Online Greeting Cards Patented

Trailer Trash writes "According to this story at bizreport.com, Hallmark has given in and licensed Tumbleweed Communication Corp's patent for delivery of online documents with e-mail notification. Will the idiots at the patent office never stop? Jeff Smith of Tumbleweed claims to have been granted three patents last year."

Comments

If they would patent spam

[Das Fink]

You know this might be the first _good_ stupid patent.

There are few things I dislike more than having some stupid piece of flash animation sent to me by email, or wore notification of said flash animation.
If this Patent stops webisites from getting my mom to send me anymore dancing hamsters, or singing chiefs I will be only too happy.

Next up I want someone to Patent SPAM

Re:If they would patent spam

[Ron Atkinson]

Naw, it still doesn't beat US Patent Number 5443036, "Method of exercising a cat".

Of course I don't mind Patent 5965809, "Method of bra size determination by direct measurement of the breast". I'm sure a lot of guys are trying to infringe on this one :)

OH YEAH!?

[Hatechall]

OK well tumbleweed put this in your ass and smoke it. I patented YOUR FACE! I not only patented the patenting process but I also patented the patent process and the patent for patenting patent is patent pending. Patenting the Patent pending patenting process is pathologically pathetic so ill leave that up to the RIAA. Permitting a patent pending processing pricky pears and a peter piper picking pickled patented pickled peppers patent patent patent patent patent......
If you are now desensitized to all meaning of that word you know how I feel after all those damn patending decisions. When will the madness end?
And not to be a flame, but is it really that important? What exactly is the real implications of this besides the obvious??

here's what to do.

[footility]

IAJAM (I Am Just A Monkey), but it just hit me that
I /must/ publish every thought I ever have to
protect myself from this slimy patent system we
have, and slimier patent applicants.

I suggest everyone else do the same. Document
everything you think, whether it seems significant
or not. Document the way you wipe your ass; the
way you lift food to your mouth; the way you pick
your nose. Document the method of transferring
thought to a transportable medium.

Fuck! I'm sick of the software /business/.

Re:READ THE DAMN PATENT FOOLS

[Waffle Iron]

Hallmark wants their greeting cards (unlike those of Blue Mountain et. al.) to be SECURE.

Now, this is a significant innovation. I was sitting awake in bed all night worrying about a man-in-the-middle greeting card attack:

• Alice chooses a Hallmark condolence card, and emails it to Bob on an unsecure link.
• Mallory intercepts the condolence card message and substitutes a novelty insult card. Mallory forwards the message to Bob.
• Bob receives the card, and is tricked into believing that Alice is an insensitive bitch.
• Alice denies sending the card, but Bob doesn't believe her. Their friendship is never quite the same after this.

With a secure greeting card, this could never happen!