Collecting Clinical Data Over The Internet? You'll Probably Get Sued For Patent Infringement
from the promoting-innovation? dept
The number of examples of problems with the patent system keep piling up. Kevin submits the latest story about a small patent holding company that is suing plenty of companies for a patent on collecting and validating clinical test data over the internet. Reading through the patent itself is fun. They act as if it's an amazing innovation to collect and validate such data online. However, what's more interesting in this case, is how the company that owns the patent, Datasci, is proceeding with its legal strategy. Following the well worn path of other patent hoarders, it focused on a smaller software company that was unlikely to want to go through the long legal fight. However, it also threatened to sue that company's customers. Suddenly, the stakes are much higher, and the company has a lot more pressure to settle, just to keep its customers from freaking out over some lawsuit just because they're using some data collection software. So, that software company settles, and pays out a few million dollars. The patent holder then uses those millions to turn around and sue another, slightly larger company... and the cycle repeats. No one challenges the patent because it's just to expensive, and the risk from exposing customers to a possible liability increases the perceived cost of your solution, making it imperative to get the thing settled as quickly as possible. Again, this is the patent system at its worst. A totally obvious idea, being used to extort money out of companies who basically have no choice but to pay up.
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Patent Smatent
And lo and behold, it has to do with the medical community again!
Will someone come up with an 'original idea sometime?' Even if it is evil, not good for the overall consumer/business/encomic synergistic system. Just one orginal idea? I mean, there has to be a Dr. Evil out there somewhere that can think.
Maybe someone should sue these people for ripping off the trial lawyers idea. Hear that trial lawyers? They ripped off your idea... Go sue em, sick, sick, sick...
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Re:
Well, I guess it's a good thing that the PTO doesn't check prior art......
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in soviet russia...
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HIPAA
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Re: HIPAA
Take your appeal to authority elsewhere.
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Re: HIPAA
Why would it be moot? HIPAA doesn't prevent clinical information from being transmitted. HIPAA mostly places responsibility sa as to treat PHI (protected health information) confidentially.
So it isn't moot at all.
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Re: Re: HIPAA
He thinks perhaps that if he drops a couple of buzzwords that people will find him insightful?
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Re: Re: Re: HIPAA
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Safer Medican Community
With patents being broken and doctors not knowing what is considered "safe" with medical (specifically test) data, the best solution is to have a third party step in. No more shady software frauds that are going to cause medical companies millions.
Lets protect data the right way
http://www.essentialsecurity.com/Documents/article5.htm
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This will be over soon...
The alternative, of course, is to capitulate and then pharmas will charge $250 for a single Vicodin pill, to recoup yet another cost of doing R&D.
-C
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It is called "Biologically based methods and apparatus for the centralized collection and assimilation of geographically distributed data via remote transmission with verification of input data to the collection system".
Basically, the process is this:
1) collect bound data packet from geographically distributed source for assimilation (check out a book from the library, or purchase from an "interactive selection vendor" - Amazon, B&N, et al)
2) transmit collected data packets via remote transmission medium (begin reading said book with your peepers)
3) assimilate remotely transmitted data (comprehend said reading material)
4) verify assimilated data with run-time filters (decide if the book is good/bad/uplifting/objectionable/etc)
5) retransmit assimilated and verified data via remote medium to target sources (talk about said book with friends, or post to your blog)
There. Until the world finally plunges into illiteracy, I get royalties from everyone!
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It is called "Biologically based methods and apparatus for the centralized collection and assimilation of geographically distributed data via remote transmission with verification of input data to the collection system".
Basically, the process is this:
1) collect bound data packet from geographically distributed source for assimilation (check out a book from the library, or purchase from an "interactive selection vendor" - Amazon, B&N, et al)
2) transmit collected data packets via remote transmission medium (begin reading said book with your peepers)
3) assimilate remotely transmitted data (comprehend said reading material)
4) verify assimilated data with run-time filters (decide if the book is good/bad/uplifting/objectionable/etc)
5) retransmit assimilated and verified data via remote medium to target sources (talk about said book with friends, or post to your blog)
There. Until the world finally plunges into illiteracy, I get royalties from everyone!
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Re: Your Patent
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re HIPAA
Basically, this is a "process" patent for these steps: browse to web page, login, upload data, system verifies data for accuracy, system prompts for correction of data (text in a number field?), store data.
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re: Jacqui
I'm glad someone got a kick out of it... :-)
...now, where did I put that patent application for the Japanese Tea Ritual ??
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HIPAA, IRB
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Hold on...
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Re:
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Techdirt is broken
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Re: Techdirt is broken
When your best retort is "he doesn't know anything" it makes me wonder what value you add.
Robert, please, as I've told you probably a thousand times already: I have no problem discussing the patent system and if you want to challenge me on actual issues, I will discuss them. Insults, however, don't hurt my argument. They just make it look like you don't have one.
So, go ahead and explain to me why this patent was good for everyone? Explain to me how it help move innovation forward, rather than hold it back by increasing costs for doing something obvious.
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PF Capitulation
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Evil DataSci
It is amazing how much scam the patent offices have become to allow this kind of things to go on in the US. Ultimately, these scams, instead of helping the competition and preserving IP rights, actually take the business competition and innovation down. Only a few gutter leaches in such a company can prosper in such a situation.
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join industry
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