MetaFilter posts tagged with Patent

What's that in dog sock-puppet years?

jamaro — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:44:37 -0800

The :CueCat finally received its patent this month, eight years after its abject failure in the marketplace. Once touted by its marketers as the missing link between newsprint and the world wide web, over a million :CueCat handheld barcode scanners were given away in 2000 by select retailers and newspaper and magazine publishers. The plan was for users to use their CueCat to scan barcodes appended to printed stories and advertising in order to launch a related website. The cat-shaped scanner also sent a unique identifier intended to allow Digital:Convergence, the company behind it, to package and sell users' browsing habits and demographics to advertisers. Trying to solve a problem nobody really needed solved and faced with significant privacy concerns, adoption of the Cuecat was limited. Today, neutered CueCats live a peaceful second life helping collectors catalog their books and media discs.

Free the Amazon One-Click! Long Live Open Source Genes!

Toekneesan — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:36:46 -0800

“I actually ran it by a number of colleagues who teach administrative law and constitutional law,” Professor Duffy said, recalling his own surprise at finding such a fundamental and important flaw. He thought he must have been missing something. Law prof notices that every US patent approved since 2000 was approved unconstitutionally and thus are all probably invalid. Looks like he may be right. Professor Duffy's journal article on his discovery.

Who really invented the telephone?

Rafaelloello — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:06:08 -0800

Who really invented the telephone? Was it this guy?, or did he just win a foot race to the patent office with this guy or was it really... ...this guy? Personally, I think it was really this guy who got the the whole telecom thing rolling.

The software patent cold war is getting less cold

finite — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 05:26:56 -0800

[Patent Lawsuit Filter] On Wednesday Sun Microsystems announced a counter suit against Network Appliance, wherein they will draw on their "defensive portfolio" which is "one of the largest patent arsenals on the internet". They are going to be requesting a permanent injunction to remove all of NetApp's filer products from the marketplace, and also seeking monetary damages (half of which they've pledged to donate to the Software Freedom Law Center and Peer to Patent Project). Last month, NetApp sued Sun for patent infringements in ZFS. Earlier this month in Texas, the first ever patent infringement lawsuit against Linux distributors was filed. The plaintiff in the case against Red Hat and Novell is IP Innovation and Technology Licensing, a company that successfully got some money from Apple with a similar claim earlier this year. They're owned by Acacia Technologies, a company with close ties to Microsoft, which has caused some to suggest that this suit might be more about spreading FUD than about securing licensees for patents. The Sun/NetApp case is less clear-cut. In September, the founder of Network Appliance (Dave Hitz) announced on his blog that they were suing Sun for patent infringement, explaining that "Sun has been using its patent portfolio as a profit center. About 18 months ago, Sun’s lawyers contacted NetApp with a list of patents they say we infringe, and requested that we pay them lots of money." Sun's CEO (Jonathan Schwartz) replied on his blog, thanking NetApp for suing them and saying that "Sun did not approach NetApps about licensing any of Sun's patents and never filed complaints against NetApps or demanded anything." Dave replies that he is stunned by Jonathan's response, in a post titled "Sun Patent Team Demanded $36 Million From NetApp". After this, their blogs went silent on the subject for a few weeks. Then, Jonathan announced the counter suit (the first link in the fpp), and Dave responded with two more blog entries. Groklaw has reason to believe Microsoft is also involved in this case.

Free Parking

klangklangston — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:09:53 -0800

A games and economic theory argument against intellectual property. Watt's on first in academic paper.

Review patents from the privacy of your own home!

grouse — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 09:08:02 -0800

Peer to Patent goes live. First mentioned on MetaFilter almost two years ago, this project allows open review of patent applications, so that members of the public can better inform patent examiners of prior art. Discussed more on the project blog. This experimental system is part of efforts to improve patent application review. (thanks to ubiquity)

My Patent Is More Famous Than Your Patent

jonp72 — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 07:04:06 -0800

Google Patent Search can be a gold mine for a historical trivia. See the design for bucket seats patented by Steve McQueen, the secret communication system co-created by Hedy Lamarr that paved the way for the frequency hopping used by modern cell phones, the disposable infant garment made by Jamie Lee Curtis, the interactive music generation system made by Thomas Dolby of "She Blinded Me With Science" fame, and other unusual celebrity patents made by inventors that range from Abraham Lincoln to Zeppo Marx.

Stop using my godly powers

caddis — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:28:55 -0800

David Copperfield is stealing my godly powers. Chris Roller believes himself to have godly powers and is suing Copperfield, and also David Blaine, for using them. What better way to protect godly powers than by filing a patent application? Oh, he's suing the Bush administration too.

Whatever Floats Your Boat

kirkaracha — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 09:42:10 -0800

Buoying Vessels Over Shoals. In 1849, Abraham Lincoln was awarded Patent No. 6469 (drawing and large TIFF files of pages 1, 2, and 3 of the actual patent) for a device for raising stuck riverboats off sand bars. The model he submitted with the patent application is at the National Museum of American History; who made the model is a bit of a mystery. Lincoln is the only United States President to hold a patent. (Other Lincoln-related patents, including the patent for Lincoln Logs.)
[via History Now's timeline of 19th-century inventions.]

Cancer Cure Patented

TravisJeffery — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 23:33:14 -0800

Cancer Cure Patented A group of researchers claim that they are patenting a possible cure for cancer involving nothing more than sugar and short-chain fatty acid combination.

Scrooge and IP Rights

elpapacito — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 04:24:16 -0800

Scrooge and Intellectual Property Rights. A suggestion by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz on methods to reduce IP rights market distortions in the field of medical and drugs research.

