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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."

7 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. Raises a simple question by Overly+Critical+Guy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    --
    "Sufferin' succotash."
  2. Law Suit by HadesInjustice · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean that there will be a lot more funny patent rights law suits I can read about??? I generally found them quite interesting and really funny. Also, does that mean I can try to patent the "eletronic patending system" by calling it the "patend facilitation device" ??? lol

  3. Brilliant idea. by Teddy+Beartuzzi · · Score: 5, Insightful

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

  4. May be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "May be I can patent the wheel again."

    May be you can al so pa tent inno vative spell ing meth od, who knows?

  5. Re:Patents... by archevis · · Score: 5, Funny
    Yup, they'll come up with an easy method for checking patents.

    And then they'll patent it...

  6. So what happens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful


    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 ?

  7. Computerized database storage means... by OwenMarshall · · Score: 5, Funny
    ... some read/write medium that can be accessed many times.

    Hard disks. Lots of hard disks.

    Want to solve the patent problem right away? Everyone converge on the Patent and Trademark office. Bring magnets.

    Big magnets.