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You can't patent source code, IIRC. You definitely can't patent a kill switch.
by jimmywanger 10y ago
You can't patent source code, IIRC. You definitely can't patent a kill switch.
- Twirrim 10y agoYou can get patents on what the source code does, that's the basis of so many of these stupid "answer a phone, take notes, but using a computer" style patents that are a huge cause of pain. It's very possible, if this story is true (and I'm sceptical), that they could have got a patent on everything the code does, including covering a kill switch. It'd be null and void about as fast as anyone could say "prior art", but that doesn't stop it being issued.
- jimmywanger 10y agoWell, he says the source code lives "on his computer" and he "owns the patent for it". That implies that he patented the source code, which you cannot do. You can copyright source code, I think, but you can't patent the actual code. This story is sort of fake on the face of it. He said in the story that they used to hire a vendor to take care of what his program did, which implies prior art. And if the company is really losing millions of dollars a week, well, last I checked, it's a lot cheaper to hire lawyers, get a temporary injunction, stop the bleeding, and invalidate the patent.