20 Nov 2003
Morons

You know what would eliminate a lot of this speculative patent madness (aside from just doing away with "business method" or software patents)? Making people who claim a patent actually implement the idea expressed in the patent.

All you have to do to get a patent nowadays is come up with the idea - it doesn't even have to work! If your lawyer is clever enough, the language can be so broad as to be inclusive of any implementation of the base idea that actually does work, regardless of whether the patent holder thought of that implementation or not.

I spotted this particular patent in 1999 - it was one of the things that convinced me that an idea I was working on at the time would end up going nowhere. Even though my idea was not even vaguely similar (really!) to the material in the patent, the language in the blasted thing was broad enough to allow AT&T to sue - and could I fight AT&T? Can eBay? We'll see, I suppose....

AT&T sues eBay, PayPal over patent. The telecommunications giant files suit against eBay and PayPal, alleging patent infringement--the latest skirmish in the escalating Web patent wars. [CNET News.com - Front Door]

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