Configuring A Product Online? Patented! Lots Of Companies Sued
from the encouraging-innovation,-huh? dept
Would you believe that the concept of allowing people to configure a product online before ordering it has been patented? Indeed, just such a patent is at the center of a new lawsuit filed by some unknown patent hoarding company (amazingly not filed in Marshall, Texas!) against Hyundai, Michelin, Reebok, Puma and Polo Ralph Lauren for daring to offer a feature on their websites that let people configure products before ordering. This was hardly a unique or new idea at the time the patent was filed and it's difficult to see why it ever was issued -- yet here we are. And people still think the patent system doesn't need reform?
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Filed Under: innovation, patents
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OMFG
This is just another in a long list of reasons why the current patent system needs to be taken out behind the barn and shot through the head... with buckshot.
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OMFG
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What on earth?
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Patents
Palm Estates
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You can't do that!
It has already been patented. What is more, suggesting it has been patented. So Darquirrin, expect demands for money any time now.
The above is humour but the way things are going it may soon be close to the truth. What a sad world we live in.
Hang on, I have an idea. I think I will patent "Creating ludicrous patents for the purpose of extorting money" and then go after the people screwing up the system. If the subject of this article is an example of the things the idiots at the patent office permit then it might actually work.
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My lawyer will be contacting you all shortly.
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wow.... there goes all the computer manufacturers
Y dont we just do "everyone vs everyone" like they did in southpark and get it overwith
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reform
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Only in the USA?
It seems that the system works reasonably well in just about every other country on this planet. Maybe the government aught to step in as it is making the country look like a joke to the rest of the world. From the outside you get the impression that every American citizen is likely to end up in court due to some ridiculous reason at least once during their lives. Maybe you should just shoot every lawyer in the country and start again?
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Hmmmm
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What The HECK
What situation does this create? One where people have a great idea but can't execute it because A - someone who's never going to really execute it anyway already patented the idea itself so he/she/it can sue whoever thinks of it next and B - many people just can't afford to buy a share of those patents. So many great, great idea's go to waste before the creator can even start gathering the resources needed for it.
What's the point of patenting every lousy bit anyway? It should be plain forbidden. The ones who engage in such activities should be sued for 'patents rape'. I agree that certain idea's just have to be put in a safe spot, like a whopping new car technology, an actually working antigravity device or a new type of video screen. But then there are the kinds of patents which simply should never have been put safe in the first place, like the before mentioned locations of webbrowser button, storylines for books or raw materials used for building something. If this keeps going like the way it does now we can just forget our gift of innovation and sit down in our murky rooms complaining about how everything still sucks.
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They forgot pizza.
Sue the shit out of everyone, because that will better the market... or something right?
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Oh shit!
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I'm surprised
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Is It Time?
Although it isn't entirely the patent system's fault. It's the "I'm going to sue you because I can" mentality. The patent office just needs to step up their research. That's all.
These tech patents are all wordy and vague, so the patent office might have let it slip just because they didn't understand them. But because of that, silly patents were allowed to slip through the cracks.
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Open Source Patents?
If not, maybe we should start our own little patents office where people can get their inventions written down with some sort of general public license attached to it. The creator still gets his honors, not by money but by recognition!
Imagine seeing "invented by %name" on all the stuff you buy instead of the usual "made in %country". After you've seen the same name on a couple of things, you google for the name, you find some email addy, you mail whoever it is and he/she feels right about having invented something and gets encouraged to invent more kool stuffz. Or, you invented something that uses a part invented by %name, you use it, include their name in the "invented by" tag and viola, props for both. Personally, I would like that kind of recognition much, much more then getting $$$/having to sue to get my $$$ everytime someone uses my invention.
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Maybe not the patent system
In the US, there are no penalties for suing someone and losing. In other countries, if you lose the case, you're usually responsible for the other party's legal bill.
But, here is the US, "suers" are actually rewarded for filing frivilous lawsuits, especially against big companies. Many times, these companies will simply settle out of court (for a huge sum of money) rather than getting bad publicity or risking a jury trial where jurors may be biased against "big business".
Remember the case where the old lady sued McDonald's because she spilled hot coffee on her lap? The issue wasn't about why the coffee was on her lap or what she was doing at the time: the issue was whether McDonald's coffee was too hot (um, coffee's supposed to be hot) or whether there were "proper warnings" on the coffee cup.
SO, McDondald's settles out of court (for millions of dollars) just to stop the bad publicity.
What does this mean for patent hoarders? Basically that they can sue anyone for anything and they'll probably get some money, usually because the other company doesn't want to spend their money going to court.
But, if the legal system forced every case to go to trial AND forced the loser to pay the winner's legal bills, then it would be a much larger risk for the suing company.
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Re: Maybe not the patent system
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm
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Re: Maybe not the patent system
Big companies that want to squeeze little guy out of existence do it.
Small companies that are on the edge of bankruptcy do it.
Failing companies that think the market owes them something do it.
Patent hoarder/trolls (you know, the ones that are a group of people that patent something obvious then hire a group of lawyers to actively search for "violators") that want to get rich quick without really trying do it.
I think that forcing a case to go to trial before ANY ACTION is taken (no more use of loopholes and other crap to get past the legal system either) would do a lot of good and penalties for the loser would help. And one more thing. There should be massive (even larger than losing) penalties for starting a lawsuit then suddenly dropping it and trying to get out of paying the legal fees of the party they sued.
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prior art?
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