[MUD-Dev] [BIZ][TECH] worlds.com gets patent

[Dave Rickey]

-----Original Message-----
From: John Buehler <johnbue at msn.com>
>Travis Nixon writes:

>> Sorry for this completely off topic post, but can I just say that I
>> abhor software patents?

> I'm told that there is a patent on the 'method' of clicking on a
> geographic map to get real estate information about that location.
> I could giggle myself silly at how inane such a patent is.  What
> ever happened to refusing patents on things that are obvious?

Basicly, between the widening of "Patentable Discovery" to include
processes and algorithms, and the comparatively low tech-savvy of the
Patent Office (which is still set up to evaluate *mechanical* patents,
and is just catching up with modern electronics), what is patently
obvious (no pun intended) to someone in the field looks arcane to the
examiner (well, it looks arcane after encoding in legalese).

IP is going to be the defining social issue of our era, right now the
odds that your genetic code contains at least one patented gene
approaches unity.  Theoretically, you may need a license of those
patents to have kids (or even to engage in routine mitosis).

--Dave Rickey

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