Facebook, Google tell the government to stop granting patents for abstract ideas

[Corey]

Facebook (FB), Google (GOOG) and six other tech companies have petitioned the courts to begin rejecting lawsuits that are based on patents for vague concepts rather than specific applications, TechCrunch reported. The agreement, which was cosigned by Zynga (ZNGA), Dell (DELL), Intuit (INTU), Homeaway (AWAY), Rackspace (RAX), and Red Hat (RHT), notes the only thing these abstract patents do is increase legal fees and slow innovation in the industry. The companies claim that “abstract patents are a plague in the high tech sector” and force innovators into litigation that results in huge settlements or steep licensing fees for technology they have already developed on their own, which then leads to higher prices for consumers.

“Many computer-related patent claims just describe an abstract idea at a high level of generality and say to perform it on a computer or over the Internet,” the briefing reads. “Such barebones claims grant exclusive rights over the abstract idea itself, with no limit on how the idea is implemented. Granting patent protection for such claims would impair, not promote, innovation by conferring exclusive rights on those who have not meaningfully innovated, and thereby penalizing those that do later innovate by blocking or taxing their applications of the abstract idea.”

The companies conclude, “It is easy to think of abstract ideas about what a computer or website should do, but the difficult, valuable, and often groundbreaking part of online innovation comes next: designing, analyzing, building, and deploying the interface, software, and hardware to implement that idea in a way that is useful in daily life. Simply put, ideas are much easier to come by than working implementations.”

 

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[Saintmire]

apple is prone to do just that bs with patent for everything

[Heisenberg]

Those a***oles spread their tentacles everywhere!

 

I wonder when they will patent languages so we will have to pay royalties for talking.

 

Just check some other industries and see what companies like Nestle (water) and Monsanto (seeds) are doing and how well that goes for communities and end-users.

 

IT giants need to be kept in check before they become too powerful.

[ajnl]

apple is prone to do just that bs with patent for everything

 

yes because apple is the ONLY company who patents everything...

[Jefke]

yes because apple is the ONLY company who patents everything...

 

Nope, but it sure is the most aggresive one atm... (not counting patent trolls, that's a whole different league)

 

Software patents are bs to begin with.

Edited December 12, 2012 by DrJoske

[ajnl]

Software patents are bs to begin with.

 

Agreed. All I am saying is that apple is definitely not the only one and not the worst one. It is the just the one you hear the most news about.

[Jefke]

Agreed. All I am saying is that apple is definitely not the only one and not the worst one. It is the just the one you hear the most news about.

 

Euhmmmm... which one is worse.

 

Like I said, patent trolls don't count.

[ajnl]

Euhmmmm... which one is worse.

 

Like I said, patent trolls don't count.

 

here are some rediculous patents, yes Apple is in there too. But so is google and microsoft: http://technewspedia.com/10-ridiculous-patents-that-show-why-there-are-so-many-lawsuits-in-the-u-s/

 

how do patent trolls not count? lol honestly

[Jefke]

here are some rediculous patents, yes Apple is in there too. But so is google and microsoft: http://technewspedia...its-in-the-u-s/

 

how do patent trolls not count? lol honestly

 

Nope, I didn't meant insane patents. I agree on that one, they are all BS.

I meant insane stuff in court (I know they all have to defend their patents)

 

And you still didn't answer my question: who is worse than Apple at this moment

But not sure who's fault it is: the companies or the system.

 

And patent trolls don't count, because there only reason of existence is pulling this kind of BS. Of course they are the worst XD

 

 

How trollear patents

 

Halliburton and IBM showed off with this idea : A method to profit by buying the patent of a company that does not have the resources to maintain its patent portfolio. Do patent trolls will have to pay now?

 

=> Genious XD

[ajnl]

Nope, I didn't meant insane patents. I agree on that one, they are all BS.

I meant insane stuff in court (I know they all have to defend their patents)

 

And you still didn't answer my question: who is worse than Apple at this moment

But not sure who's fault it is: the companies or the system.

 

And patent trolls don't count, because there only reason of existence is pulling this kind of BS. Of course they are the worst XD

 

 

 

 

=> Genious XD

 

Lol well lets agree that a lot of patents are rediculous and the system needs to change.