Google has added another piece of search software to its arsenal, with the launch of Google Patent Search. The patent search site, launched as a beta on Wednesday night, is designed to sift through the approximately 7 million U.S. patents by a variety of parameters including filing date, issue date, patent number and inventor.
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There doesn't seem to be an easy way to print patents from the Google site. Each page is stored as a PNG image, so they can be printed individually, but this isn't very convenient for large patents. It would be nice to be able to save the entire document in PDF format.
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I use http://www.pat2pdf.org/ for patents; it's too bad Google didn't integrate this feature.
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Here's the problem: under US patent law, you are liable for triple damages for knowingly infringing a patent (assuming that the patent stands up in court and you're found to be infringing). You are better off, if you do software development, never to search for patents.
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"read and cry:
" rel="nofollow">http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT7028023&id=Szh4AAAAEBAJ&...
That can't be right. According to some of the items there, Microsoft has a patent on 'Symbolic links'. ln -s anyone? That has been around since before Microsoft was even a gleam or the slightest thought in Bill's eye.
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Gee, I heard the US Patents Office was broke but this... this is unbelievable.
Is there any possibility I can go there and try to patent "Breathing air" ?
... Just can't see how is it even possible, if it is not by corruption, that something like a linked list could be patented. I just can't believe this is all about incompetence.
Thank god I'm no american.
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It makes me wonder if there are any computer systems and operating systems in use today that are NOT patent encumbered in some manner?
Hehe - there's probably very little software that doesn't infringe on some sort of obvious and "non-novel" patent, or infringe on a patent with prior art.
In contrast, there's also (hopefully) very little software that infringes on patent/s that would actually stand up in court.
IMHO it's about cost cutting - it'd cost a lot for the patent office to properly determine which patents should and shouldn't be granted, so they grant patents that shouldn't be granted and let the courts figure it out later.
The main problem with this is nuisance court cases, where company A attempts to send company B into bankrupcy (and/or damage company B's reputation) using messy and prelonged court cases that company A knows they shouldn't win before they start.
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RE[2]: At least Linus is a practical man
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Or, my favorite:
http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT5443036&id=OfwkAAAAEBAJ&...
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Another favorite.
http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT6313371&id=7vUHAAAAEBAJ&...
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Just as a point of interest, in my googling on patent law issues, I came across this paper: http://www.law.northwestern.edu/colloquium/law_economics/lichtman.p...
Sorry it's a .pdf, and not a short one, but for those really interested in the intricacies of US patent law and the implications from patent trolls etc. I think it's worth a read.
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There's a powerful strategy to fight software patents: defensive publication (prior art).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensive_publication
http://osapa.org/information.html
If you are a FOSS supporter, and you've just had a great idea, or you've seen it posted in a mailing list, the best thing you can do is let the world know about it as soon as possible, before big corporations get a patent for this idea, and no-one else (including you) can use it. The patent system will hopefully fall to pieces in the near future, but you never know, better safe than sorry. Applying for a patent and then making it open is expensive. Defensive publication is free.