SCOTUS To Hear Patentable Thought Case 394
skayell writes "The Supreme Court of the United States will hear a landmark patent case involving whether or not thoughts and relationships are patentable. Michael Crichton's essay in the New York Times attempts a thoughtful summary of Metabolite's primary assertion: they not only own the connection between homocysteine levels in the blood and vitamin B12 deficiency, but also any thought connecting the two."
Re:Everything should be patented (Score:2, Informative)
If it takes 15 years to get a patent reviewed, the patent owner only gets a scant 5 years to enforce their patent against people
There is already a term extension for patents whose approval was unjustly delayed. See Title 35, United States Code, section 156 and the surrounding sections. If the Patent Office gets too bogged down, then Congress could broaden this extension or, as a last-ditch effort, just reinstate the rule for patents that were subsisting as of 1997: the greater of filing + 20 or grant + 17.
Star Trek's Patents (Real!) (Score:4, Informative)
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm &r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D260789.WKU.&OS=PN/D260789&RS=PN/ D260789 [uspto.gov]
Paramount Pictures Corp. Star Trek Phaser - Patent D259939
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm &r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D259939.WKU.&OS=PN/D259939&RS=PN/ D259939 [uspto.gov]
Paramount Pictures Corp. Star Trek Insignia Pin - Patent D261872
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm &r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D261872.WKU.&OS=PN/D261872&RS=PN/ D261872 [uspto.gov]
Paramount Pictures Corp. Star Trek Uniform - D279135
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm &r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D279135.WKU.&OS=PN/D279135&RS=PN/ D279135 [uspto.gov]
Paramount Pictures Corp. Star Trek Font - Patent D262037
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm &r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D262037.WKU.&OS=PN/D262037&RS=PN/ D262037 [uspto.gov]
Paramount Pictures Corp. Star Trek - Klingon Battle Crusier - Patent
D263856
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm &r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D263856.WKU.&OS=PN/D263856&RS=PN/ D263856 [uspto.gov]
Paramount Pictures Corp. Star Trek - Miranda Class Starship - Patent
D272839
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm &r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D272839.WKU.&OS=PN/D272839&RS=PN/ D272839 [uspto.gov]
Paramount Pictures Corp. Star Trek Wrath of Khan parasite - Patent
D275777
http://patft.usp [uspto.gov]
Re:Michael Crichton = Un-Informed (Score:3, Informative)
http://patentlaw.typepad.com/patent/2005/10/labco
Fishing around on that site I found this later article [typepad.com] which covers the case and the briefs in far more detail, as well as including links to the actual briefs. It is also important to note that the blog author was one of the drafters of the brief filed by the "Intellectual Property Owner".
Jedidiah.
Re:Everything should be patented (Score:3, Informative)
I don't think your concept has been seriously considered enough to merit a +5 "Interesting" moderation, nor do I think it's good enough to seriously contemplate implementation. Your idea is what I'd normally associate with a shill for a large patent holder, like IBM or some other multinational corporation that cross-licenses its patents to cushion the blow the patent regime imposes on other organizations and individuals.
Re:Outsourcing? (Score:3, Informative)
Prior Art surely? (Score:2, Informative)
He showed me articles about his brother and himself in journals and texts in the UNE library in 1980, and the journals included reports on his "treatment" and how by heeping the levels of (as I recall) pyridoxine hyrocloride up it pushed the reaction to produce less homocysteine and more cysteine. He had regular blood tests to check that he wasnt accumulating homocyctiene in the blood. I recall him saying that his brother would be the last homocycteine urea sufferer to have the retardation, and although his brother died (he couldnt communicate a kidney infection to his carers), he was proud that the two of them were able to hgbe part of finding the cure.
Looks to me that Metabolite didnt do a very good literature search. I wonder how the shareholders would feel to know that research $$$$ were spent reproducing 1960's and 1970's research?