Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Patents on Tax Reduction Strategies a Problem

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the genius dept.

EsonLinji writes "The International Herald Tribune has an article about how some lawyers are realising that patents on tax reduction strategies (a business method) might be a problem. The article states that there are already 50 such patents with more on the way, and at least one lawsuit. Particularly worrying is the idea of needing a license to follow the law. Fortunately, some of the laws get that this is a problem. Tax patents, the lawyers wrote, amount to 'government-issued barbed wire' to keep some taxpayers from getting equal treatment under the tax code."

12 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. What? by Stellian · · Score: 4, Funny

    No patents on tax increases?

  2. Self Destruct by pembo13 · · Score: 4, Funny

    One can only hope that tax and patent lawyers turn on each other and simply self destruct. Maybe then we can make up for the past few decades of apparent non accelerating advancement.

    --
    "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
    1. Re:Self Destruct by afjerntagel · · Score: 5, Funny

      The previos poster wrote:

      "One can only hope that tax and patent lawyers turn on each other and simply self destruct."

      You work as an ecology consultant for Austraila or something?

      What if they get viable offspring, you thought of that?! /Af Jerntagel

    2. Re:Self Destruct by enharmonix · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well, if I remember correctly, tax lawyers and patent lawyers are complimentary (same mass but opposite charge, i.e., a tax lawyer can be seen as a patent lawyer travelling the opposite direction in time), so if they ever do come into contact, they should annihilate each other in a burst of light.

  3. What the pizzachrist. by NTiOzymandias · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm flabbergasted. Honestly, I fucking am. This is just not fucking acceptable. Just... no. What the fucking... I mean, how the fuck.... FUCK.

    I have a request for you, world. Please end. Immediately. I really mean it. No more. It's not worth it to keep existing, y'know? We are an embarrasment to the concept of existence.

    I mean seriously, holy shit.

    1. Re:What the pizzachrist. by jabex · · Score: 4, Funny

      I would agree with you, but unfortunately the point described in your post has already been patented as a business concept.

      Also, I own a copyright on the term "Please end." Please end(c) your use of this phrase immediately.

      --
      Like Teddy with an elephant gun.
  4. Recursive patents. by 91degrees · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, if I patent a method af applying for and receiving a patent, will the patent system self destruct?

  5. Re:Fourteenth Amendment / equal protection clause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Actually they will probably get around this by the fact that the personal income tax is actually unconstitutional. Several supreme court rulings concluded this, I don't have them at hand at exactly this moment, but they can be found easily enough.

    The Income tax codes say paying your money to the IRS is voluntary. Go ahead and read them. So if they actually do let these patents pass then they will bury this 'not compulsory' fact as they do with so many things, thus getting people to pay even more of their money to license these 'patents'.

  6. Re:What the...? by swarsron · · Score: 4, Funny

    it's really a bad time when posts like this get rated insightful instead of funny

  7. What does logic have to do with lawyers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    It's what you get when you annihilate them ;)

  8. These are serious times. by Stealth+Potato · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sticks and rocks will no longer protect you. You're going to need to get some kind of gun that fires dogs.

    1. Re:These are serious times. by GrumblyStuff · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm half way there. When they bark, they shoot bees.