Patenting stories. Evil, Pure Evil!

[RedShirtNo5]

This patent application appears to be the "unique fictional storyline". Frankly, it looks like a conventional amnesia story, although I haven't looked at it too closely.

The problem is that recent caselaw is actually rather favorable to this guy, and the Patent Office just isn't equipped to deal with applications that come out of left-field.

Even if somehow this slips through and the patent is approved, could you imagine the unholy alliance of movie studios, book publishers, TV channels, video game companies, pretty much the entire entertainment industry uniting to take them on in court.

Actually, don't be so sure. The large entertainment companies have somethign to gain. Specifically, existing media companies could generate patent portfolios and then cross-license each other, but prevent entry of new companies into the field. On the other hand, they haven't had to deal with patent trolls before.

-RedShirt

 

[Endur]

It depends how he wrote his patent application.

But many similar patents have already been approved (lots of business methods).

So I wouldn't be suprised if he gets his patent.

 

[Psionicist]

Even if somehow this slips through and the patent is approved, could you imagine the unholy alliance of movie studios, book publishers, TV channels, video game companies, pretty much the entire entertainment industry uniting to take them on in court.

I don't think so. Big companies like patents. Many many years ago there were no patents whatsoever about computer software. Then someone, somewhere, decided to start patenting. And now there are tens of thousands of software patents.

Look at how protective the movie industry is about their content. If it weren't for them, copyright itself wouldn't last for 100 years.