Got Frames? You Owe SBC Big-Time

pimentoLoaf · Jan 22, 2003, 09:59 PM

Possibly affecting millions of sites, it's yet another reason the US Patent Office needs a rethink.

alset · Jan 22, 2003, 10:39 PM

I can't imagine they will get away with anything so absurd. Then again, I say that about M$ all the time, and they continue to suprise me.

Dan

Sun Baked · Jan 22, 2003, 10:57 PM

I'm all for the flogging of lawyers and their clients who perpetuate this sort of insanity.

pimentoLoaf · Jan 22, 2003, 11:06 PM

The 34-page document sent to the site in question is here.

Why not Amazon.com (instead of a small-time operator), who claimed patent rights to 1-click shopping a few years ago? SBC could reap millions each year from them.

melchior · Jan 23, 2003, 06:36 AM

because amazon employs the same big ass lawyers and they'd probably never get a dime.

they simply do the same as other campanies in the same situation. go around, making a tidy profit taking smallish companies to their knees.

Kid Red · Jan 23, 2003, 11:06 AM

OMG, that's absolutely ridiculous.

Doctor Q · Jan 23, 2003, 11:25 AM

I happened to have invented the rectangle. I'll get a patent on my invention, and then everyone who uses anything rectangular will owe me royalties! Thanks for the tip!

Roger1 · Jan 23, 2003, 01:04 PM

Sounds like SBC is trying to "frame" us.

Roger1 · Jan 23, 2003, 01:08 PM

Of course, they might be trying to "think outside the box".

Roger1 · Jan 23, 2003, 01:08 PM

Kind of like that TV set that does the "picture in picture" thing

FelixDerKater · Jan 23, 2003, 01:40 PM

Darn. I should have gotten a patent a few years back on the Forward and Back buttons in web browsers.

Also, the Cancel and OK buttons would be quite profitable as well.

rainman::|:| · Jan 23, 2003, 03:35 PM

yeah, i should have gotten a patent on the phrase "hit any key to restart". i'd have made millions from MS.

there's no way this could be enforced. ever. blah.

pnw

OutThere · Jan 23, 2003, 03:35 PM

i'm thinking about patenting air-that way i can reap in royalties on every breath that someone takes.

In all seriousness though-this is up there on my list of stupid stuff in life. Do they really think that they will be able to hit everyone that has a website that uses frames? Maybe they happen to have a lot of commonly used patents that they bring up when they need some cash. "Hey, we've got a patent on all types of pencils-everyone who has ever made a pencil owes us 2 million"

RIDICULOUS

MrMacMan · Jan 23, 2003, 04:15 PM

Yeah the next time a big internet web site pops up I'll patent it and then sue them for Millions, heck why not ,

BILLIONS!
I swear they are taking this TOO far.

barkmonster · Jan 23, 2003, 06:26 PM

This is going to fall as flat on it's face as British Telecom's attempt to sue 'the internet' for using hyperlinks.

barkmonster · Jan 23, 2003, 07:33 PM

DAMN the back button on IE being so unresponsive!!

Sorry, double post.

macktheknife · Jan 27, 2003, 11:27 AM

If you think the SBC story is absurd, wait till you read about this story:

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/inves...3291-1,00.html

Quote:

The list includes an amazing array of corporations: old-economy stalwarts like Alcoa, Boeing, Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly, and GE; manufacturing behemoths like Ford, GM, and U.S. Steel; technology titans like IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Cisco. The portfolio of products covered over the years by Lemelson's patents is equally staggering: They include components in such everyday consumer products as the Walkman, the VCR, the fax machine, and the camcorder. At one time or another his patents have covered Velcro darts and industrial robots, crying dolls and semiconductors. He even holds patents--perhaps his most important ones, as we'll see--on the ubiquitous bar-code scanner.

pimentoLoaf · Jan 27, 2003, 12:31 PM

That guy couldn't have invented Velcro -- I saw T'Pol walk into a patent office with Velcro-enclosed handbag and walk out with millions on an episode of Enterprise.

Vulcans invented Velcro.

Doctor Q · Jan 27, 2003, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pimentoLoaf
Vulcans invented Velcro.

Yeah, but do you know why? So we'd all get velcro straps on our shoes and never learn to tie the lace-up kind. If humans couldn't tie their own shoes, they certainly couldn't attempt space travel. Those Vulcans just wanted to keep us grounded on planet earth. And it's all the fault of the patent office!

