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I posted the same comment to the <sci.electronics.design> newsgroup and there is an authoritative rebuttal. Phew. ========= ============ On Wed, 25 Sep 2002 15:23:57 GMT, "Mike" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: There is, but it's not what you think. First, current US patents are numbered in the 6,xxx,xxx range, so the number you give is invalid. Second, there were no US patents issued on June 6, 2002, according to the USPTO patent server. Third, there are no patents issued in the past six years with the terms "Communications," "system," and "disabled," in the title. What you /have/ found is a patent /application/, which is just that: no patent has been granted. The application has claims, and those claims are expressed as generally as possible in the original patent application. The general claims are usually challenged during examination, and are unlikely to survive in their present form. Here's an interesting patent for you: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1 &u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%276368227%27.WKU.&OS=PN/6368227&RS =PN/6368227 For those who don't want to follow the link, it's for a new method of swinging. On a swing. Sideways. Not sitting sideways, swinging sideways, instead of back and forth. I'm sure many folks will wring their hands, as did the original poster, and decry the system that could allow this patent to be issued (unlike your application, this is a patent). The original poster claimed that the patent was "issued, valid, and enforcable." One suspects that enforceability hasn't been decided, but this is usenet, and I suppose we should be grateful that he didn't claim that the FBI was descending on schoolyards and arresting first-graders for illegally swinging sideways. Will the patent be reexamined? Probably not. Is it really enforceable? Probably not. Will anyone try to enforce it? Probably not. Does it mean the whole system is irreparably broken, and beyond all hope of repair? Probably not. Does it mean civilization will soon slide into the abyss? Probably not. But this is usenet, where "probably not" can be replaced with "the government has definitive proof that this is true. It's in the same vault as the alien spaceship at area 51." For those who are interested in a rational, and exceptionally readable, introduction to US patent law, pick up a copy of "Patent Law Essentials, A Concise Guide," by Alan L. Durham. For those who would like a brief introduction to reading patents, check out http://www.yale.edu/ocr/inventors.html . Scroll down to the "Patent Law You Can Use," section, and click on the "Reading a Patent" links (parts I and II). -- Mike -- ----------End of Message---------- Archives for the Accessibuilt discussion list are located at www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/accessibuilt.html You can JOIN or Leave the list from this web page as well