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Patents on Tax Reduction Strategies a Problem

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."

1 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Oh that's it! by pipatron · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "How can you patent a business method on following the law?"

    Easy. It's done all the time with the law of nature, so why not with the other laws? It's even more justified to patent following this law, since it's something that we have written by ourselves. Something that should not be justified, is to patent facts, like they do in science like physics and medicine.

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