IBM Wants To Patent Restaurant Waits

theodp writes "If all goes IBM's way, it'll soon constitute patent infringement if Bennigan's gives you a free lunch for being inconvenienced by a long wait for your meal. Big Blue is seeking a patent for its Method and Structure for Automated Crediting to Customers for Waiting, the purported 'invention' of three IBM researchers, which IBM notes, 'could be implemented completely devoid of computerization or automation of any kind.' Can we count on IBM to withdraw this patent claim, or will Big Blue weasel out of its patent reform pledge again?"

Comments

Re:The old saying must be true.

[kcbanner]

Or, as they say, there is no such thing as a patent without a troll.

Re:The old saying must be true.

[andy314159pi]

hey asshole the whole point of this is that you do get a free lunch by way of apology

This guy was just quoting the patent application.

Enough is enough

[sqrt(2)]

Software and business models should NOT be eligible for patents. It's just going to get more and more ridiculous until we wake up and realize that and revamp the patent system.

Re:quick

[omeomi]

Alcohol is a diuretic--That'll just compound the problem of long bathroom waits.

That's okay as long as the beer is free.

Re:The old saying must be true.

[The End Of Days]

But if you're a good Slashdotter and just read the completely inaccurate headline, you can work up a righteous froth and get a nice +5 Insightful.

Re:The old saying must be true.

[palegray.net]

Or, on the other hand, it's entirely possible that my comment was meant to be taken in a humorous context.

Re:Wow

[glwtta]

Performing the steps in a system is not prior art to defining that system.

An idea about how to do something obvious is not a fucking "system".

Is there any way we can get that taped above every patent reviewer's desk?

Re:Its called courtesy, stupid.

[Gideon Fubar]

heh.. even if you are using the idea, someone should be able to come up with a new way of doing it without violating your patent.. of course, this may not work with some products (such as pharmaceuticals) but i suspect the patent systems was originally developed without them in mind..

Re:Automation IS required

[pokerdad]

May I point out that this is *not* a patent, but rather a publication of an application for a patent. I wish someone on this friggin' site would learn the difference between the two.

If you are being critical of the patent office the difference is very important, if you are being critical of the applicant, not so much so.

No Shit Shirlock

[theshowmecanuck]

You don't need to read the article, just this in the summary:

Method and Structure for Automated Crediting to Customers for Waiting

It's still ridiculous to even apply for this. It is blatantly obvious since all it is doing is automating something that already exists in a non-novel way. Way to troll for stupid patents dude.