Don’t Want On That Jury
Google Patents. this article from techcrunch reminded me of some research I did on Google Patents sometime back concering panoramic images stitching software. Seems a team of laywers teamed up agaist the professor who actually invented the programming and shut him down, the company that takes up the patent (ipix)..eventually goes belly up (serves them right) and now sony buys the patent off of them for 3.6 millionI would certainly talk with some of the inventors.. but I imagine this goes on a lot more than anyone ever sees and I can also forsee that in truly technical or scientific terms much of it is hard to distinguish one from another. I am concerned with intellectual property rights because I have seen my own ideas and imagery used over and over again. The problem seems to me that many of the patents are so vague that internet technology can put them to work in a number of detailed ways. I’ve got to give it to the guys that filed for patents back in 91 for internet stuff.. or most likely they’re the same type of people that through the power of laywers, courts and money.. push thier ownership rights over the true idea guys.. huhm.. seems that the international intellectual rights bunch and us patent office might need to rethink how and what gets licensed to whom.