Jan 22, 2003, 09:59 PM	#1
pimentoLoaf macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: The SimCity Deli	Got Frames? You Owe SBC Big-Time Possibly affecting millions of sites, it's yet another reason the US Patent Office needs a rethink. __________________ Porkchops and bacon, my two favorite animals....Homer Simpson
	0

Jan 22, 2003, 10:39 PM	#2
alset macrumors 65816 Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: East Bay, CA	I can't imagine they will get away with anything so absurd. Then again, I say that about M$ all the time, and they continue to suprise me. Dan __________________ alsetmusic.com standing on the shoulders of giants....
	0

Jan 22, 2003, 10:57 PM	#3
Sun Baked macrumors G5 Join Date: May 2002	I'm all for the flogging of lawyers and their clients who perpetuate this sort of insanity. __________________ MacRumors member fails resist iPhone glamour effect, suffers credit card damage 2d8.
	0

Jan 22, 2003, 11:06 PM	#4
pimentoLoaf Thread Starter macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: The SimCity Deli	The 34-page document sent to the site in question is here. Why not Amazon.com (instead of a small-time operator), who claimed patent rights to 1-click shopping a few years ago? SBC could reap millions each year from them. __________________ Porkchops and bacon, my two favorite animals....Homer Simpson
	0

Jan 23, 2003, 11:25 AM	#7
Doctor Q macrumors god Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Los Angeles	I happened to have invented the rectangle. I'll get a patent on my invention, and then everyone who uses anything rectangular will owe me royalties! Thanks for the tip! __________________ Oh do pay attention 007. In the wrong hands, this cylindrical 12-core Mac Pro with three 4K displays, FirePro graphics, and Thunderbolt 2 could be very dangerous.
	0

Jan 23, 2003, 06:36 AM	#5
melchior macrumors 65816 Join Date: Nov 2002	because amazon employs the same big ass lawyers and they'd probably never get a dime. they simply do the same as other campanies in the same situation. go around, making a tidy profit taking smallish companies to their knees.
	0

Jan 23, 2003, 11:06 AM	#6
Kid Red macrumors 65816 Join Date: Dec 2001	OMG, that's absolutely ridiculous.
	0

Jan 23, 2003, 01:04 PM	#8
Roger1 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Michigan	Sounds like SBC is trying to "frame" us.
	0

Jan 23, 2003, 01:08 PM	#9
Roger1 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Michigan	Of course, they might be trying to "think outside the box".
	0

Jan 23, 2003, 01:40 PM	#11
FelixDerKater macrumors 65816 Join Date: Apr 2002	Darn. I should have gotten a patent a few years back on the Forward and Back buttons in web browsers. Also, the Cancel and OK buttons would be quite profitable as well.
	0

Jan 23, 2003, 03:35 PM	#12
rainman::\|:\| macrumors 603 Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: iowa	yeah, i should have gotten a patent on the phrase "hit any key to restart". i'd have made millions from MS. there's no way this could be enforced. ever. blah. pnw
	0

Jan 23, 2003, 03:35 PM	#13
OutThere macrumors 601 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: the good life	i'm thinking about patenting air-that way i can reap in royalties on every breath that someone takes. In all seriousness though-this is up there on my list of stupid stuff in life. Do they really think that they will be able to hit everyone that has a website that uses frames? Maybe they happen to have a lot of commonly used patents that they bring up when they need some cash. "Hey, we've got a patent on all types of pencils-everyone who has ever made a pencil owes us 2 million" RIDICULOUS __________________ puisqu'on est jeune et con, puisqu'ils sont vieux et fous. . .
	0

Jan 23, 2003, 04:15 PM	#14
MrMacMan macrumors 601 Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: 1 Block away from NYC.	Yeah the next time a big internet web site pops up I'll patent it and then sue them for Millions, heck why not , BILLIONS! I swear they are taking this TOO far. __________________ There is a little Steve in all of us! -->Folding is Fighting Against Disease and help MacRumors. Join Today!<-- Props to --> Shadowfax For Making My Avatar! IM Me On AIM Already!
	0

Jan 23, 2003, 06:26 PM	#15
barkmonster macrumors 65816 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Lancashire	This is going to fall as flat on it's face as British Telecom's attempt to sue 'the internet' for using hyperlinks. __________________ 16Gb iPhone 5 • 2.53Ghz Mac Mini (8Gb, 60Gb Vertex 2) • Mbox2 • LG W2343T • Samsung SyncMaster 913n
	0

Jan 23, 2003, 07:33 PM	#16
barkmonster macrumors 65816 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Lancashire	DAMN the back button on IE being so unresponsive!! Sorry, double post. __________________ 16Gb iPhone 5 • 2.53Ghz Mac Mini (8Gb, 60Gb Vertex 2) • Mbox2 • LG W2343T • Samsung SyncMaster 913n
	0

Jan 27, 2003, 12:31 PM	#18
pimentoLoaf Thread Starter macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: The SimCity Deli	That guy couldn't have invented Velcro -- I saw T'Pol walk into a patent office with Velcro-enclosed handbag and walk out with millions on an episode of Enterprise. Vulcans invented Velcro. __________________ Porkchops and bacon, my two favorite animals....Homer Simpson
	0


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