EBay in patent dispute.
September 30, 2002 9:16 PM Subscribe
EBay in patent dispute. EBay is currently involved in a patent dispute with someone who claims to have patented the idea of online auctions in 1995. EBay believes it has found prior art in a USENET post from 1994.
I auctioned my collection of Dragon magazines over FidoNet in 1993 in a Gaming Auctions forum.
posted by mischief at 4:37 AM on October 1, 2002
posted by mischief at 4:37 AM on October 1, 2002
The very idea that you could patent online auctioning at all is absurd.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 7:33 AM on October 1, 2002
posted by monju_bosatsu at 7:33 AM on October 1, 2002
I remember drawing up plans for an online swap meet in the summer of 1994. I never did anything about it, and couldn't figure out how to get a BBS with enough lines to be national, but I also had the idea. Apparently everyone else did too :)
posted by jragon at 7:45 AM on October 1, 2002
posted by jragon at 7:45 AM on October 1, 2002
There is something really, fundamentally, basically broken with regards to U.S. commerce law when you can monpolize a concept.
The implementation of something, sure - that's the way copyright law works, or trademark law. But the basic idea? It's enough to make one wonder if perhaps corporations don't have the public interest even on the agenda anywhere...
posted by nick.a at 3:27 PM on October 1, 2002
The implementation of something, sure - that's the way copyright law works, or trademark law. But the basic idea? It's enough to make one wonder if perhaps corporations don't have the public interest even on the agenda anywhere...
posted by nick.a at 3:27 PM on October 1, 2002
I first came up with the idea of being hungry while on the internet in 1993.
posted by glenwood at 10:07 AM on October 2, 2002
posted by glenwood at 10:07 AM on October 2, 2002
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posted by Stuart_R at 10:08 PM on September 30, 2002