What next in patent -- Ctrl + Alt + Del?


	What next in patent -- Ctrl + Alt + Del?

sting_crawler

10-4-2007 2:13 PM

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tags:

technology, ibm, patent

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10-4-2007 3:13 PM

The REAL Napster

IBM, Microsoft and GE have some of the largest patent portfolios on the planet. And the rich get richer.

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/3e0a45e3-d795-4b7a-9866-52ab889a2221/F5B2BEF2-F9E6-4F80-AD64-A23178AF1A8C/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/49348" href="http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/49348" style="font-size: 11px;">tech.yahoo.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/49348"><H1>IBM Patents the Electronic Checkbox</H1></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/49348"><P><A href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AjUswxDSfnaQV3KN64lUVE3PMZA5/SIG=12no8pdvd/**http://f3.yahoofs.com/ymg/null__7/null-996421901-1191513118.jpg?ymfAqO.Cdp9PAT8P"><IMG border="0" src="http://f3.yahoofs.com/ymg/null__7/null-996421901-1191513118_thumb.jpg?ymgAqO.C3xfFrQRL" /></A>Despite claims that the patent process will be radically reformed, looks like it's business as usual at the good old U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The latest in the battle to see who can register the most absurd, obvious "technology" as a patent goes to IBM, which has won a patent for "mode switching for ad hoc checkbox selection," or, in other words, <A href="http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/02/1830211">checking a box</A>.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/49348"><P>No attorneys have weighed in on this patent, but it certainly looks frivolous. Though it's not <EM>exactly</EM> the same as checking a box (but rather dragging your mouse across a series of boxes to select them en masse; imagine drawing a line through a bunch of boxes at once), this is overall not much more original than patenting the Q button on your PC.</P></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/F5B2BEF2-F9E6-4F80-AD64-A23178AF1A8C/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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