Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Patent Databases Complicate Life For Inventors

Posted by timothy on from the just-let-the-ai-run-for-a-while dept.

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."

3 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. We should just burn them all and by A+beautiful+mind · · Score: 4, Interesting

    erase the online storage

    Those patent which have some idea can prove with a device, or physical object that they do, those who cannot provide such thing shouldn't be there in the first place.

    I wish it would be this easy...

    --
    It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
    Be yourself no matter what they say
  2. eBay old Patent Paperwork... by rewinn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If the issue is money, why aren't we eBaying old patent paperwork instead of pulping it?

    If the International Star Registry can get $49.99 for "Naming A Star" ... how very likely is it that the Patent Office could get as much that for GENUINE old patent paper? Surely some of the more interesting patents would get big bucks and/or donated to museums.

    While this is not as good as professional preservation of historical documents, since preservation is not in the cards, at least eBaying would preserve most of the originals, admittedly in a hap-hazard fashion.

    --
    --- Attorneys Assisting Citizen-Soldiers & Families -
  3. Re:I am worried by radu124 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    public key signature works at least as good

    imagine you sign some documents and then you make sure you loose the private key for good, the documents can still be checked using the public key, but nobody will be able to duplicate the signature on another document. Keys can be changed each few months.

    I don't trust paper more than algorithms. Although you never know when they manage to break rsa. But that would be a global disaster and maybe patents will be the least concern.

    Also note that you can store disks in a secure area, and also make radioactive marks on them so as to determine their age. Solutions can always be found, and maybe someone is getting some funding exactly for that.