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Xybernaut Patents Collar Computer
igargoyle writes "Wearable Computer manufacturer, Xybernaut, has encouraged the kludge that is the patent office by patenting collar based wearable computers. Besides being extremely vague, the whole thing sounds likes the Slashdot article, 'A Linux Machine For Your Collar.' There are many references to this idea, and computer collars have been used as nomadic radios and animal tracking devices before. Please help encourage this company to stop wasting taxpayer's money and encourage innovation instead of preventing it."
"Please help encourage this company to stop wasting taxpayer's money and encourage innovation instead of preventing it."
This is like asking corporations to pay their fair share of taxes without passing a law that requires it. If there's one lesson in the success of capitalism as an economic system, it's that people are basically greedy and that what's not forbidden will be done and genrally accepted, even if it's not right.
We need to curtail patents, not shame individual piecemeal patent holders. Get in touch with your legislators or spred the word through publicity stunts that patents are bad, but this sort of rear guard action helps no one.
microsoftword.mp3 - it doesn't care that they're not words...
Every single time there is a patent story we get the masses biching and complaining about the patent system, yet EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU are too farking lazy to write letters to your senators, represenatives, president, governor, etc.. explaining the problem and how it is something bad.
It's time, I'm calling all you asshat's out.
Shit or get off the pot. I.E. if you do not write those letters, and become a patent reform supporter then you need to shut the hell up and be happy.
If you are so lazy that you can not be bothered to get away from slashdot for 20 minutes towrite those letters or make those phone calls, then you are nothing but a waste of space and need to sut up.
> stop wasting taxpayer's money
Patent applications are not free. And neither are the patent maintenance fees (if the patent is issued).
The USPTO collects so much in fees that the government takes some of the money collected by the USPTO and spends it elsewhere.
Instead of complaining about companies voluntarily PAYING fees to our federal government, we should complain about HOW that money is spent--for example, complaining about the USPTO not being able to use all the collected fees to improve itself would be the smarter thing to do.
If you read the patent laws and policies, you'd see that innovation isn't hurt, but actually helped by "correct" patents. The problem is with patents being granted that do not meet the legal requirements in the first place. But then, those scenarios can play out in court later on and the patent will get killed if it was undeserving of a grant.
You can blame a company who obtained an asinine patent for doing what is perfectly legal. If it doesn't do it, some other company would, and than that Xybernaut would be screwed.
If you have a problem with what Xybernaut did then you should move to change the law. To expect corporations (and citizens) to follow laws which do not exist is as asinine as the patent that Xybernaut obtained.
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.