Patent Troubles For...Um, The USPTO?
from the whoooooooops dept
W. B. McNamara writes "Ah, the beauty of it all: Peter Zura's excellent Two-Seventy-One Patent blog reports that the USPTO's initiative to grant fewer bad patents, which is to include use of an automated "patent quality index," could be heading for some trouble due to...wait for it, now...a patent covering "a computer-automated method for rating or ranking patents or other intangible assets [...]"." We discussed the new Patent Quality Index earlier this week -- though, it's still unclear if the new system is really automated or what. Still, the idea of the USPTO being involved in possible patent infringement certainly has its amusement value.
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Now that is funny by The Other Mike on Jan 13th, 2006 @ 12:03pm
Oh the irony... Thanks for the laugh Mike.
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No Subject Given by GSA on Jan 13th, 2006 @ 12:12pm
Wow - talk about a conflict of interest! They *could* just revoke the patent and move ahead, but that will only cause the USPTO to sue itself when they realize the organization deciding the matter (the USPTO themselves) is not an arms-length disinterested and unbiased party.
In other words, HA-HA, you've been Nelsoned.
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No Subject Given by AF on Jan 13th, 2006 @ 12:20pm
Good way to cap off a long week. This made my Friday.
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No Subject Given by Mike S. on Jan 13th, 2006 @ 1:05pm
True, this is funny. But isn't it the case that the government is exempted from patent infringement issues in exchange for the patent 'protection' itsself? Isn't that the theory, at least?
-Mike
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Re: No Subject Given by Susheel on Jan 13th, 2006 @ 1:52pm
I believe the government is exempt. They issue the patent after all....
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Re: No Subject Given by ehrichweiss on Jan 13th, 2006 @ 2:22pm
If the government were exempt then there wouldn't have been that huge fiasco over the NTP/RIM case when they were gonna cut off all the Blackberry email. I know they allowed the email for government employees but that wasn't due to the patent office granting it, it was the decision of a judge who determined that a part of the government would shut down and be harmed if they couldn't find a better way. Once that was announced, IIRC, alternative solutions were being investigated.
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Ok I'll say it... by BlindSide on Jan 14th, 2006 @ 3:59pm
ROTFLMAO!
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Quickly by Blake on Jan 15th, 2006 @ 2:32pm
Someone file that patent for "stupid patents" we all keep joking about.
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Re: No Subject Given by Anonymous Coward on Jan 16th, 2006 @ 6:52am
except that here the government is creating and using it. in NTP/RIM they are just buying a product, sure its useful to the government, but they didn't create or maintain it.
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