Re:EFF promising intensified fight against bogus software pa...
by WildUtah on Wednesday February 15, 2012 @09:18PM
(#3597083)
No, every piece of software released to the world, with or without patent protection becomes prior art. It slams the door shut on future attempts on anyone's part to patent the same technology.
The US Patent Office doesn't reject software patents based on prior art. The PTO is constantly issuing new patents on long established technologies.
Officially prior art and obviousness are supposed to disqualify a patent but the PTO doesn't care. Otherwise there would be no (or almsot no) software patents issued. Instead there are tens of thousands each year.
Proving that a patent was incorrectly issued costs about $5 million to go to court and depends less on technical invalidity than on how good your lawyer looks in a $5000 suit. No wonder it's usually better to settle if you can.
The US Patent Office doesn't reject software patents based on prior art. The PTO is constantly issuing new patents on long established technologies.
Officially prior art and obviousness are supposed to disqualify a patent but the PTO doesn't care. Otherwise there would be no (or almsot no) software patents issued. Instead there are tens of thousands each year.
Proving that a patent was incorrectly issued costs about $5 million to go to court and depends less on technical invalidity than on how good your lawyer looks in a $5000 suit. No wonder it's usually better to settle if you can.