Ask HN: I have a question about shady patent trolls

1 pointsixQuarks3 comments

If I'm the first to launch a web site with a new kind of business model, assuming that I didn't get a patent for it, can someone patent that business method afterwards and than sue me later?

Also, could I patent the business method down the road since I was the first one to launch it? Even if other companies copied my idea?

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You need to clearly declare a prior art detailing your idea to protect it in the first place. This can be done by writing down your idea and having three people attest and sign on it. Another method is to file your idea with an organization such as Writers guild of America http://www.wga.org. But to make commercial use of your idea, you need to file a patent in every country you plan to do business.

Answering your first question, they can't. Their patent would be rendered invalid since your earlier website would be a "prior art".

I'd replace "can't" with "shouldn't be able to, but don't count on it". Every week there is a new case involving patents with obvious prior art getting through. As America has switched to a first-to-file system (as of the America Invents Act), you'll also have to prove that you invented it first. This presumably is easier with a website front-end, but possibly less so with back-end technologies.

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