Here's the abstract on a recently-applied-for and utterly Onion-esque patent titled, Process of relaying a story having a unique plot. It was granted to plotpatents.com.
A process of relaying a story having a timeline and a unique plot involving characters comprises: indicating a character's desire at a first time in the timeline for at least one of the following: a) to remain asleep or unconscious until a particular event occurs; and b) to forget or be substantially unable to recall substantially all events during the time period from the first time until a particular event occurs; indicating the character's substantial inability at a time after the occurrence of the particular event to recall substantially all events during the time period from the first time to the occurrence of the particular event; and indicating that during the time period the character was an active participant in a plurality of events.
via Groklaw, who says,
They have at last invented a way to destroy all cultural development forevermore. That's an achievement of a sort. (…) Remember, a published patent means it hasn't issued yet. But if you wish to throw up, read about the dreams being dreamed. They are willing to destroy the world's culture for $67,200. Here's Knight and Associates' legal analysis, which they are probably proud of. To me, it's like figuring out how to destroy the planet and all human life on it. What is your responsibility? To implement it, to even tell anyone what you cleverly invented? I know. Knight and Associates would advise patenting it first.
Reader comment:
Jim's Polka says:
No patent has actually been granted. So far, he's filed a provisional application for a patent and a non-provisional application. Now that it's been 18 months since he filed the application, the PTO has published it, i.e. made it publicly available. Groklaw, like Slashdot did yesterday, made a mistake in their headline that implied that the patent had already been granted. She does, however, note in the third paragraph that the patent hasn't been granted yet.
As for me, I'm with Groklaw – I'm not persuaded by their legal analysis. But it's too early to get upset with the PTO or the patent system about this. The PTO hasn't even had the chance to reject it yet. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind smacking the idiot who filed the application.
Remember, this is all based off of this guy's press release. I think he's taken advantage of people's prejudices about the patent system to earn himself some easy publicity.
And Stephen Bruce Lindholm says,
Most patent applications are published after 18 months. Knight & Assocs. want to make a business of filing "plot patents." This is their test case, which is why these crackpots are willing to waste a lot of money on it. If they do succeed (in my view, they certainly will not) it would certainly lead to Congressional action to cut back the patent system.
Reader comment: Cheesedog says,
Since this was a provisional patent application, and according to the American Inventor's Protection Act (AIPA), Knight and his buddies can now — as of yesterday — extract reasonable royalties from any infringers. Right to Create has the details. Let the litigation begin!
