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Prepaid Mobile Phone Providers Have To Pay The Patent Toll Master
from the pay-up! dept
A few mobile operators, including Cingular, have apparently lost a patent lawsuit involving a patent over offering "prepaid" accounts. The firms now have to pay $130 million for what appears to be a questionable patent. Prepaid accounts, which are much more popular outside the US than within, are a pretty straightforward concept. Instead of buying a regular monthly "subscription," users prepay, and get a certain number of minutes. By prepaying, the operators avoid having any credit risk, as they already have the money. Who knew that such an idea was patentable? Once again, isn't it about time the patent office came up with a better test for obviousness?
Reader Comments
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No Subject Given
Software patents are a bad idea. Maybe it sounded good but the results have not been good in anyway. They hurt small innovative startups and benefit huge corporations. The patent office will give a patent for ANYTHING. This is a big problem. I say go back to the way it was, software should not be patentable. That will never happen though because lawyers are making a killing filing software patents. The lawyers will never let them die.
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Obviousness - in Existance
At the time this patent was filed there were already operators with launched prepaid in europe D1 in Germany, TMN in Portugal. - James
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Prepaid Accounts
Get real. It was a true invention. Anytime electronics with a new and different process involved, its patentable.
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