Patently Stupid
from the Information-Wants-To-Be-Imprisoned dept
Some software makers are arguing that the US patent and trademark office (USPTO) should not be the only agency that determines whether or not software is patentable. The case is being brought up now that Maz Technologies is suing a bunch of companies for infringing on their encryption/decryption patent. The defendents say that the patent should not have been granted in the first place and that the USPTO is ill-suited to determine patentability in technical fields. I would say the USPTO is incapable of examining any patent application when I see ridiculous inventions like this one which proves that the USPTO is a joke. In the end, I’m not sure it matters how incompetent the USPTO is as long as we can rely on the courts to make fair decisions.
Comments on “Patently Stupid”
the court is fair
How about because not all of us have a couple thousand dollars to waste proving someone’s patent is ridiculous when they sue us over it?
Re: the court is fair
Well, the way I see it is: (1) yes, it’s horrible that the USPTO can’t judge what should be patented for themselves, (2) however, it’s somewhat good that even “obvious” inventions are patented so that the information is made public (and not lost in some obscure journal). And hopefully the court will make all the lawyer fees payable by the party suing frivolously….