Death ray, fiddlesticks--it doesn't even slow them down.

weapons-grade pandemonium — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:55:42 -0800

Google Patent Search

All Your Kernals Are Belong to Us

Skygazer — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 12:00:54 -0800

Ballmer: Linux Users Owe Microsoft. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated at the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) conference in Seattle yesterday, that Linux infringes upon his company's intellectual property. Does this signal preparations for all out war against the open source community? Microsoft's recent acquisition of Novell was seen as an ominous sign. Or perhaps it's a sign that user friendly versions of linux such as Ubuntu threaten sales of Microsoft's problematic new VISTA OS, scheduled for release Nov. 30th for businesses and Jan. 30, 2007 for consumers?

We don't need no automated porn detectors

GeorgeHernandez — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 10:50:54 -0800

Detecting the erotic (like detecting the humorous) is one of those things that people can do better than any known machine. This new patent seems largely based on "Finding Naked People", a paper in the field of Computer vision.

... a page of history is worth a volume of logic.

three blind mice — Wed, 17 May 2006 00:01:32 -0800

Injunctions in patent cases not automatic. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision (16 page pdf) on Monday in the dispute between eBay and MercExchange. The Court ruled in favor of eBay finding that the lower Appeals Court erred as a matter of law in creating a general rule that “courts will issue permanent injunctions against patent infringement absent exceptional circumstances.” In the concurring opinion written by Chief Justice Roberts, joined by Scalia and Ginsberg, Roberts citing Court precedent noted that: “[d]iscretion is not whim, and limiting discretion according to legal standards helps promote the basic principle of justice that like cases should be decided alike.”

Use flash navigation? You're fucked.

Tlogmer — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 02:17:02 -0800

Patent squatters Eolas decide to break a significant portion of the websites in the world. (Previously)

Don't think citizen, you may have to pay royalties!

bap98189 — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:02:55 -0800

Today SCOTUS will hear a case to decide the scope of what can and cannot be patented. At the heart of this case lies the decision about whether a patent can validly include a step of ‘correlating a test result’ that arguably monopolises a basic scientific relationship used in medical treatment ‘such that any doctor necessarily infringes the patent merely by thinking about the relationship after looking at a test result.’ If as expected the court uses this as an opportunity to reign in the scope of what can be patented this will surely be a victory for common sense.

Back to Web 1.0, I Guess

grrarrgh00 — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 11:42:13 -0800

"A patent has been granted to a relatively unknown California Web-design firm for an invention its creator says covers the design and creation of most rich-media applications used over the Internet. ... The patent--issued on Valentine's Day--covers all rich-media technology implementations, including Flash, Flex, Java, Ajax, and XAML, when the rich-media application is accessed on any device over the Internet, including desktops, mobile devices, set-top boxes, and video game consoles, says inventor Neil Balthaser, CEO of Balthaser Online, which he owns with his father Ken. 'You can consider it a pioneering or umbrella patent. The broader claim is one that basically says that if you got a rich Internet application, it is covered by this patent.'" (via Jeff Zeldman)

Maximize Your View

afx114 — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 09:29:59 -0800

Room With A View. Has the view out of your living room window become boring and stale? No problem, build yourself a million dollar Rotating Home. A former office manager, self prclaimed "hobbyist" Al Johnstone has built quite the technological feat [PDF] despite having no engineering background, obtaining around 30 patents in the process.

The N Machine.

Effigy2000 — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 15:28:26 -0800

Physicist Bruce DePalma has a 100 kilowatt generator which he invented, named 'The N Machine', sitting in his garage. It could power his whole house, but if he turns it on, the government may confiscate it. This is because the U.S. Patent office automatically denies a patent to any gizmo which purports to produce more energy than it consumes, on the grounds that its personnel are not equipped to evaluate such claims. [more inside]

:o

XQUZYPHYR — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 07:00:56 -0800

Cingular applies for patents for emoticons. The cell phone company this week filed a 35-claim application with the U.S. Patent Office for the use of "smilies" in their devices, apparently for some form of key that automatically enters the emoticon. Some experts say this isn't as serious/sincere as it sounds, but you can read the patent application yourself. (via TPM)

Patent trolls suck. (I own that)

raaka — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 16:56:39 -0800

Where can a company that owns nothing but legal documents force another company that actually does make products to pay them? In the USA! You too can be a patent troll. Just patent any dumb idea you have -- you'll certainly be awarded the patent -- then sue anyone who makes a product that looks remotely like it could be based on your idea. Congratulations! You made money by punishing people who actually make things! Hooray!

Drugs War takes another meaning

elpapacito — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 07:49:19 -0800

A new meaning for Drug War ? It seems that accepting some Free Trade Agreement conditions may become a life or death decision to some people in Thailand. Some Thai People vehemently disagree with that.

Judge Rules Against BlackBerry Settlement

purephase — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 12:37:16 -0800

The ongoing patent dispute between the patent firm NTP and BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIM) reached a new low today when a U.S. appellate court judge named James Spencer ruled that an earlier settlement of $450M payable to NTP was not valid as it was not finalized properly. Even though the USPO has re-opened the NTP patents and has subsequently rejected most of the patents used in the patent infringement case, RIM was seeking to uphold the earlier settlement in order to avert the possibility of all sales and services from being halted in the United States.

BootLego

weapons-grade pandemonium — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 10:31:53 -0800

In a landmark decision that is believed to have wide-ranging implications for trademark law, the Supreme Court of Canada today dismissed Lego's claim against Montreal-based rival Mega Bloks.