plenty of companies, including eHarmony. Of course, eHarmony isn't without its own patent silliness as well, having patented the secrets to successful relationship. Isn't the patent system great?
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Excuse me?
Excuse me? I've patented criticism of the patent system. You're going to want to either remove that or pay some damned royalties. Think you can freeload off of my original ideas...
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Re: Excuse me?
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I patented lame business plans...
My first suit will be against RAMBUS, who, as you already know, tried to sue RAM manufacturers after patenting a process that was already "open" and in discussion in standards groups.
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From one who lived through the web boom...
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Too bad you didn't think it up
In this way, you will personally solve the "obvious patent problem" and free yourself up to address more important issues in technology, this making techdirt the true hero of the intellectual property "problem".
This should not be a problem for you, since all of these ideas are so obvious. I have tasked my teenagers with the same challenge.
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Re: Too bad you didn't think it up
You seem to be working under the mistaken assumption that prior art will be considered.
Please explain EXACTLY how this 'prior art' is to be delivered to the patent office so it will be considered.
Thank you.
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Re: Too bad you didn't think it up
In the meantime, are you honestly suggesting that these patents are non-obvious and therefore deserving of a patent?
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No Subject Given
The creation of sounds in structured order meaning anything specific.
Typing on the keyboard while touching it with fingers and/or hands.
Also the patent for walking from A to C through B is validated.
and ohh duh, forgot I also have a pantent on breathing.
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Re: No Subject Given
MUHUHAHAHAHAHAHA.
I'll be nice and just take 50% of everyone's yearly income...or you must stop breathing.
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Not exactly
I've lost the will to live to actually look into the prior art... perhaps a patent attorney could pay me to do the investigation. :-)
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Re: Too bad you didn't think it up
FIG. 2 illustrates a typical prior art Web server environment.
FIG. 3 illustrates a typical prior art Web server environment in the form of a flow diagram.
FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of the presently claimed invention.
FIG. 5 illustrates the processing of a Web browser request in the form of a flow diagram, according to one embodiment of the presently claimed invention.
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Re: Too bad you didn't think it up
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Re: Too bad you didn't think it up
Anyway, as I said above, there is a big difference, and if the natural progression of things leads multiple people to the same conclusion then it's hard to see it as unique enough to deserve a patent. That doesn't mean we *ALL* need to know what those things are. In fact, in many cases (such as the ones being pointed out here) the ideas seem *SO* obvious that the very concept of patenting them is ridiculous that it makes no sense to even list them out.
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Re: Not exactly
Oh, now I see the source is Slashdot. Well, there you go. It may be about time to drop techdirt from freshnews.
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Re: Not exactly
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Re: Too bad you didn't think it up
The issue of "obviousness" is really subjective. If the patent office was given the right to block applications due to "obviousness", we really would have a mess. The question would always be, "obvious to who...and why". So unless you stop issuing patents of all kinds, "obviousness" will never be a criteria.
I do think you are correct that there seems to be a sort of collective intelligence where people in the industry conclude independently of each other that certain methods of doing things make more sense than the others. Even in software, as complex as it is, there are only so many ways to skin a cat. I guess where all the angst about the patent situation comes from is that some individuals figure out one of those cat skinning technics before the collective, and file a patent on it.
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Re: Too bad you didn't think it up
So, if you agree that there's a collective intelligence leading to the same conclusion, why is it fair that the guy who comes up with it a day before someone else (or, worse, just files it hours before someone else) should get a 20 year monopoly on the idea? What if the second guy uses that extra day to do a *better* implementation of the same idea -- one that the market greatly prefers?
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