US Supreme Court decision that webmasters might want to know about

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Since much of our livelihood depend on technology, patent disputes might impact some of our bottomlines. Here's an interesting analysis of a case recently decided by the US Supreme Court that may offer some respite (yes, I used that word... live with it!) to those wearied by the PTO's recent patent frenzy.

Patently obvious - The Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/05/06/patently_obvious/?page=full
The money quote: "Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, argued that the current patent regime threatened to stifle the sort of creativity that the Founding Fathers had originally created the system to foster. Courts, Kennedy wrote, have been upholding patents for technologies or designs that didn't need them, that would have been developed "in the ordinary course" of events. In doing so, they have allowed bogus inventions to steal business from legitimate ones, and discouraged true innovation.

To correct this, the Supreme Court made it more difficult for patent applicants to claim that they've actually invented something, while also making it easier for older patents to be challenged."
 


spyderman4g63 said:
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the problem. They should get rid of the patent system. It's a fucking joke.
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Right so people can just steal your ideas and products, and then you have no legal recourse... nice idea.

I'm all for stopping the petty shit from idiots who file all kinds of weird wide-covering patents that could be interpreted to be all kinds of different things, but what you just said makes no sense.

All business structure would go to shit and their would be complete anarchy and very little quality or unique products... kinda like what goes on in china with the million and one copy of a copy of a copy products.
 
I don't think we should abolish the patent office, but unfortunately the people that provide patents simply aren't able to keep up with the realities of the technology industry.

Anyone building websites nowadays could be in violation of patents without even knowing it because so many absurd "common knowledge" patents have been granted.

Honestly, the scary stuff isn't in our industry - it's in the biotech and genetics fields. Read Michael Chriton's book "Next" (not related to the recent movie of same name) if you're in to that sorta stuff.
 
I understand completely why some people would prefer the patent system disappear. This frustration comes out of the fact that MOST patents filed with the US PTO are "protective" patents. Meaning these are aimed at protecting a monopoly or avoiding a lawsuit. Most aim to be as broad as general.

Those webmasters/marketers hit by Acacia technologies' patent claim on streaming video knows this frustration first hand.

However, patent law also exists because it is a highly effective way of protecting people's ability to make a living off their invention. It also encourages people to invent and produce.

The US Supreme Court's recent decision seeks to balance these two competing issues.
 
spyderman4g63 said:
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the problem. They should get rid of the patent system. It's a fucking joke.
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Spidey, if you had said that about the IRS, I would agree with you wholeheartedly.

On this matter, I agree with $5 that the USPTO, as it was originally designed, fosters new ideas and we'd all be fucked without it.

I manufacture a product that's very simple in design and is really a no-brainer to someone who understands the technology involved. One of those things the "Supremes" ruled on that would have been discovered naturally anyway. I never even tried to patent it, for that very reason.

One of my competitors did file a patent application. (It's still pending but will die of old age) and had a lawyer send me a C&D letter. His app. is actually pretty funny to read. In part it says, "Get a vehicle, then get a magnet..."

Long story short, if the guys application HAD been approved, even though I had the idea first, I'd be out of business and he'd be making a product anyone with half a brain can make on their kitchen table with stuff readilly available at the hardware store.

As it stands, we're both still in business and earning profits. There's plenty to go around.
 
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