7 ms·

Transform any text into a patent application

206 points by dvanduzer 12y ago

zw123456 12y ago
The ultimate irony would be to submit a patent application on this software that generates patents.
- hughw 12y ago
  Simply run the essay through the patent generator!
- fuckedup 12y ago
  That too completely automated ... Like generate -> submit money via gateway -> print n send to verify -> get sms alert over apis -> etc ..... Basically u submit the money rest taken care .... an app on playstore n iphone will be great ....
  - mcintyre1994 12y ago
    Ha, let's make it a game too! IAPs to get a better lawyer or choose where you sue infringers, global hiscores for the most successful patent trolls (players), share successful suings to Facebook..
- zem 12y ago
  you almost had me there, bezos! http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20030301 http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20030301
- skylan_q 12y ago
  Or a patent application describing the automation of the application of patents that were generated by patent-generating software.
- crucialfelix 12y ago
  Maybe you remember that Halliburton got a patent on a method of patent trolling: http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1=20080270152&OS=20080270152&RS=20080270152 http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=... Patent Acquisition and Assertion by a (Non-Inventor) First Party Against a Second Party Abstract Methods for a first party to acquire and assert a patent property against a second party are disclosed. The methods include obtaining an equity interest in the patent property. The methods further include writing a claim within the scope of the patent property. The claim is written to cover a product of the second party where the product includes a secret aspect. The methods further include filing the claim with a patent office. The methods sometimes include offering a license of the patent property to the second party after the patent property issues as a patent with the claim. The methods sometimes include asserting infringement of the claim by the second party after the patent property issues as a patent with the claim. The methods sometimes include negotiating a cross-license with the second party based on the assertion of infringement of the claim, where under the cross-license the first party obtains a license to an intellectual property right from the second party. The methods sometime include attempting to obtain a monetary settlement from the second party based on the assertion of infringement of a claim.
iamsalman 12y ago
Software eats law?
ntakasaki 12y ago
What would be more useful is to transform a patent to plain non-BS language. Its probably hard but it should help developers understand patents quickly(one point of patents is to release trade secrets to researchers). And yes I know the risk of treble damages from intentional infringement if the patent was read. Also, hopefully such a tool will prevent some folks from knee jerk reactions based on patent titles(who am I kidding :). I bet it would be very hard to make such a tool though
- jarrett 12y ago
  I'm not sure that patents can be represented in any simpler form. They're a sort of programming language of their own, in that they (in theory) encode precise legal claims. The patent system has a specified "language" for encoding that information. Because the information is inherently complex and nuanced, there may not be a way to encode it more simply than in the "programming language" patents currently use. To make an analogy, C is hard to read for newcomers. But has anyone designed a simpler, better language for describing direct, low-level manipulation of memory? Is it even possible to describe such operations in a simpler way than in C? That being said, any given patent isn't necessarily written well. Within the confines of the "patent programming language," one can write well or poorly. So I'm not claiming that individual patents can't be edited for clarity. Rather, I'm claiming that the fundamental way patents are written--which is admittedly intimidating--may not admit of much simplification. To revisit the above analogy, one can write bad C. One can even write deliberately obfuscated C.
  - dvanduzer 12y ago
    Petar Maymounkov is doing some really interesting research in that direction: http://www.maymounkov.org/memex/abstract http://www.maymounkov.org/memex/abstract
  - ntakasaki 12y ago
    It's unfortunate that the patent language is mired in obtuse legalese rather than understandability by actual programmers. For example, take a Shazam-like song id algorithm. Technical blog post explaining the technology: http://laplacian.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/how-shazam-works/ http://laplacian.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/how-shazam-works/ Patent covering such an algo(is it the same? I can't even tell!): http://www.google.com/patents/US6941275?dq=.+6,941,275 http://www.google.com/patents/US6941275?dq=.+6,941,275 From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_patent_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_patent_law The word patent even means 'in the open'. When was the last time someone linked to a software patent to share knowledge or enlightenment?
rationalthug 12y ago
This is fantastic. I've been reading through bunches of patents lately doing research for a project and this actually made laugh out loud.
higherpurpose 12y ago
Is this patented? Think about how much money you could make suing law firms actually using this...
TempleOSV207 12y ago
God is perfectly just. Relax -- it is impossible to gain or lose you balance of karma in an instant.
dmd 12y ago
I ran this on my thesis: http://ix.io/cfV http://ix.io/cfV and it's scarily good.
StringyBob 12y ago
The post script comment about typing swear words into google patent search is hilarious, even if it is only a translation artifact - for example the first one I stumbled across: https://www.google.com/patents/CN202375763U?cl=en https://www.google.com/patents/CN202375763U?cl=en
- saaaam 12y ago
  Hi! Original author of the post here. Yes - lot of the funny ones seem to be the result of translation issues. It's just amazing how the translator (I'm assuming it's automated) likes to pick the most graphic possible words for human anatomy.
noonespecial 12y ago
Every day closer to Accelerando by Charlie Stross. You should make it into a kind of wizard that asks the user a few questions about their "invention" and then spits out an application ready to file like Turbotax.
- saaaam 12y ago
  Great idea - although I think my next step is to automatically send out patent infringement cease-and-desist notices.
kbaker 12y ago
Hilarious... I liked this one linked from the article which created a patent out of the Communist Manifesto: ... Figure 1 is an isometric view of the progressive historical development of the proletariat. ... The present invention is itself the product of a long course. The present invention finds its fitting complement in the most slothful indolence. The present invention creates a world after its own image. The present invention endangers the existence of bourgeois property. The present invention becomes an appendage of the machine. This is great. [1] http://saaaam.s3.amazonaws.com/communist.pdf http://saaaam.s3.amazonaws.com/communist.pdf
- aragot 12y ago
  They should patent the algorithm using their own generator.
coldcode 12y ago
Can we turn HN into a patent application? I wonder if it would work on a list of titles.
sytelus 12y ago
You can turn this in to a cool Wordpress plugin for adding a ribbon for blog posts: "Patent me on USPTO". It would be like ribbon for "Fork me on Github" :). This has real possibility of increasing awareness about how broken current patent system is.
everyone 12y ago
Is this what apple uses?
drawkbox 12y ago
Through automation like this, maybe the patent system can be overloaded and have to be reformed if automated patent filings filled the queues and everyone starts getting wacky patents.
ww520 12y ago
While it's a neat exercise, the most important part of a patent is the claims. Everything else is fluff.
espinchi 12y ago
I love how the author explains how (relatively) simple doing these transformations is. We've used pretty much the same technique for this little pet project of ours where we add profanity to English texts: http://cursingapi.com/ http://cursingapi.com/
- jumanji00 12y ago
  seriously, why the FUCK would you waste internet bandwidth ? As if people had less words to curse so you are automated it! Total waste of time and 'oh look at me , I am so cool' attitude.
kijin 12y ago
Excellent, now generate a fake patent and submit it to the USPTO. If it gets approved, we're in for another round of Sokal affair [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokal_affair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokal_affair

