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Stop designing games! Or you will be a criminals.
Raf256
Member #3,501
May 2003

http://games.slashdot.org/games/05/06/01/126228.shtml?tid=98&tid=155&tid=10

[...]Where two IP lawyers try to convince the videogame industry of patenting everything in sight: ideas, technical contributions, etc. They show as an example a Microsoft patent on Scoring based upon goals achieved and subjective elements. They also have created a weblog, The Patent Arcade, to promote their business. Will this be the real end of innovation in videogames?"

GOD BLESS AMERICA - and their fu(ked-up patent laws...

Anyone want to join al-quaida with me ;) ?

Steve Terry
Member #1,989
March 2002
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Greed runs America... what else do you expect.

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Mandrake Root Produc
Member #300
April 2000

You know, I think 95% of the people here visit slashdot. No need to dupe it here. Maybe blaming America for an antiquited patent law isn't the problem. Maybe the problem is nobody is changing how patents work. It seems only recently that patents have been abused to this extent in the US, and I think it primarily has to do with the intellectual breeding ground that the technological revolution had given us.

People are still trying to chase the dot-com bubble, and are still trying to get rich quick from technology. One way to do it is to patent something so obv it hurts, and then charge an arm and a leg to use it. Most companies that use patents in a threatening manner are smaller corperation looking to extort larger corperations into giving them cash.

The problem is that other small companies get caught in the mine field. If a patent is to be held, it must be protected against all infringers, wether or not they have the monies.

Kanzure
Member #3,669
July 2003
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The technology revolution is owned by the big giant enterprises. It's time for an intellectual revolution. :) (I won't explain this. I'd be flamed. Yay.)

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*get rich quick* from technology

It worked for Microsoft.

I've been looking at some patents and a few corporate websites, like IBM. There's so much hype, it's almost sickening. Too much media involved on IBM's main site if you ask me, it's as if they're trying to sell less for more. I don't know how to explain it right now. Everything's too high paced in these technology-bubbles of society. There's no way for a small company to catch up. The issue on patents is growing absurd, soon all the good methods of doing things will be patented under excessively vague generalized patents, and nothing will be left for functionality.

Mandrake Root Produc
Member #300
April 2000

Quote:

It worked for Microsoft.

Yes, but that was before technology was commonplace. Like Apple adn NES they were pioneers, they made computers something that everyone wanted or needed to have. They created the market. It wasn't "get rich" quick or a scheme, they just lucked out on the ground floor.

How is this the same as some Joe Schmoe in Hubunk NJ patenting lossless compression and than suing every large technocorp in existance that uses it for anything?

Kanzure
Member #3,669
July 2003
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Quote:

They created the market. It wasn't "get rich" quick or a scheme, they just lucked out on the ground floor.

Apple did not invent the ideas of computers. I'm fairly confident that IBM had computer systems in development around or before that time. For Microsoft, it was a scheme - apparently when they sold their first OS for a computer manufacturer they didn't actually have the OS made. :P

Richard Phipps
Member #1,632
November 2001
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Well, IBM released 500 of their patents into the open development community in January. Unfortunately they were granted 3,248 patents in 2004 alone and are estimated to own more than 40,000 patents in total.

[url http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4163975.stm]

Kanzure
Member #3,669
July 2003
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Yeah, somehow that doesn't seem right. That's a ton for one corporation to own. Why do they own the patents, and not the employees themselves? Collaborative efforts involved?

Mandrake Root Produc
Member #300
April 2000

I never said they "invented" computers. I said that they were on the ground floor of the computer revolution and the gave people reasons to buy them. They were innovators. And IBM maye have a ungoldy number of patents- but do they enforce them? Remember, they are putting money into Linux. They wouldn't want to shoot themselves in the foot.

Richard Phipps
Member #1,632
November 2001
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It's a business, they own the patents and the individuals don't.

Kanzure
Member #3,669
July 2003
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Wether they currently enforce them is a nonissue. They have the potential ability to suddenly enforce all of them without warning. This would cause massive panic and everybody would be scraping for cash to pay IBM for the rights to use the patented technologies.

It's a security thing.

Mandrake Root Produc
Member #300
April 2000

Not really. What usually happens is the big companies cough up the dough while everyone else starts working on free alternatives until the patent expires.

Take for example gif and patents. Did everyone cough up money? No. PNG was created to replace gifs and people started using it. A Free alternative is almost always going to be more popular than one that costs $$$$.

Like I said before- Why would IBM push the patents if they hadn't done so already? Ownership of a patent does not make one evil. in fact, I personally think when properly used patents are very beneficial (and also note America is NOT the only place patents exist- if it was, Einstien would've been out of work) and are being abused currently by a minority of get rich quick schemers.

razor
Member #2,256
April 2002
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The problem is that vague patents pretty much screw over any attempts of a replacement.

