bsdbigot's Journal: Stupid Patent System

So, a friend of mine and I recently sat down for several hours, cumulative, of high-level design to address a significant technology problem. We both had our own personal view, and we had a common goal. After the initial design conversations were done, we had what amounts to a pretty good idea. The problem is, once we hit research mode, I dug up a recent (last 2 years) patent application which addresses, say, a good 80 percent of our idea.

So, that's great news, right? Wrong. The problem is that this great idea, which we worked at with no knowledge of the existing patent pending, is ours; we came up with it on our own, independently. And, if we were to implement it, I'd hate the stigma of being second best, of sharing the idea with this major corporate interest with whom we have no affiliation.

The point is, patenting ideas as inventions is ridiculously dumb. It stifles innovation. It's such an amazingly inane process that I cannot express in words my displeasure.

Our idea amounted to a well-defined protocol, a language which is spoken between two computer processes. A Language. I've got a great idea:

1. Patent English
2. Sue everyone
3. Profit

Bah, humbug. I'm pissed.