206 points by dvanduzer 12y ago

zw123456 12y ago

The ultimate irony would be to submit a patent application on this software that generates patents.

hughw 12y ago
Simply run the essay through the patent generator!
fuckedup 12y ago
That too completely automated ... Like generate -> submit money via gateway -> print n send to verify -> get sms alert over apis -> etc ..... Basically u submit the money rest taken care .... an app on playstore n iphone will be great ....
- mcintyre1994 12y ago
  Ha, let's make it a game too! IAPs to get a better lawyer or choose where you sue infringers, global hiscores for the most successful patent trolls (players), share successful suings to Facebook..
zem 12y ago
you almost had me there, bezos! http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20030301 http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20030301
skylan_q 12y ago
Or a patent application describing the automation of the application of patents that were generated by patent-generating software.
crucialfelix 12y ago
Maybe you remember that Halliburton got a patent on a method of patent trolling: http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1=20080270152&OS=20080270152&RS=20080270152 http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=... Patent Acquisition and Assertion by a (Non-Inventor) First Party Against a Second Party Abstract Methods for a first party to acquire and assert a patent property against a second party are disclosed. The methods include obtaining an equity interest in the patent property. The methods further include writing a claim within the scope of the patent property. The claim is written to cover a product of the second party where the product includes a secret aspect. The methods further include filing the claim with a patent office. The methods sometimes include offering a license of the patent property to the second party after the patent property issues as a patent with the claim. The methods sometimes include asserting infringement of the claim by the second party after the patent property issues as a patent with the claim. The methods sometimes include negotiating a cross-license with the second party based on the assertion of infringement of the claim, where under the cross-license the first party obtains a license to an intellectual property right from the second party. The methods sometime include attempting to obtain a monetary settlement from the second party based on the assertion of infringement of a claim.

iamsalman 12y ago

Software eats law?

