Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft Patents The Broken y-Axis

Posted by timothy on from the what-the-heck-it's-only-a-legal-monopoly dept.

theodp writes "Microsoft was granted a patent Tuesday for Displaying data containing outlying data items, covering the familiar concept of broken y-axis bar charts. Oddly, Microsoft's 2002 'invention' is described in detail in a 1999 listserv post and found its way into scientific journals and other sources before the patent's claims were disclosed. BTW, the patent's term was extended by 269 days, apparently the USPTO's way of apologizing for initially rejecting the patent."

2 of 20 comments (clear)

  1. What I meant to say was... by ralphclark · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Shouldn't a patent be struck down *automatically* once indisputable evidence of prior art turns up?

    1. Re:What I meant to say was... by tsm_sf · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No dude, the whole idea is to patent a LOGICALLY obvious combination of ideas A and B...

      Idea A: Thee Sledge
      Idea B: Thee Wheel

      TOTALLY NOVEL IDEA THAT YOU SHOULD PAY US FOR: A cart.

      See? Nevermind that the wheel was invented to make the sledge easier to move around, it's fair game since nobody explicitly stated such.

      In the words of Triumph, "did it hurt when they surgically removed your sense of shame?"

      --
      Literalism isn't a form of humor, it's you being irritating.