Google Patents Its Home Page 390

Posted by timothy on Thursday September 03, 2009 @08:50AM from the to-advance-useful-arts-and-sciences dept.

theodp writes "A week after new USPTO Director David Kappos pooh-poohed the idea that a lower patent allowance rate equals higher quality, Google was granted a patent on its Home Page. Subject to how the design patent is enforced, Google now owns the idea of having a giant search box in the middle of the page, with two big buttons underneath and several small links nearby. And you doubted Google's commitment to patent reform, didn't you?"

US PTO Gives Microsoft Credit For Lotus's Homework 172

Posted by kdawson on Friday July 24, 2009 @12:12PM from the inhouse-prior-art dept.

theodp writes "On Tuesday, the USPTO granted Microsoft a patent for 'Email Emotiflags' despite ample evidence of a circa-1996 Lotus Notes precedent called Mood Stamps — sender-chosen emoticons that appear next to inbox messages. Among those seemingly aware of the existence of Mood Stamps is Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie, who appears to have fielded questions about the feature while at Lotus. While simply Googling for 'Email Emotiflags' would have turned up evidence of this prior art (including a Slashdot discussion), the USPTO came up empty after instead going with the more-upscale Google Scholar and patent databases for its search effort. Think we can count on Ozzie to do the right thing and give the USPTO a heads-up?"

Comment Re:Obviously not (Score 2, Informative) 868

by Zarquon42 on Wednesday August 13, 2008 @09:22AM (#24581727) Attached to: Are US Voters Informed Enough About Science?

no, American voters are not as informed about science as they should be. They're not as well informed about anything as they should be. Ignorant people shouldn't be allowed to vote, or have any say in the lives of others -- especially if they're white protestant Christians.

I hate it when I see statements like this about ignorance of particular issues being a valid reason for disenfranchisment. Who are you to decide what topics people need to be informed of in order to qualify to vote? You seem to be ignorant of the cultural importance of religion in this country. Maybe you shouldn't be allowed to vote? I hope that in your rationality you can see that anyone can be painted as ignorant in at least one domain that could be important to selecting a president. And in your rationality hopefully you can see that universal suffrage is a much better route to take. You wouldn't want to lose your vote because of you "ignorance", and as such you probably shouldn't wish the same on those you deem "ignorant".

Senate Passes Telecom Immunity Bill 1088

Posted by timothy on Wednesday July 09, 2008 @04:30PM from the always-been-at-war-with-oceania dept.

zehnra writes "The U.S. Senate this afternoon passed the FISA Amendments Act, broadly expanding the president's warrantless surveillance authority and unconstitutionally granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in the president's illegal domestic wiretapping program. The House of Representatives passed the same bill last month, and President Bush is expected to sign the legislation into law shortly." The New York Times has a story, as does the Associated Press (carried here by Yahoo!). Reader Guppy points out the roll call for the vote.

Yahoo Patents 'Smart' Drag and Drop 128

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday January 22, 2008 @10:23AM from the will-wonders-never-cease dept.

Unequivocal writes "According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Yahoo has filed a patent for 'smart' drag and drop. From the article: 'A computer-implemented method for manipulating objects in a user interface, comprising: providing the user interface including a first interface object operable to be selected and moved within the user interface; and in response to selection and movement of the first interface object in the user interface, presenting at least one additional interface object in the user interface in proximity of the first interface object, each additional interface object representing a drop target with which the first interface object may be associated.' How do these patent claims differ from normal drag and drop? In pretty trivial ways if at all, but it may be hard for a patent examiner to understand that trivial changes in drag and drop user interface are not in fact novel enough to warrant a patent. If Yahoo gets this patent, they'll have a mighty big stick to shake at competitors."

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