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Comment by iovrthoughtthis | Hacker News Reader

how can you patent something with prior, public art?

One possible explanation… Patents go to the first to file. The prior art search focuses on prior patents. Patent examiners can’t consider something prior art until they know about it. It is possible to invalidate a patent after the fact in situations like this, but that’s expensive (as the article describes).

Info on first to file:

> The first inventor to file (FITF) provision of the America Invents Act transitions the U.S. to a first-inventor-to-file system from a first-to-invent system and became effective on March 16, 2013. The provision introduced changes to 35 U.S.C. § 102 that impact patent prosecution directly. https://www.uspto.gov/patents/first-inventor-file-fitf-resou...

I didn’t click through to look at the actual patent, but it’s also possible the patent was narrowly written to focus on an industry specific application.

This is only partially true. When you file a patent, you have a 'duty of candor.' The filer _must_ disclose all prior art they know of. If they don't, it's straightforward though time consuming to invalidate the patent.

We need something similar to the EFF but for invalidating patents and other IP protections given to those who got them through the design of the lawfare system. It's too expensive for most small to medium size companies to take on a multinational that has fooled the government into granting them an exclusive license over some part of innovation that they didn't actually innovate.

EFF is actually one of the orgs doing some work in this space. Another great reason to be a donor! https://www.eff.org/pages/defend-innovation

You can patent anything (https://patents.google.com/patent/US6368227B1/en) and the barrier to having it granted is incredibly low. The patent office works on the premise of granting the patent and letting the lawyers figure it out afterwards. Enormous volumes of nonsense patents are granted every year, "inventors" who then go forth and try to remora off actually innovators.

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