News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by robmccoll on Friday October 23, 2015 @07:48AM (#10437967)
I have often thought about trying to patent the patent troll process.
Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by chris_wot on Friday October 23, 2015 @08:11AM (#10438063)
Yeah, sorry but there is prior art.
Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by dan_blanchard on Friday October 23, 2015 @10:32AM (#10438786)
But I thought prior art doesn't matter anymore? In 2013 the US patent system changed from first-to-invest to first-to-file.
Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by amalcon on Friday October 23, 2015 @10:45AM (#10438873)
I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, if you're actually in a situation where it matters you should check with a real lawyer, etc.

This is a common misconception. First-to-file does not mean that prior art doesn't matter. First-to-file means that, if I invent something today, you invent it tomorrow, you try to patent it the next day, and I try to patent it three days from now, nobody gets the patent. In first-to-invent, I would get the patent.

The 2013 law explicitly still gives weight to prior art.

Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by rhino369 on Friday October 23, 2015 @12:42PM (#10439707)
Prior art still invalidates a patent. First to file only comes up when you have to people inventing the same thing at similar times.

You can invent something without it being prior art if you don't publish how to do it, file a patent, or use/sell it in commerce.

So if you are testing a new invention in secret and then the University of Wisconsin files a patent on the same thing, they get the patent. If someone else had already sold the products or described it publicly, nobody could get a patent on it (except for the person who sold it and then only for a year after they sold it).

Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by monochromatic on Friday October 23, 2015 @11:45AM (#10439323)
That is not at all what first-to-file means. Depressingly common misconception though.
Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by WildUtah on Friday October 23, 2015 @09:21AM (#10438366)
That doesn't stop software patents on literally millions of long established practices.
Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by TeMPOraL on Friday October 23, 2015 @09:33AM (#10438409)
Can we get a patent on prior art itself?
Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by chris_wot on Friday October 23, 2015 @10:20AM (#10438690)
Only if there is no prior art.
Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by TeMPOraL on Friday October 23, 2015 @10:21AM (#10438701)
So it's prior art all the way down?

Also, does the patent on all prior art cover itself?

Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by chris_wot on Friday October 23, 2015 @01:15PM (#10439929)
IANAL, but I doubt you can patent recursion either.
Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by TeMPOraL on Friday October 23, 2015 @01:30PM (#10440015)
"A method for defining an computational operation, performed by a computer system or a mechanical equivalent of thereof, in terms of the same computational operation performed by the identical system. Such computational operation is defined in such a way it consists of two separate computational suboperations - one and only one of them is defined completely in terms of the composed computational operation itself."

Sounds like it could fly with USPTO.

(And if it doesn't, you can try and confuse people by patenting Y combinator.)

Re:Patent US5443036 – Method of exercising a cat by jml7c5 on Friday October 23, 2015 @05:09PM (#10441311)
Halliburton at one point attempted to patent it. http://www.google.com/patents/US20080270152