Patent Databases Complicate Life For Inventors

karvind writes "New Scientists is running a story about how the move to electronic record-keeping is making it harder to check if a device has already been invented. From the article: '.. even though most online patent archives are incomplete, parts of the paper-based collections that preceded them are being destroyed.' We ran a story earlier on how to fix U.S. patents. Maybe I can patent the wheel again."

Comments

Raises a simple question

[Overly Critical Guy]

If the online databases are incomplete, why are the paper-based archives being destroyed? Mismanagement? The article doesn't get into the details, so I'm left to ponder the stupidity of it.

Brilliant idea.

[Teddy Beartuzzi]

Maybe they should burn the Declaration of Independence while they're at it, after all, I saw a copy online somewhere.

Re:Brilliant idea.

[John Seminal]

Maybe they should burn the Declaration of Independence while they're at it, after all, I saw a copy online somewhere.

That is what I dislike, the idea of burning the original documents. Why not let some university house the original documents. There is a ton of cheap labor (students). I know my university was a federal depository, we had a whole floor on the library that was filled with federal court cases on paper, along with other legislation.

I am worried

[John Seminal]

This move from paper to computer records is troubling for me. I don't think I would be as worried if they also kept a paper record as well, but moving everything to a database could mean big trouble. Large companies, with IT budgets in the millions of dollars range have had computer problems, lost data, and have had hackers gain access to restricted areas. Paper offers more security. Unless someone can burn the documents, something will exsist. With a database, all you have is a computer record. Call me old fashioned, but I want important records on paper.

It is like a library. If one day we decide to move all our books to electronic formats, who is to say a tyrant one day can't remove or change items, slowly, so that nobody notices. Maybe I am 1984-ish paranoid, but I want it on paper.

Re:I am worried

[John Seminal]

And paper cannot be changed??

It would be much harder to change a paper record. First, you would have to get inside the building it is housed in. Second, with some of the older documents, you would have to match the type face. And you would have to match the ink. And you would have to make it look like it aged right. And there are finger prints on the original documents. There are more ways to verify that a paper document is an original than a computer record.

So what happens

[Anonymous Coward]

if a massive sun ejection of magnetic field bathed the earth with a high magnetic dose, we would be ok but would we lose all of mankinds knowledge ?
digital data storage so far has proved itself to be unreliable (cd rot,hard drives failing after 1-3yr etc etc)
yet we want to depend even more on it ?
you have to laugh at the stupidity and short sightedness of humans at times, can you imagine if Da Vinci or Einstein or even the Wright brothers had encrypted their stuff with 4096bit 1 time pad or quantum encryption

or do we always have to put our hands in the fire to find out its hot ?

Heh!

[Eric(b0mb)Dennis]

Considering some of the patents they let through, if I was an inventor the moment I came up with any idea remotely good I would patent it immediately and see what happens..

Think they'll actually read it/research it back?

Remember guys.. 1-click shopping... i patented 'a method for the self-induction of pleasure' and am about to make bank..

The problem with patents

[CastrTroy]

The problem with patents is that it's impossible to know if you are violating one. With paper copies, it's impossible to look through them all to make sure your technology is not patent infringing. Even electronic means which are much easier to search cannot garauntee that you are not infringing. What really makes me mad, is when companies sue other companies for violating patents, years after they have come out with a product. They really should have a limited time to sue a company. This way they can't be choosy, by only choosing products they can get lots of money from.