Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Publishing On Internet Patented

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the that's-kinda-scary dept.

nchip writes: "Emedicene has been granted patent for "Group Publising System," announced on Infotoday. Quotes from the article: 'The software is unique -- it is the only enterprise software that allows all production to take place on the Internet.' ... '"Our system is a complete authoring, editing, and version-control system with complete management-tracking tools and a built-in communications network."' That Sounds a lot like Zope or wikiwikiweb." Or to pick something even more (ahem) prior, say CVS!

6 of 166 comments (clear)

  1. CVS? by mholve · · Score: 5
    When did CVS allow authoring and editing? Sure, it does version control... But it's a far cry from what they're talking about.

    What they're talking about sounds a lot like content management which is certainly NOT new - and is also not what Zope does.

    Just another dumb patent.

    1. Re:CVS? by supton · · Score: 4
      Actually, Zope does do this. Zope has set up means for groupware applications: it's use of things like versions and transactional use of an object database to allow authoring and content management by multiple folks. Zope has:
      • Versioning (albeit somewhat crude builtin, but it can extended with ZClasses that keep prior instances of objects)
      • Authoring and Editing - builtin is a tightly configurable groupware system that alows the setup of users and roles for different aspects of content management. All things published in Zope have managment interfaces that allow for editing - ALL THINGS - THAT IS AUTHORING!
      • Zope is a content managment system, without any added sugar or third party code, thanks to its managment interface
      This is why Zope is a content management system that demonstates prior art that would invalidate this patent . If you are going to make a claim, at least be able to back it up with explainations as to why it is (some data to back up your argument, and a warrant to explain why your data backs your claim)... Hell... Slashdot is a content management system of sorts (though it doesn't meet all the criteria)...
    2. Re:CVS? by _Swank · · Score: 5

      Totally agree. Before everyone on Slashdot goes crazy about how there is all this prior art from CVS, Zope, and wiki, read the actual press release.

      What eMedicine has here is a full content management system. This is not version control. Most importantly every product mentioned as prior art in the /. posting is missing one thing: workflow processes. The ability to automatically enforce some asset be edited by this person, approved by 2 of these 3 people, then moved to staging, approved after UA testing, and moved to production seems to be a key part of what eMedicine has.

      This has certainly been done before though not by any of the products mentioned above. Interwoven's Teamsite and Vignette's V/5 Content Management Server are 2 examples of products (and there are a number of others) that seem to do everything mentioned in the press release.

      But true content management and workflow support are things that neither CVS, Zope, or wiki have. Slow down Slashdot.

  2. Doesn't matter. It's still prior art. by Svartalf · · Score: 4

    Prior art is just that. Whether or not it's done in-house or not is irrelavent to the issue of whether or not someone came up with it before they did. Prior art does not imply public or private use- it only implies that was implemented in some manner at one point in time. Patents are concerned with who came up with the idea first. If someone came up with it first and can prove it, it invalidates the whole thing. That's why I snail-mail myself any invention ideas that I come up with nowadays and never open the envelope- because it proves when I came up with the idea and provides proof of prior art.

    --
    I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
  3. I'll submit prior art! by PacketMaster · · Score: 4

    The company I currently work for has been doing this almost EXACT thing for over 15 years. We're a medical publication company that uses SGML to format our books. Authors login from all over the world to our mainframe and use a variety of console-based and web-based tools to create, edit, manage and version-control publications. We have a lot of custom code binding commercial products together to do this. Also, I know we're not the only company in the same industry that does this sort of publishing this way, let alone other non-medical publishers. This is a horribly absurd patent. Obviously nothing in the way of verification of uniqueness of this request was done.

    --

    Some people take their .sig way too seriously

  4. Ever wonder... ? by MWoody · · Score: 4
    Ever wonder if, when our remembered great inventors applied and received patents, the scientific community complained to each other that it was nothing new?

    ---
    Herald: Hear, Sir Thomas Edison has achieved a patent on his newest variation on the light bulb.

    Local inventor: So, he just tries another gas in the sucker and claims it as a new product? Oh, man.

    Inventor #2: This is as bad as that Franklin fellow claiming to have discovered 'electricity'. Bloody lightning's been around since time began, and he claims no prior art...
    ---

    OK, so my historical facts are a bit off, but remember: history is written by the winners...
    ---