Dean Kamen Awarded Patent For Robot Competition Rules

An anonymous reader writes "Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway and the founder of the FIRST Robotics Competition has been granted Patent 7,507,169, that describes one of the previous competitions. The main invention is a ranking system that ranks teams not only on their score, but their opponents' score, so teams are rewarded for helping their opponents score more. It is claimed that this ranking system promotes the made up phrases 'coopertition' and 'gracious professionalism.' It had three rejections, and even more appeals, before finally being accepted six years after the first application. While a majority of his 130 patents are for things related to his inventions, which are as diverse as medical equipment, unique uses for Stirling engines, and transportation, this one seems a little dubious. Dean opposes the Patent Reform Act of 2009, which would make it easier to overturn patents after they are granted."

Comments

New terms

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's one for ya Dean... "doucheventor"

Re:Bad Patent for a Bad Invention

[Actually, I do RTFA]

The 'theory' have given us the latest, and most reviled, generation to enter the workplace: The 'millenials,' widely know for both a sense of entitlement and shirking individual responsibility for results.

Get off my lawn!

That's just old codger talk. "Blah, the newest generation is the worst."

The 60's clearly produced the worst generation. They spread veneral disease like, well, a plague. They shirked more responsibility in Viet Nam than the millenials ever did. They decided that getting high was a good idea and fubared things but good.

Worst generation ever.

Or, as Tom Brokow might say, "reversion to the mean"