Comments on: Peer to patent Summer Research Fellowship

By: Pete

Pete — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:46:01 +0000

Patents have also expanded to less and less tangible things like software, gene expressions, business methods, etc., and there has been innovation in patent recycling – the process of making a trivial change to something already patented and then enforcing that when the original patent runs out. Then there’s “submarine” patents, where the patentor has no intention of building any implementation but waits for someone else to do that work and sues them.

By: bad Jim

bad Jim — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:11:09 +0000

I’m sure I’m missing the point, as usual, but it was my understanding that part of the point of patent law was to make it clear what one was allowed to copy, since a patent only allows one to deny everyone else the right to do something for a limited time. Anything not prohibited is permitted. One of the neat rules of the patent system is that the disclosure must be made in good faith, that the inventor’s teaching must be sufficient to allow anyone skilled in the art to replicate the invention.

Please distinguish copyright law, the growing reach of which continues to track the introduction of Mickey Mouse, with the more modest innovations in patent law, where, in the U.S., the term of patent coverage went from 17 years from date of issue to 20 years from date of filing. Copyrights stopped expiring from about the time that Disney became successful, but nearly all my patents are now in the public domain.

By: salient

salient — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:40:18 +0000

I actually meant to say that readers should look hard if they want to patent a season or the activity of research (thereby gaining rights over all other patents) or the concept of friendship, but I omitted the commas.

Peer (to patent Summer/Research/Fellowship) deeply into the effluvia—next step: profit!

My dear colleague, how does one achieve mastery over the seasons?
Peer, to patent Summer, Research Fellowship.

What’s in the news?
Peer to patent Summer!
(baffled expression) Research?
(despondently) Fellowship.
(despondent sympathy) And fully funded, no doubt. No matter: It will be August soon enough. Your time will come.

From: Peer
To: Pa “tent@summ.er”
Re: search
Fellowship—good news—I’ve been accepted!

Have you heard the one about the scholarly pirates on the prowl for narrow-beam lanterns?
Yeah, something about “patentry: Search fellow ship.”

Breaking story.
What’s the headline?
Pier Top Ate.
Bizarre. What’s happening?
NTS, um, errs… Arch fell!
The pier’s arch fell?! How?
Low ship.

…That’s all I’ve got. Not bad for six words.

By: John Quiggin

John Quiggin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:23:27 +0000

By: melissa

melissa — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:15:46 +0000

Walt, I thought the title was reporting that some British nobleman had tried to patent the idea of summer fellowships. It struck me a good piece of anti-patent satire, though with surprising panache from the aristocracy.

By: Walt

Walt — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:37:17 +0000

I read your title as suggested someone had patented the idea of a summer research fellowship. Since I think the US Patent Office would patent a ham sandwich, it only seemed slightly far-fetched.