I found an interesting web page here which discusses what qualifies as prior art for patents. Based upon quotes like this it seems that eBay is definately going to be fighting an uphill battle:
First, a person is not entitled to a patent if the invention was "known or used by others in this country, or was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country" before the date of invention by the applicant for the patent.
Of course, given the Patent Office's willingness to grant silly patents to other Internet companies, who can say what'll happen with this.
I can't believe how much people are in love with 2001. I saw it for the first time last week on video. People! Wake up!
This movie is nothing more than a cheap, poorly made rip-off of Mission to Mars, only without the good acting and the pleasant special effects. The worst thing about it was the computer Al didn't do anything. It just sat there and tried to kill the dude by locking him outside.
And when Al the Computer died, all it did was sing a song. Zzzzzzzzz....Maybe I'm missing something, but this movie was boring. I mean, if they're going to rip off Mission to Mars in this direct-to-video release, they should at least try to fix some of the more boring elements of Mission to Mars.
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First, a person is not entitled to a patent if the invention was "known or used by others in this country, or was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country" before the date of invention by the applicant for the patent.
Of course, given the Patent Office's willingness to grant silly patents to other Internet companies, who can say what'll happen with this.
This movie is nothing more than a cheap, poorly made rip-off of Mission to Mars, only without the good acting and the pleasant special effects. The worst thing about it was the computer Al didn't do anything. It just sat there and tried to kill the dude by locking him outside.
And when Al the Computer died, all it did was sing a song. Zzzzzzzzz....Maybe I'm missing something, but this movie was boring. I mean, if they're going to rip off Mission to Mars in this direct-to-video release, they should at least try to fix some of the more boring elements of Mission to Mars.
Oh, and whats up with that lame classical music?
Sigh...