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6:53pm on Thursday, 12th March, 2009:
Outburst
So yet again we have someone threatening to take MMO companies for millions because they hold a patent on something blindingly obvious.
The way I understand it, the US Patent Office is funded not by the US government, but by people/companies paying fees to have their patent applications examined. If this is indeed the case, there's a major conflict of interests involved (the more patents that are passed, the more money the US Patent Office makes).
This sort of nonsense can't go on. Maybe if people who managed to challenge a US patent successfully in a US court could sue the US Patent Office for the expense of the trial, or even for damages, they may be a bit more discriminating in deciding which patents to allow and which to reject...
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Copyright © 2009 Richard Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk).