> Because searching prior art is hard. One of the points why software patents are so problematic. If there would be a search engine, where you could enter your

> Because searching prior art is hard. One of the points why software patents are so problematic. If there would be a search engine, where you could enter your function (concrete implementation) and it would come back with the patent fees you would have to pay for the next 5 years on a monthly basis and a checkout button, there would be a lot less resistance against the system. Not because anybody would like the idea of patents any more, but because there would be an easy way of getting around a lot of legal uncertainty. Btw. If the patent system will not change, that will be a cool idea for an AI startup in 2060 ;-)