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Town Gets Patent On Being the Center of Europe

Posted by samzenpus on from the continental-drift-be-damned dept.

An anonymous reader writes "And you thought software patents were going to far? How about geography patents? Apparently, as a part of the weird fight over what place in Europe represents the 'geophysical center of Europe,' the Austrian town of Frauenkirchen has received a patent (Austrian patent AM 7738/2003) declaring it the center of Europe. Not clear how one 'infringes' on such a patent, but then again, it's not clear why anyone's patenting this either."

14 of 169 comments (clear)

  1. When Turkey gets the go ahead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Obviously this patent should be revoked when Turkey Joins the EU, as the center should shift eastwards

    1. Re:When Turkey gets the go ahead by Sique · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh yes.
      It is the continent north of Africa and west of the Ural mountains.

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      .sig: Sique *sigh*
  2. Meh ... by dc29A · · Score: 4, Funny

    Meh ... still not as cool as living in Fucking.

    1. Re:Meh ... by symes · · Score: 4, Funny

      I find this hilarious - there's a whole bunch more here. My favourites are, along with Fucking, Wank (Germany), Dildo (Canada) and Cock (UK).

    2. Re:Meh ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Meh ... still not as cool as living in Fucking.

      Fucking, Austrian town, how does it work?

  3. Underground by jbeaupre · · Score: 3, Funny

    Because the Earth is curved, the actual geophysical location is going to be many kilometers underground. So technically, they are all fighting over who is closest to Hell. No, not that Hell (Norway), the Hell

    --
    The world is made by those who show up for the job.
    1. Re:Underground by jbeaupre · · Score: 2, Funny

      Don't be redundant.

      --
      The world is made by those who show up for the job.
  4. Re:Doubtful by MrNaz · · Score: 5, Funny

    GP may or may not have heard of Schrödinger...

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    I hate printers.
  5. Re:For tourism, obviously... by Abstrackt · · Score: 3, Funny

    We tried something similar to raise tourism here in Canada. With famous alterations to the English language (i.e. "what's that aboot?" and the ever-classic "eh"), killer mosquitoes (why watch Jurassic Park when you can live it?), and our happy-go-lucky play-hockey-anywhere-that's-frozen (everywhere) attitude we've managed to achieve global recognition. And instead of T-shirts (because everyone does those), we have the line "I went to Canada and all I got was this stupid hangover" you'll often hear at customs when tourists are leaving our beautiful country.

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    They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
  6. Re:Publicity by Joce640k · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm betting they'll even have a cross on the ground for tourists to stand on and take photos.

    Right next to the souvenir shop.

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    No sig today...
  7. Re:Doubtful by Ecuador · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think the point is that he both has and has not heard of Schrödinger...

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    Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
  8. Re:Doubtful by maxwell+demon · · Score: 2, Funny

    There are no kangaroos in Austria.

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    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  9. Re:Doubtful by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 2, Funny

    /. does not differentiate between patents, trademarks, copyright, industrial design, or trade secrets.

    --

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    ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
  10. Re:Doubtful by Platinumrat · · Score: 2, Funny

    Obviously, you need to be an Einstein to navigate the Austrian Patent Office website.