How Jealousy Could Destroy The Internet >>
<< Unbiased Survey Says Video Games Are Great For...
 tdicon 

Legal Issues

by Mike Masnick

Fri, Jan 13th 2006 11:46am




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.
9 Comments | Leave a Comment

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    The Other Mike, 13 Jan 2006 @ 12:03pm

    Now that is funny

    Oh the irony... Thanks for the laugh Mike.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    GSA, 13 Jan 2006 @ 12:12pm

    No Subject Given

    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.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    AF, 13 Jan 2006 @ 12:20pm

    No Subject Given

    Good way to cap off a long week. This made my Friday.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Mike S., 13 Jan 2006 @ 1:05pm

    No Subject Given

    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

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Susheel, 13 Jan 2006 @ 1:52pm

      Re: No Subject Given

      I believe the government is exempt. They issue the patent after all....

      [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        ehrichweiss, 13 Jan 2006 @ 2:22pm

        Re: No Subject Given

        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.

        [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2006 @ 6:52am

          Re: No Subject Given

          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.

          [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    BlindSide, 14 Jan 2006 @ 3:59pm

    Ok I'll say it...

    ROTFLMAO!

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Blake, 15 Jan 2006 @ 2:32pm

    Quickly

    Someone file that patent for "stupid patents" we all keep joking about.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]


Add Your Comment

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here
Get Techdirt’s Daily Email
Use markdown for basic formatting. HTML is no longer supported.
  Save me a cookie
How Jealousy Could Destroy The Internet >>
<< Unbiased Survey Says Video Games Are Great For...
 tdicon 
Follow Techdirt
Techdirt Gear
Shop Now: Techdirt Logo Gear
Advertisement
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Chat
Advertisement
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Recent Stories

Thursday

13:22 Court Blocks Wisconsin Augmented Reality Permit Law From Being Enforced (1)
11:55 Olive Garden Apologizes To Allofgarden.com, Blames IP Enforcement Bot For Legal Threat (9)
10:45 Exaggerated Claims And Out Of Context Tweets Used By Political Hopeful To Slap Restraining Order On Critic (20)
10:40 Daily Deal: The Deep Learning and AI Bundle (0)
09:25 Judge Tosses Vexatious Litigant Brett Kimberlin's Lawsuit Against Conservative Blogger (29)
06:28 Over 190 Engineers & Tech Experts Tell The FCC It's Dead Wrong On Net Neutrality (52)
03:23 Sex History Educational Site Wants To Know If It's Going To Be Bricked Up Behind UK's Porn Wall (24)

Wednesday

18:44 Titleist Tees Up Lawsuit Against Parody Clothier Because Golf Doesn't Have A Sense Of Humor (23)
15:57 CIA Helps National Archive Out By Offering To Trash Its Stash Of Leak-Related Documents (3)
13:23 Automattic Releases Five Un-Gagged National Security Letters (9)
More arrow
Advertisement
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads

Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.