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Dell Infringes on Patent by Selling Overseas?
senior.wrangler writes "Looks like new evidence that the U.S. Patent Office is hiring monkeys to bulk-approve new patents. DE Technologies has been granted a patent covering international transactions handled over the computer. Here's a quote from their web site:
With patent coverage securing 80% of the world 's trading markets, DE Technologies is securing licensing arrangements with international trading participants. Kinda creepy, if you ask me."
Who the fuck is going to be interested in licensing something that obviously has prior art written all over it? I live in Mexico and have been buying stuff from Amazon numerous times for like 5 years. Does that count as international transactions over the computer?
Go hug some trees.
The way the summary describes it, doesn't just about any company that does internation business violate this patent?
An international transaction done by a computer. Every online store would pretty much be guilty of this, as would all offline stores who use a computer to send out their merchandise. This is byfar one of the worst ones yet.
..is even reading the patent requests anymore. I bet it's an assembly line with a big approved stamp at the end.
This P.I.G. will walk on the water, This P.I.G. will walk on the sea, This P.I.G. will walk whereever he wants.
This may be the big one folks. There is so much prior art for this that its not even funny. Not only that, this is the backbone of the world's economy and its rigorous enforcement may well wake up the world to the problem of broad software patents and bring about quick change to the patent system.
May it be rigorously enforced for the good of humanity.
Unknown host pong.
job qualifications.
:-)
About a week ago, as part of a field trip for Computer Systems in high school, I got to take a tour of one of Engenio's (hard drive controller manufacturer) engineering facilities. On their wall of patents, one of the plaques said it was a patent for "Enclosure". Nothing else, just the word Enclosure. I assume they're talking about some particular method of enclosing hard drive controllers, but still, you'd think the Patent Office would be a little more specific than just "Enclosure".
Every time you post an article on Slashdot, I kill a server. Think of the servers!
Okay, yeah, these guys are slime and need to go back to the hole they crawled out of. Let's help speed up that process.
The patent abstract is this: An international transaction system for operation over the internet/intranet provides a pre-transactional calculation of all charges involved in any international transaction. Upon the option of the customer, the goods can be viewed on catalogue sheets translated to a language of the customer's choice, and the price provided in a currency selected by the customer. The customer also has the option of initiating the order with automatic credit authorization, generation of an electronic title or commercial invoice and arrangements and payment of shipping charges and any taxes and import/export duties.
It is dated December 29th, 1997. Let's do a little thinking and find any instances of prior art. Yeah, it should be a "dude, we all know that was happening before then" scenario, but let's actually find something concrete and send the bastards packing. Let the happy hunting begin.
It's not stupid. It's advanced.
Is this why Amazon has different sites in each country ?
www.amazon.co.uk quotes prices in GBP
www.amazon.fr quotes prices in EUR
www.amazon.com quotes prices in USD, even though the system knows I live in the UK.
Did Amazon know this patent existed, or is it just the way they designed their business ?
Now I am not sure from the article whether this company has been threatening smaller companies to build up a war chest and is only now suing a big fish like dell but I think it is a big mistake. Dell is a very wealthy company and their corporate image leads me to believe that they are not the type to settle on something like this. They certainly have the resources ($10 million) to fight this out to the bitter end and win and any percentage desired by these patent terrorists (if its ok for them to call me a pirate, then I can call them a terrorist), of Dell's international business, which is a big growth market, will be more than the cost of fighting it out and probably winning. They would have to find a one in a million appeals judge to enforce this patent and risk virtually the entire US export economy, of which almost all of it is going to involve electronic transactions or already does.
- We got there first and were early on the idea of filing business method patents
- Even the pathetic US Patent Office seemed unhappy about this one, but it got through
- We couldn't try and close down the market for this type of product with copyright alone, we need patents to stop anyone else doing something similar
Reading the patent it does seem like as always it is the obviousness test which is falling over in the US PTO, but if anyone can stomach reading it for longer then I did and can find something they think is non-obvious hit reply and tell us all about it! Does anyone have any information on how well applied the obviousness test is applied in other fields and countries?Never underestimate the dark side of the Source
(1) Method for cyclic contraction and decontraction of a variable-volume gas containment to facilitate a gas exchange by means of one or more gas exchange units located in the containment. The gas exchange takes place between the performing entity and the exterior gas mixture through a bi-directional gas channel connected on one end to the contracting and decontracting variable-volume containment and the exterior on the other. The contraction of the variable-volume containment creates an overpressure in the containment that drives a current of gas through the channel out of the containment. The decontraction creates an underpressure that reverses the direction of the current.
"But there's too much obvious prior art for this!"
Yes there may be, but it won't affect claim (2) of the patent application and the other ones:
(2) Said Method where the CO2 content of the exterior gas mixture is equal to or greater than 0.0385 percent.
Note to readers: Current atmospheric CO2 concentration is about 0.038 percent and raising
(3) (2) where air flow caused by the contraction of the variable-volume gas containment incites self-
propagating pressure gradients,which are used for linguistic or artistic communication between entities, by means of a device embedded in the bi-directional channel or or by the modulation of the geometry of the exit valve which may also be used as entrance for the intake of liquids and solids which serve as a power source to the entity.
***TODO for the patent lawyer: convert these claims to patent-speak***
(4) Breathing while doing something else.
(5) Breathing while having drunk something in the past 24 hours.
DISCLAIMER: Only funny while still unreal.