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Symantec Patents Multiple File Area Virus Scanning
DigitumDei writes "Symantec announced on Wednesday that it has aquired a new patent (United States Patent - 6,851,057) titled "Data driven detection of viruses". Symantec has declined to comment on whether it will pursue litigation. Symantec's director of intellectual property Michael Schallop stated : 'We don't generally discuss how we will leverage this patent against competitors or others,'." From the article: "[The patent] could refer to any technology that allows antivirus researchers or antivirus products to use scripting to determine, dynamically, where in a file to scan and detect threats. It could also include the use of Javascript or other common scripting languages to direct antivirus scanning..."
The U.S. is granting too many patents for too broad of topics. It's coming to a point where even new things can't be created simply because a patent exists that, not only covers part of the new invention, but the entire GENRE of the invention.
They need to reform the patent law before it gets even more out of hand than it already is... Up next: a patent for "any process whereas pages of paper are bound together.."
Patents encourage innovation in a quite simple and straightforward manner, by providing financial incentive to innovate. If you invent something, you can exclusively profit from it for a period of time. Otherwise, those with more marketing power (or anyone capable of making a ripoff of your software/device/drug/&c.) can flood the market with copies of your invention, in which case you make no money and you and your family die of starvation. Dead inventors stifle innovation.