Pop-up Patent

[WindHydra]

What the heck
http://forums.t35.net/viewtopic.php?t=1767
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3078633/
What is US Patent Office doing??

http://www.bustpatents.com/
Is it really that messed up? Or is it just in the software/internet area?

[Radix865]

I'd really like to kill that dude... I hate pop-ups!

[Betamax]

Could be a double edged sword.... if such a patent was upheld, it could act as a deterent for sites using popups, who would seek to use other forms of unpatented advertising. This coupled with a popup blocker to be included in ie with the next win xp service pack (assuming it works) could mean we will likely see a change in the way internet advertising is performed (and this could be either a positive or a negative thing).

[wise_evian]

hmmm I have to agree. Advertisers have funny ways of creating the most irritating way to post their ads. If pop-ups become a thing of the past they will probably resort to new ways.

[Boltzmann]

Originally Posted by Betamax

Could be a double edged sword.... if such a patent was upheld, it could act as a deterent for sites using popups, who would seek to use other forms of unpatented advertising. This coupled with a popup blocker to be included in ie with the next win xp service pack (assuming it works) could mean we will likely see a change in the way internet advertising is performed (and this could be either a positive or a negative thing).

You're right, Beta. And I really fear what new forms of advertisement they will come up with. Pop-ups are annoying, but easily blocked today... I wonder what nasty "feature" will be introduced

[FLaRe85]

I've never understood how or why you're able to patent a technique. I can see the legitimacy in patenting products (save software), but saying "I own this way of doing such-and-such" is ridiculous.

[Player-X]

*patenets the using lungs to absorb oxygen techique*

Looks like laws can't keep up with technology in everycountry in the world

[WindHydra]

Originally Posted by FLaRe85

saying "I own this way of doing such-and-such" is ridiculous.

Ya, the same effect can be achieved through different means, so they shouldn't be able to patent a way to do stuff.

[Kirby]

There's a big patent war going on in europe. You can't go on any type of free software site and not see a ad called "Software Patents Kill Innovation"

We are protesting against attempts to legalise software patents in Europe.

For KDE developers, investors and users alike, this directive would mean legal uncertainty: a patent minefield. With the current flood of trivial patents legalised, software innovation would become a dangerous enterprise in Europe.

The Council of Ministers is pushing for unlimited patentability of software, heavily lobbied by patent lawyers. Don't let them ignore the European Parliament's democratic decision of 24th September 2003. The parliament's decision to limit software patentability has the support of more than 300.000 citizens, 2.000.000 SMEs and dozens of economists and scientists.

More info on software patents at FFII.