Google Patents Displaying Patents

theodp writes "Google has actually managed to patent displaying patents. The USPTO issued US Patent No. D603,866 to six Google inventors for their 'graphical user interface for display screen of a communications terminal.' Among the six inventors is the guy who introduced Google Patents. Ironically, Google Patents can't seem to find the new Google patent for Google Patents."

Comments

Uh...

[Anonymous Coward]

Didn't the Patent Office figure out and implement the displaying of patents first? Like... oh, maybe a century or two ago?

Re:Uh...

[sopssa]

I don't think Google is here who is to blame. We see these kinds of news everyday by Microsoft etc too. It's just how the (broken) US patent system works and companies have to cope with that too.

Ironically, Google Patents can't seem to find the new Google patent for Google Patents.

To be fair, there's no translation of the papers online everywhere else either.

Also;

The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but reserves all other copyrights whatsoever.

So like with many other computer patents, they just seem to be covering their own asses against patent trolls. Blame the system, not those who need to work with it.

Re:Uh...

[morgan_greywolf]

The summary's misleading. It isn't the displaying of patents that Google patented, it is the particular Web GUI that they patented. Which is, mind you, fairly unique in that it displays the original images quickly and uses particularly unique layout for the display of the very intuitive controls.

Not that I agree with software patents, I think they're stupid, but under current patent laws, what they patented seems to meet the standard for what is patentable.

(IANAL, TINLA, bleh.)

Re:Uh...

[nog_lorp]

Not even the web GUI, the exact visual layout of the GUI, just like people patent other designs (textiles for example).

Not news like 90% of Slashdot today (what the fuck, an OLD VERSIONS OF IE exploit is news here? 10 of those are uncovered a day)

Re:Uh...

[ls671]

Never mind that... I sense a business opportunity...

"Google Patents can't seem to find the new Google patent for Google Patents."

I am going to patent the process by which Google Patents will be able to find the new Google patent for Google Patents. ;-)

Re:Uh...

[radtea]

The summary's misleading

Thanks for the information! When I read the headline I of course thought, "I wonder what Google has patented. It's too bad I don't know anything about it, having just read the headline and summary. I can be pretty Google has filed a patent application, but I have no idea what it's on."

Wouldn't it be amazing if the /. editors actually posted actual information in summaries?

Re:Uh...

[Yoozer]

Google's main business is helping you find stuff.

No. Google's main business is advertising. If you search, you are the product, not the customer.

O RLY?

[Anonymous Coward]

In other news, I just sent in an anonymous patent patenting posting anonymous comments!

No, they didn't

[Halo1]

They got a design patent. That's something complete different from a regular patent.

Re:No, they didn't

[slacker22]

Article title should be "Google Display Patent Patent Display"

Re:No, they didn't

[martin-boundary]

     They got a design patent.

Oh, so then it's more like this?

P a a a a a a a a a a tent
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Design Patent

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a design patent. Please learn how the patent system works before posting patent stories.

Re:Design Patent

[sopssa]

You must be new here. Every patent story on Slashdot is like this, and in every case theres tons of people jumping in who can't seem to understand the abstract is just that.. an abstract. You need to read the actual claims and description to see what is being patented.

But lets not get into way of some good sensationalism journalism.

Yo dawg

[Anonymous Coward]

Yo dawg, herd u liek patents, so I put a patent on displaying patents so now you can violate my patent while ur lookin at patents.

Re:Yo dawg

[Anonymous Coward]

The above comment is a violation of Xzibit's Recursion, patent number 112358.

Re:Google's strange stance

[houstonbofh]

Just makes me think of an old Danny D'vito quote from Other Peoples Money.
"Of course I've got lawyers. They are like nuclear weapons: I've got em coz everyone else has. But as soon as you use them they screw everything up."

Prior Art

[Anonymous Coward]

Jeff Bezos already has a patent on patenting patents.

I think it's appropriate to point out...

[MrKaos]

that things are getting to be ridiculous right about now.

it's a design patent

[pydev]

Google isn't "patenting displaying patents", they are getting a design patent on the look of Google Patents. Design patents are harmless; they just mean that if you display patents, it should be visually different from Google.

and that's consistent

[pydev]

This is a design patent; design patents are harmless.

Design Patents - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

[theodp]

Ford Seeks to Stop Imports of Replacement Car Parts: Ford Motor Co., the second-biggest U.S.-based automaker, filed a trade complaint to block imports of replacement parts for Mustang cars, saying they impermissibly copy its patented designs..."The car companies are intentionally looking to wipe out competition and using the ITC and the patent system," said Eileen Sottile, the coalition's executive director. "This is going to hit consumer pocketbooks."

Oblig...

[Cryacin]

"It's a coffee table book... about coffee tables!!!"