Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar technology

Re:Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar t... by erpellan on Tuesday October 02, 2018 @03:09AM (#18119384)

Patents are broken. I give you: The Stick.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US6360693

HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2102388

Also: we all owe license fees for using gravity.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US6368227B1/en

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Re:Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar t... by Schwolop on Tuesday October 02, 2018 @07:25AM (#18120511)

I see yours and raise you this: https://patents.google.com/patent/US20070244837

"System and method for extracting value from a portfolio of assets" - a.k.a. The process of being a patent troll is patented.

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Re:Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar t... by lisper on Tuesday October 02, 2018 @08:07AM (#18120729)

As an experiment I once applied for and received a patent on a faster-than-light communications system:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7126691B2/en

The patent system is FUBAR.

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Re:Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar t... by saalweachter on Tuesday October 02, 2018 @09:43AM (#18121539)

And if anyone builds an FTL communication system based on your design, your rights will be protected.

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Re:Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar t... by lisper on Tuesday October 02, 2018 @12:27PM (#18123133)

Yeah, but only for the next four years so they better hurry it up.

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Re:Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar t... by anticensor on Tuesday October 02, 2018 @11:27AM (#18122566)

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20170213291A1

He patented automated patent troll. Unfortunately, this will not hold in court.

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Re:Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar t... by krylon on Tuesday October 02, 2018 @10:51AM (#18122223)

I vaguely recall some guy in Australia took out a patent on the wheel a couple of years back as part of a crusade to show how broken the patent system was.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn965-wheel-patented-in...

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Re:Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar t... by anticensor on Tuesday October 02, 2018 @11:22AM (#18122506)

It is an innovation (i.e. minor) patent, though, not utility (i.e. invention needed) patent. Some patent offices have this kind of patent and it usually has less protection and easier application than utility patents.

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Re:Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar t... by mustacheemperor on Tuesday October 02, 2018 @11:39AM (#18122674)

Worth noting that both of those patents were re-examined and later rejected. Not excusing its larger flaws, but a system with throughput like the USPTO must make mistakes occasionally, and these were corrected.

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