The USPTO sucks big time at checking for prior art...and even if prior art exists, a simple change of wording is more than enough for a patent to be awarded...thanks to today's broken patent system.
How did Apple end up with patents for rectangles with rounded corners and a grid of icons...not to mention certain touchscreen actions. They all have prior art. The way the Patent system works right now is that they award patents almost by default..and let companies fight over prior art in the courts..costing taxpayers billions..not to mention stifled innovation and bullied small-companies. For example, Grid of icons existed in both computer OS's and even mobile OS's prior to the Iphone. However Apple filed for a patent, got it...and is now suing the shit out of everyone else for this "innovation".
The mere fact that the Appeals Courts thought that basic human genes could be patent-able speaks volumes about the quality of the judges and the patent system in the country.
Edit history
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
= new reply since forum marked as read