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USPTO Rejects SBC Browser Patent

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the seen-coming dept.

theodp writes "Remember that dicey 1996 SBC Structured Document Browser patent that Slashdot readers immediately called BS on back in 2003? Two-and-a-half years later, a USPTO Director-ordered reexam reached the same conclusion, and a final rejection was quietly issued last month."

15 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. What About the Others? by TPIRman · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's great news, but what about the other patents included in that same re-examination order? What's the status of "LABEL FOR SPOOLED WIRE PRODUCTS"? Will I finally be able to market my "METHOD TO IMPROVE PERI-ANAL HYGIENE AFTER A BOWEL MOVEMENT" without fear of legal reprisal? We need to know!

  2. 7 Years? by The_Mystic_For_Real · · Score: 5, Funny
    Remember that dicey 1996 SBC Structured Document Browser patent that Slashdot readers immediately called BS on back in 2003

    You've been examining patents too long if you consider reacting in 2003 to an action in 1996 immediate. Or are you a congressman?

    --

    _____

    Thank you.

  3. Peri-Anal Hygiene and Patents by debilo · · Score: 5, Funny

    I followed the links provided in the submission to this page containing a list of other reexaminations, where I found this gem:

    6,520,942 Reexam. C.N. 90/006,758, Ordered Date: Sept. 24, 2003, Cl. 604/290,
    Title: METHOD TO IMPROVE PERI-ANAL HYGIENE AFTER A BOWEL MOVEMENT

    How fitting.

  4. Quietly? by Dancin_Santa · · Score: 4, Insightful

    All patents are issued or denied quietly. It's usually rumor sites like Slashdot and www.eff.org that make these quiet affairs larger than life.

    1. Re:Quietly? by FidelCatsro · · Score: 4, Funny

      I speculate that slashdot is also not a Rumour site.
      After all a Rumour is just an unfounded statement of fact , that hasn't been checked thoroughly by someone .We all know that slashdot has many many editors who never make msitakes like putting out unfounded or repeated storys..

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
  5. Read before posting by anonympa · · Score: 5, Informative

    I have bad news for you all. A final rejection just means that the claims have been rejected for the second time. It's not over yet...!

  6. And here's the link.. by ThyPiGuy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Method to improve peri-anal hygiene after a bowel movement:

    http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm &r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6520942.WKU.&OS=PN/6520942&RS=PN/ 6520942

    1. Re:And here's the link.. by TPIRman · · Score: 4, Funny

      From the patent filing:

      "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
      There are no drawings provided."

      Thank God for small favors.

  7. Re:Um, like it's a surprise? by symbolic · · Score: 4, Insightful


    How many other things does the governent "talk" about doing? Let's see...a couple of biggies are campaign finance reform (never happened), and social security. I truly believe that if they ever *did* accomplish anything with respect to these issues, they'd feel like there wouldn't be anything left to promise during the next election. The formula seems to be, "promise, do nothing, rinse, repeat".

  8. SBC patent invalidated by... Micro$oft !! by indaba · · Score: 4, Informative
    sorry to ruin the party, but this SBC patent was basically invalidated by invoking the prior art of another patent , assigned to Micro$oft, applied for in 1995.

    United States Patent 5,877,765 ; Dickman , et al. March 2, 1999
    http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm &r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5,877,765.WKU.&OS=PN/5,877,765&RS =PN/5,877,765

    which has the catchy title Method and system for displaying internet shortcut icons on the desktop
    and yes, from a quick look, it's every bit as obvious as it sounds.

    Now, I assume Apple and Sun have taken out licences (or swapped some other IP) for the right to use this patent, but how about :

    - KDE ?
    - Gnome ?
    - you ? - yes, YOU the /.'er right there running distro "X" with icons on your desktop pointing to URL's in VLAGRANT violation of :

    2. The method of claim 1 wherein the display of the visual representation of the shortcut object on the virtual desktop includes a graphic for identifying the shortcut object as a shortcut to the resource.

    Does anyone else despair of this patent madness, where this rather obvious extension i.e icons pointing to an INTERNET resource is considered patentable, as it's such a VAST improvement (yeah right) over the basic icon to LOCAL resource ?

    eg, the Apple Mac in 1984, 1983 Lisa, even earlier Xerox Star etc etc...all had icons - right ?

  9. which one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Method to improve peri-anal hygiene after a bowel movement"

    In Soviet Russia, bowels move you!
    In Korea, only old people monitor peri-anal hygeine
    I, for one, welcome our new peri-anal hygenic overlords
    Yes, but can it run Linux?
    But will it be released before DNF?
    You insensitive clod, my peri-anal region is already clean!

    Nah, I'll stick with this...

    Wow, imagine a beowulf cluster of bowel movements!

    1. Re:which one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Netcraft confirms it: Slashdot memes are dying.

  10. all corps will inevitably enforce their patents by indaba · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Not quite, that's another question to the one I raised. I agree with you in that Microsoft have never used this patent offensively, but do you remember they DID try with the FAT patent ???

    The real problem/question I wanted to raise is with obvious extensions to prior art being patentable. (see my original post)

    Finally, there is ~14 years left to run on this patent. A lot can happen in that time.. I wouldn't discount the possibility of Microsoft beginning to enforce their patents, and hence derive significant revenue if the rest of their business model begins to suffer from the encoachment of open source software.

    IBM derive SIGNIFICANT revenue ($US 1.6B in 2000) http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,43186, 00.html
    for thier shareholders by enforcing their patent revenue.

    Companies are not "good", they just have interests (that of thier shareholders) to serve.
    Enforcing a patent portfolio is inevitable for companies. It's just in the nature of the beast.

    But don't take my word for it, how about Eben Moglen, pro bono counsel for the Free Software Foundation
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/12/08/microsoft_ aiming_ibmscale_patent_program/

  11. What I find especially amusing about this one... by keyslammer · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ... is that the patent office page linked to would itself seem to be in violation of this patent!

  12. New /. icon suggestion: Hell freezing over by Khelder · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In the wake of the Apple and Intel cooperation and now the USPTO actually denying/rescinding/rejecting a patent, I think it's clear that slashdot needs a new logo. Something representing hell freezing over, or perhaps pigs flying...