I cannot believe that solution was allowed to be patented. How crappy is our patent process? Most engineers writing code would come up with that solution first.
Every patent attorney I've ever worked with has emphasized that engineers are not equipped to determine if an idea is obvious and should let the PTO decide.
They say this because they know the USPTO strategy is to just hand out patents after putting in some bare minimum effort to review, and postpone the real review process to the unlikely day that someone chooses to challenge it in court and can pay private firms to do their job for them.
The winners in this arrangement are the government, the big law firms, and the large corporations that can afford them.
They say this because they know the USPTO strategy is to just hand out patents after putting in some bare minimum effort to review, and postpone the real review process to the unlikely day that someone chooses to challenge it in court and can pay private firms to do their job for them.
The winners in this arrangement are the government, the big law firms, and the large corporations that can afford them.