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NCR Patents the Internet

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the shame-is-a-lot-to-ask-for dept.

An anonymous reader writes "We all know about NCR's lawsuit against Palm & Handspring, but I haven't seen much press about patent infringements they are claiming against some of the biggest sites on the planet. According to documentation that a friend's company has recently received, their patents protect everything from keyword searching to product categorization. Patents to look for (and filed in 1998) include 6,253,203, 6,169,997, 6,151,601, 6,085,223 and 5,991,791 . IMHO, this is absolutely outrageous and is likely to cause billions in both legal fees and eventual licensing fees (eBay, Amazon and MSFT have already licensed from NCR). How is this not the lead story on every site? every day? Maybe because no one wants to get sued for having an online business."

6 of 426 comments (clear)

  1. It's about time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Finally, someone will make money off the internet.

  2. Re:And if this isnt enough... by m4ximusprim3 · · Score: 5, Funny

    everyone knows al gore did that

  3. Re:And we're all REALLY going to pay by Quantum+Jim · · Score: 5, Funny
    Sure, REALLY, I (or anybody else) is REALLY going to pay NCR for inventing the internet.

    Can't Al Gore claim prior art?

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  4. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't you mean "Not making money on the internet was patented by Amazon"?

  5. Do-it-yourself patent ideas: by Yekrats · · Score: 5, Funny
    Are you hankerin' for a new patent idea? Fill in the blank...

    "Exactly like _________, except it's on the Internet!"

    NCR Corporation provides us with some examples to get you going:
    • Exactly like a database, except it's on the Internet.
    • Exactly like a secure database, except it's on the Internet.
    • Exactly like a commerce database, except it's on the Internet.
    • Exactly like a database client, except it's on the Internet.
    • Exactly like computer security, except it's on the Internet.
    Thanks, NCR!
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  6. Re:Another example of WHY the US Patent office suc by cei · · Score: 5, Funny

    How about Penn Jillette's (of Penn & Teller) patent for arousing women in a hot tub?

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