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Supreme Court Throws Out Bilski Patent
ciaran_o_riordan writes "The US Supreme Court has finally decided the Bilski case (PDF). We've known that Bilski's patent would get thrown out; that was clear from the open mockery from the judges during last November's hearing. The big question is, since rejecting a particular patent requires providing a general test and explaining why this patent fails that test, how broad will their test be? Will it try to kill the plague of software patents? And is their test designed well enough to stand up to the army of patent lawyers who'll be making a science (and a career) of minimizing and circumventing it? The judges have created a new test, so this will take some reading before any degree of victory can be declared. The important part is pages 5-16 of the PDF, which is the majority opinion. The End Software Patents campaign is already analyzing the decision, and collecting other analyses. Some background is available at Late-comers guide: What is Bilski anyway?"
More analysis of the decision is available at Patently-O.
Diana Ross was not available for comment's. Rejoicing software developer's liberally apply apostrophe's in the street's but are they celebrating too soon?
My work here is dung.
Dear Mister Language Person: What is the purpose of the apostrophe?
Answer: The apostrophe is used mainly in hand-lettered small business signs to alert the reader than an "S" is coming up at the end of a word, as in: WE DO NOT EXCEPT PERSONAL CHECK'S, or: SUPREME'S THROW OUT BILSKI PATENT. Another important grammar concept to bear in mind when creating hand- lettered small-business signs is that you should put quotation marks around random words for decoration, as in "TRY" OUR HOT DOG'S, or even TRY "OUR" HOT DOG'S.
-- Dave Barry, "Tips for Writer's"
Supreme's Throw Out Bilski Patent
How many time's [sic] do I have to sic Bob on you?
Free Martian Whores!
This is Slashdot. Like 4chan, we have a collective consciousness. No explanation needed. Bilski, what is it? I have a new tagline:
Slashdot. We Know.
This supreme court is stacking up to being the best one ever!
Damnit, where's our -1, Humorless or -1, Killjoy moderation option's? We could use them right about now...
Contractions Motherfucker, do you speak them?
I still cannot find the droids I am looking for...
You'g. I'o wha'nt.
The stories and info posted here are artistic works of fiction and falsehood.
Only fools would take it as fact.
not necessarily the only possible test (and they don't say what the other tests might include.
You just made all Lisp programmers very, very nervous.
So that's how klingon was invented...
you will find out that even greengrocers' apostrophes are not always wrong: they date from an age when new fruit and vegetables were appearing, and their customer needed to know that there was a difference between potato's and asparagus.
You know, if you cannot tell the difference between potato and asparagus then you might have problems that even an apostrophe cannot solve...
Anything that gives us more unemployed lawyers and fewer unemployed engineers is a step forward.