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Another reason the Patent system is broken. — Parallax Forums

Another reason the Patent system is broken.

RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
edited 2010-11-02 06:45 in General Discussion
This is absolutely ridiculous. Anyone can look up a patent # these days to see if it is expired or not. I see no reason why this change was done other than to make money for lawyers.

If the # was part of the tooling all the tooling now needs to be updated to remove the numbers. Also, what about items that were sold before it expired? Someone really didn't think this one through and the only thing I see is abuse.

http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2009/06/22/expired-patent-suits-could-be-windfall-for-lawyers/

I can see going after someone that puts patent #'s that are fakes on items but not for items that they originally had a valid patent # for.

Comments

  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2010-11-01 13:38
    Never really thought about it. I don't see any harm in attaching your patent number to a product, even if it is expired since as you say, it is so easy to look it up.

    What I have wondered about though is the "Patent Pending" that you often see. I think that is being frequently abused, especially from smaller companies.

    Rich H
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2010-11-01 23:05
    I don't see how placing a valid patent number on a product necessarily implies that you are claiming some kind of protection, even for expired patents. Instead, couldn't it be considered a kind of public service announcement, allowing persons who are interested in copying the design or who might have health issues, allergies, etc. to look up how it's made or from what it's made, etc. and thus promote the dissemination of knowledge? How could the number itself be considered misleading?

    And if companies do NOT put a patent number on their product, couldn't you also make the same argument - that the product has been labelled in a misleading way, making you think it was not protected by a patent when, in reality, it is?

    I have a patent on a new type of door that should be installed in courtrooms from now on. It's a trap door that drops these types of lawyers into a pit of alligators. The patent number is written on the inside of the alligators' intestines and glows in the dark.
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,407
    edited 2010-11-01 23:14
    ElectricAye wrote: »
    I have a patent on a new type of door that should be installed in courtrooms from now on. It's a trap door that drops these types of lawyers into a pit of alligators. The patent number is written on the inside of the alligators' intestines and glows in the dark.

    Does the patent apply to installations at places of business in California, too? Aside from the difficulty of excavation into our slab foundation I think we also have a possible application for this design. But we'd need to cast a wider description to include all lawyers, not just those who work with patents.
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2010-11-02 05:40
    It's the mascot of an evil corporation that's to blame for such a screwed up mess.
    Which is why the term "mickey mouse laws" is used.
    -dan
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2010-11-02 06:45
    Ken Gracey (Parallax) wrote: »
    ... we'd need to cast a wider description to include all lawyers....

    I'm afraid the earth's limited population of alligators and crocodiles makes that impossible. But if my calculations are correct, there might be enough untreated city sewage we could keep at a boil to work as a substitute.
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