Found this inquirer link. Network Associates claim 'all your remote management tools are belong to us'
Have you noticed that, first, this crap has gotten out of hand and, second, that it all seems to have started when the Supreme Court ruled that lawyers can advertise? Do you think that the Patent Office staffers come out of their holes (a la Punxatawney Phil) to check the landscape before handing out patents? I would expect both Bill Gates and Peter Norton to have a ball with this one should it ever come to a court fight!
Finally, an area I know a little about (besides computers, that is). I was an examiner's aide in the US Patent Office way back in the 60's (long before anyone dreamed of software patents). Essentially 99 percent of getting a patent revolves around 35 USC 103 -- whether or not the thing's been patented before, or something close enough that the differences would be "obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art". Whether or not the patent, if issued, will stand up in court if challenged is a whole different issue and doesn't usually involve the Patent Office. From the PO's point of view, patentability depends on the "prior art", i.e., previous patents, and as dangitall pointed out, there's not much concern with what's currently happening "out there in the real world".
Yep I feel the same way but those yahoos beat me to it. Always a day late and a few million short. [move]big bill is mad he didn't think of it first[/move]
