Re: Sharing the Family PC is Patent-Pending

[Nigel Feltham]

W Randolph Franklin wrote:

> According to Paul Hovnanian P.E. <Paul@Hovnanian.com>:
>> 
>> This could be an interesting tactic on the part of various
>> companies with too much cash and not enough actual work to
>> do. Swamp the patent office with crap. If the reviewers are
>> buried in garbage, maybe they'll just start rubber stamping
>> them to clear out their in baskets.
> 
> Australia has an "innovation patent" that is just like this.
> You submit an idea, say for a "circular transportation
> facilitation device", and they automatically register your
> submission.
> 
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1418165.stm
> 
> A really crappy patent is IBM's US patent 6,329,919:
> 
> "System and method for providing reservations for restroom use
> 
> "The present invention is an apparatus, system, and method for
> providing reservations for restroom use. In one embodiment, a
> passenger on an airplane may submit a reservation request to
> the system for restroom use. The reservation system determines
> when the request can be accommodated and notifies the
> passenger when a restroom becomes available. The system
> improves airline safety by minimizing the time passengers
> spent standing while an airplane is in flight."
> 
> They later dedicated the patent to the public.

Could it be that IBM dislike the current patent system's trend of allowing
the obvious to be patented as much as many of the open-source community so
wanted to apply for the dumbest idea they could think of to show the system
up for what it was - then chickened out of publicising the facts once their
bogus patent actually passed?