New Patent Bill Introduced

msassak writes: "Wired is carrying a short piece on a new patent bill introduced that hopes to cut down on "obvious" patents. It would also give the public the chance to challenge a patent before it was granted."

Comments

Write your Congressman - very important!

[LordNimon]

Most of the stories posted on Slashdot are pretty useless, and some stories are so lame that everyone wonders what the Editors were thinking. But every now and then, a real gem appears. This story is one of those gems.

Fellow Slashdotters, the time to act is now! This is no joke (please don't mod this post as funny). If you ever wanted to make a change in the world you live in, if you ever felt powerless that greedy corporations were stripping you of your rights, here is a golden opportunity for you to fix things.

Why? Because this bill is very important. It needs to get passed. But it takes people like you and me to pass it. How? Like this:

• First, read the bill. You'll make a fool out of yourself if you don't do this first. Unfortunately, as another posted noticed, it's not currently available on Thomas, so you'll have to find another source or wait.
• Send a letter to Representatives Rick Boucher and Howard Berman. Tell them that you applaud them for submitting the Bill, and that you support it wholeheartedly. Tell them that you're going to write your local Representative (if neither Boucher nor Berman is your Representatives) and Senators, asking them to approve the Bill if it comes before them (or whatever the exact phrase is). It's late at night for me now, so I'll be posting my letter as a reply to this post, once I write it.
• Write your Representative and Senators. You can find their web pages here and here.
• If you want, post your letters as a reply to this post, for other people to use as a guide.
• About 1-2 weeks after writing your Representative and/or Senators, call them. Ask them if they've gotten your letter and heard of the Bill. Make sure you've thoroughly read and understood the Bill yourself before you call!. Ask them what their position is. If you think they don't agree with it, try to change their minds. Tell them that this Bill is so important to you, that it is the first time you've written and/or called a Congressmen (if it's true).
• Spread the word! Ask your geek neighbors to do the same as you have.

If 10% of the people who read Slashdot were to follow this advice, that Bill will become Law.
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It's easier if you think about it this way

[DragonMagic]

Instead of thinking of it as the analog-version of an internet technology, think of it, as the bill supposedly states, as the analog-version of the business method.

So it's not one-click technology... Bezos' patent is instead one of using a way to keep track of a repeat customer using a database so that the person can just shop there again and again by just choosing what they want to buy and using that way of keeping track to supply the shipping and billing info. Bezos uses a cookie for the digital world. In the analog world, businesses use Customer Numbers or Account Numbers, and the databases are either real computer databases or folders with all that customer's info.

A method to find the best price by comparison shopping online? I seem to remember that one can call AAA and get similar info for hotels.

Again, don't think of it as "How is this computer technology similar to something in the analog world", but as "How is this online business method similar to something in the analog business world"? Then you'll easily see where we can pull prior art.

Dragon Magic