[IP] A Patent Claim That May Cost Millions

[Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+@ux13.sp.cs.cmu.edu
Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 13:37:47 -0500
From: Russell Nelson <nelson@crynwr.com>
Subject: Re: [IP] A Patent Claim That May Cost Millions
To: dave@farber.net

Dave Farber writes:
 >    Acacia Research Corporation says its patents cover the
 >    transmission of video and audio files from remote servers--a
 >    process often called "streaming."

Is it just me, or is there a serious problem with the standard for
'obviousness' used by the USPTO?  I think there is.  They require that
somebody *have already invented* something for it to be considerred
obvious.  Either that, or have invented the components but just not
put them together in the same device.  That's wrong.  That's just
plain wrong.  There are way too many patents being granted for
solutions that really *are* obvious, but which simply haven't been
invented yet because nobody was ever asked to invent it.

It seems to me that we need a new standard for obviousness, since the
current one isn't cutting it.  If someone can describe a problem with
a patented solution to someone of ordinary skill in the art who is
ignorant of a particular patent, and they reinvent the patent, then by
definition, the patent is obvious.

I've recently been deposed on prior art for a patent owned by Hark
Chan which is being used to extort money from Symantec, Electronic
Arts, Intuit, et al.  Basically, the patent is on the idea of putting
a database on a CD, then updating it via the web.  Even my own prior
art is preceded by the old Internet joke: "Never underestimate the
bandwidth of a station wagon filled with CDs" (sometimes "... filled
with 9-track tapes").  Any patent whose matter is anticipated by a
joke is itself a joke.

The public is not benefitted by giving ownership of a solution to
someone, when anyone of ordinary skill will invent the same solution
when confronted with the same problem.

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