Location-Based Search Was Patented In 1999 253
greenbird writes "Another patent fiasco has begun. Wired reports that a patent on location-based Internet searches was filed in 1996 and granted in 1999 (patent is here). A patent troll company name Geomas acquired the patent and has filed suit against Verizon in none other than Marshall, Texas. They claim this is the first in what will be a long line of lawsuits. Geomas has amassed a $20M war chest in venture capital to use for getting rich off of a clearly obvious idea."
Go Geomas! (Score:5, Funny)
They Forgot One! (Score:5, Funny)
15. The system of claim 1, wherein said geographical search area is
Laugh now, but thousands of years from now when you're looking for an all night Denny's around Omicron Percei 8, the system that you use will end up paying me patent royalties!
At the Risk of Taking a Joke Too Far (Score:2, Funny)
eldavojohn: "Now, your honor, I know my colleague, Red Flayer, here is trying to mystify you with his scientician speak of geo this and graphical that but I am a but a mere country chicken lawyer here to prove that my patent does hold up."
The Judge: "I'm going to allow this."
eldavojohn: "... I presume that, like most judges, you are familiar with the Ballmer/RIAA/Lucifer defense, your honor?"
The Judge: "You mean whereby I award you the patent and there is a large comically sized bag in the backseat of a BMW waiting for me in the parking lot with an equally large and comical green dollar sign on the front of it?"
eldavojohn: "It's a Viper not a BMW..."
Red Flayer: "OBJECTION!"
The Judge: "Overruled, Red Flayer. This is a court room--not some fantasy land where prior art and common sense rule. I rule in favor of eldavojohn Inc."
Re:Obvious? (Score:4, Funny)
Building a strip club?
My phone book (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Obvious? (Score:3, Funny)
And by God, I'm glad SOMEONE finally got around to figuring it out. Of course you're right, it seems so obvious now, but back in the seventies nobody would have given it a second thought, after all, that's how it had always been done, you wanted to search for a plumber, well, you opened up the National Yellow Pages to the plumber section and start calling until you find one in your city. Sure, the young whipper-snappers here never had to deal with that thanks to the fine geniuses who invented the regional Yellow Pages, but back in the corporate boom of the 80's, we had to have our foundation repaired just because the book fell off the forklift onto the front porch one year and snapped the slab clean in half.
This is just another <boomingvoice>ON THE INTERNET!</boomingvoice> patent that takes what Pizza Hut has been able to do for years (tell you which store was the closest for delivering to you) before the invention of the internet.
I must admit ... (Score:2, Funny)
Watching the American system implode is about as entertaining to me as watching the system in my own country ... Canada ... do the same.
Best of luck to the folks who are doing the suing. I look forward to the changes that will need to come about due to your careful use of a clearly defined, if not poorly designed, system.
A /. reader and a businessman go to a garage sale (Score:3, Funny)
A /. reader and a businessman go to a garage sale, where they discover a copy of Action Comics #1 priced for 35 cents.
The slashdot reader launches into a diatrabe about how it's wrong that he can't photocopy and sell the copy because, man, information wants to be free. He then launches into arguments railing against how capitalism has assigned a value to the comic other than its value for recycled paper, and for good measure complains about his city's recycling program and how few people take advantage of it.
While he's busy making cracks about how "In Soviet Russia, comics read you!" to the poor housewife, who is fearing for her life and is trying to hide under the table, he completely misses the fact that the comic is no longer there; the businessman bought it, resold it, and is driving by in his new Ferrari.
Verizon didn't search for the patent. Someone else found it and discovered they could make money by buying it cheap. It's the market in action; what's the problem here?
And why exactly is this filed under "your rights online?"