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Barcode Tatoo as Permanent ID - Arrgh!

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the say-it-ain't-so- dept.

Anonymous Coward writes "It seems someone has received a patent on tattooing barcodes on people to verify your identity. Check it out at the US government's Patent Site." Yes, it's a real patent. Yes, it's loony. Yes, it's scary. So scary that we might as well laugh at it, because laughter is healthier than tears. (Sigh)

2 of 245 comments (clear)

  1. Memories of the Holocaust? by Chuck+Milam · · Score: 5

    Just ask any holocaust survivor how dehumanized it made them feel to have an ID number tatooed on their arms. This is scary stuff, if you think about it that way...

  2. Comments about patents... by SparkyUK · · Score: 5

    Some time ago, a company I worked for was going through a buy-out. The management (of both companies) wanted the programmers to identify patentable technology in our (software) product.

    When I pointed out that there was nothing truly unique in our software (is there in anything?) and thus nothing patentable the response I got was : "It doesn't matter if it's enforceable, just applying for a patent will increase our value and the threat of a lawsuit will slow down our rivals."

    They didn't get any ideas out of us but it shows how pathetically cynical the whole patent process has become.

    The failure to include a sig., is in itself a sig.