ntakasaki 12y ago

What would be more useful is to transform a patent to plain non-BS language. Its probably hard but it should help developers understand patents quickly(one point of patents is to release trade secrets to researchers). And yes I know the risk of treble damages from intentional infringement if the patent was read. Also, hopefully such a tool will prevent some folks from knee jerk reactions based on patent titles(who am I kidding :). I bet it would be very hard to make such a tool though

jarrett 12y ago
I'm not sure that patents can be represented in any simpler form. They're a sort of programming language of their own, in that they (in theory) encode precise legal claims. The patent system has a specified "language" for encoding that information. Because the information is inherently complex and nuanced, there may not be a way to encode it more simply than in the "programming language" patents currently use. To make an analogy, C is hard to read for newcomers. But has anyone designed a simpler, better language for describing direct, low-level manipulation of memory? Is it even possible to describe such operations in a simpler way than in C? That being said, any given patent isn't necessarily written well. Within the confines of the "patent programming language," one can write well or poorly. So I'm not claiming that individual patents can't be edited for clarity. Rather, I'm claiming that the fundamental way patents are written--which is admittedly intimidating--may not admit of much simplification. To revisit the above analogy, one can write bad C. One can even write deliberately obfuscated C.
- dvanduzer 12y ago
  Petar Maymounkov is doing some really interesting research in that direction: http://www.maymounkov.org/memex/abstract http://www.maymounkov.org/memex/abstract
- ntakasaki 12y ago
  It's unfortunate that the patent language is mired in obtuse legalese rather than understandability by actual programmers. For example, take a Shazam-like song id algorithm. Technical blog post explaining the technology: http://laplacian.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/how-shazam-works/ http://laplacian.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/how-shazam-works/ Patent covering such an algo(is it the same? I can't even tell!): http://www.google.com/patents/US6941275?dq=.+6,941,275 http://www.google.com/patents/US6941275?dq=.+6,941,275 From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_patent_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_patent_law The word patent even means 'in the open'. When was the last time someone linked to a software patent to share knowledge or enlightenment?

rationalthug 12y ago

This is fantastic. I've been reading through bunches of patents lately doing research for a project and this actually made laugh out loud.

higherpurpose 12y ago

Is this patented? Think about how much money you could make suing law firms actually using this...

TempleOSV207 12y ago

God is perfectly just. Relax -- it is impossible to gain or lose you balance of karma in an instant.

dmd 12y ago

I ran this on my thesis: http://ix.io/cfV http://ix.io/cfV and it's scarily good.

StringyBob 12y ago

The post script comment about typing swear words into google patent search is hilarious, even if it is only a translation artifact - for example the first one I stumbled across: https://www.google.com/patents/CN202375763U?cl=en https://www.google.com/patents/CN202375763U?cl=en

saaaam 12y ago
Hi! Original author of the post here. Yes - lot of the funny ones seem to be the result of translation issues. It's just amazing how the translator (I'm assuming it's automated) likes to pick the most graphic possible words for human anatomy.

noonespecial 12y ago

Every day closer to Accelerando by Charlie Stross. You should make it into a kind of wizard that asks the user a few questions about their "invention" and then spits out an application ready to file like Turbotax.

saaaam 12y ago
Great idea - although I think my next step is to automatically send out patent infringement cease-and-desist notices.

kbaker 12y ago

Hilarious... I liked this one linked from the article which created a patent out of the Communist Manifesto: ... Figure 1 is an isometric view of the progressive historical development of the proletariat. ... The present invention is itself the product of a long course. The present invention finds its fitting complement in the most slothful indolence. The present invention creates a world after its own image. The present invention endangers the existence of bourgeois property. The present invention becomes an appendage of the machine. This is great. [1] http://saaaam.s3.amazonaws.com/communist.pdf http://saaaam.s3.amazonaws.com/communist.pdf

aragot 12y ago
They should patent the algorithm using their own generator.

coldcode 12y ago

Can we turn HN into a patent application? I wonder if it would work on a list of titles.

sytelus 12y ago

You can turn this in to a cool Wordpress plugin for adding a ribbon for blog posts: "Patent me on USPTO". It would be like ribbon for "Fork me on Github" :). This has real possibility of increasing awareness about how broken current patent system is.

everyone 12y ago

Is this what apple uses?

drawkbox 12y ago

Through automation like this, maybe the patent system can be overloaded and have to be reformed if automated patent filings filled the queues and everyone starts getting wacky patents.

ww520 12y ago

While it's a neat exercise, the most important part of a patent is the claims. Everything else is fluff.

espinchi 12y ago

I love how the author explains how (relatively) simple doing these transformations is. We've used pretty much the same technique for this little pet project of ours where we add profanity to English texts: http://cursingapi.com/ http://cursingapi.com/

jumanji00 12y ago
seriously, why the FUCK would you waste internet bandwidth ? As if people had less words to curse so you are automated it! Total waste of time and 'oh look at me , I am so cool' attitude.

kijin 12y ago

Excellent, now generate a fake patent and submit it to the USPTO. If it gets approved, we're in for another round of Sokal affair [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokal_affair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokal_affair