Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Seeks 1-Click(er) Patent
theodp writes "Assuming things go patent reformer Microsoft's way, answering multiple choice, true/false, or yes/no questions in a classroom could soon constitute patent infringement. Microsoft's just-published patent application for its Adaptive Clicker Technique describes how 'multiple different types of clickers' can be used by students to answer questions posed by teachers. The interaction provided by its 'invention', explains Microsoft, 'increases attention and enhances learning.' Microsoft's Interactive Classroom Add-In for Office (video) provides polling features that allow students to 'answer and respond through their individual OneNote notebooks, hand-held clickers, or computers, and the results display in the [PowerPoint] presentation.' So, did Bill Gates mention to Oprah that the education revolution will be patented?"
Show's Host: Boy, That last clip sure seemed "innovative", [Applaud Light Flashes]
but will it oust the Amazon 1-Click?
Who will be the winner of the most absurd patent?
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Home viewers call or send a text to 1-800-555-8008 to vote for Microsoft, or 1-800-555-5413 to vote for Amazon.
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Wow. I may actually have prior art on this. I implemented such a system for my PhD thesis in 1990.
You can submit your prior art within 2 months of the application's publication date to the USPTO under 37 CFR 1.99. There is a fee of $180 associated with doing so (covering up to 10 references submitted), and you have to make sure you jump through all the hoops that the regulation requires (e.g., you're not allowed to explain the relevance of your prior art, and you have to serve the applicant with a copy of your submission).
would a slashdot poll be an example of prior art?
Or even who wants to be a millionaire ask the audience.
The only positive about software patents such as this. Is as an example to show European politicians why we don't want software patents in Europe.
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