Whoooo Oregon State University

Raf256
Member #3,501
May 2003

Quote:

Take for example gif and patents. Did everyone cough up money? No. PNG was created to replace gifs and people started using it. A Free alternative is almost always going to be more popular than one that costs $$$$.

And what is the free alternative for patents like "clicking on an image (icon) in orer to do some action" or "Scoring based upon goals achieved and subjective elements"? Or IP4 adress (its just 4 regular 0-255 numbers and easy concept of A,B..E adress class).

Mandrake Root Produc
Member #300
April 2000

Those patents should not have been awarded. The whole point is that the patent needs to go through a review period. Also, most of those patents would probably be laughed out of court (it's happened before. Quite a lot actually).

Patents themselves are not the problem. It's the way they are handled currently.

Sirocco
Member #88
April 2000
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Honestly, I believe the patent system in and of itself is a good thing, as long as there are strict definitions regarding what can be patented, and there is a set limit for all patent -- say, two years from the date of acceptance.

Corporate greed is a universal thing; we just perfected it before everyone else ;)

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Graphic file formats used to fascinate me, but now I find them rather satanic.

Mandrake Root Produc
Member #300
April 2000

This brings to mind the Family Guy skit were the guy walks into the German patent office to patent Relativity....and Einstien murders him and takes the papers he brought :)

Although- on a side note- I don't really follow the parent posters logic. American companies might patent video game stuff (level ups, monkeys, sparkly things when you beat a level, whatever)...how would this make us criminal? They can sue us, for certain. But it's not a criminal act. Nothing goes on any record, they won't put you in jail.

And I really don't understand (even jokingly) how this could force someone to bring up Al Queda. I'm certain what he meant was joining extremely religious terrorists groups who might be funded by Al Queda. Who might murder people in America.

From what I've read the Arhab terrorists in France are far more violent, far worse and have been doing it for far longer than any of the ones who have attacked the US. So, because of American patents you want to attack France as well? And why would this connect to murdering innocent people who hadn't anything to do with patents at all?

Sigh. I miss intellegant conversation.

Kanzure
Member #3,669
July 2003
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Quote:

Corporate greed is a universal thing; we just perfected it before everyone else ;)

And now we have to finish the job and patent the corporate greed itself. ;D8-)

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Sigh. I miss intellegant conversation.

The guy can barely speak English on a programming forum... although we all have to learn at some point, I don't think he has any clue about what he's saying.

Richard Phipps
Member #1,632
November 2001
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What are you on about? We were talking about patents and you end up discussing terrorists and anti-american feelings? :o

Sirocco
Member #88
April 2000
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And yet you still miss the "Spell Check" button at the bottom of the page ;)

Whatever happens, I don't see anyone here being inconvenienced by it (in terms of their ability to make and release their games). This is all about the publishers... the EAs and Ubisofts of the world.

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The guy can barely speak English on a programming forum... although we all have to learn at some point, I don't think he has any clue about what he's saying.

Heh, don't be fooled by the bad spelling.

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Graphic file formats used to fascinate me, but now I find them rather satanic.

Kanzure
Member #3,669
July 2003
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Richard,

Quote:

Anyone want to join al-quaida with me ;) ?

Plucky
Member #1,346
May 2001
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Simply, the US patent system is overloaded. Not nearly enough examiners, so they're overworked. It takes 2-5 years from the date of filing to final acceptance (if that happens). And the depth of review is rather shallow. (I know, I have a handful of patents under my name. ;) ) For example one can find a fast-than-light communication patent.

That the system is overloaded is no big surprise. One can expect the number of patent applications to correlate to the rate of technological innovation, which is accelerating. Add new technologies that seem to go beyond traditional intents of patents (software, genetics, etc.), and the problem is only rapidly getting worse.

Mandrake Root Produc
Member #300
April 2000

Quote:

And yet you still miss the "Spell Check" button at the bottom of the page

That's a spell check button? I thought it was a deliver pizza button. Damn. Need new glasses.

Kanzure
Member #3,669
July 2003
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Quote:

Heh, don't be fooled by the bad spelling.

I'm more interested in what he's talking about. And most of his presented thoughts are cryptic and broken in half.

Mandrake Root Produc
Member #300
April 2000

Quote:

The guy can barely speak English on a programming forum... although we all have to learn at some point, I don't think he has any clue about what he's saying.

You're right. That was a mean thing to say- OTOH, I'm really getting tired of the rampant anti-American attitude I see all over the place.



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