{"id":237,"date":"2012-08-07T00:35:13","date_gmt":"2012-08-07T00:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/Wordpress\/?p=237"},"modified":"2012-08-07T00:35:13","modified_gmt":"2012-08-07T00:35:13","slug":"patent_madness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness","title":{"rendered":"Patent Madness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" src=\"\/images\/NewsImages\/2012\/laser-pointer-cat.jpg\" alt=\"Crab cat chases laser pointer\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"http:\/\/boingboing.net\/2012\/08\/03\/patent-on-a-method-for-exercis.html\" onclick=\"PS.Core.Popup(this, 800, 600);return false;\" title=\"Opens in a new window\">recent post on Boing Boing<\/a> highlights the silliness of some patents. Did you know, for example, that when you tease your cat with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/meeting-presentation\/projection\/c-2689\">laser pointer<\/a>, you are using a patented<\/p>\n<p>The exercise method is described by them thus:<\/p>\n<p><i>&ldquo;A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser apparatus onto the floor or wall or other opaque surface in the vicinity of the cat, then moving the laser so as to cause the bright pattern of light to move in an irregular way fascinating to cats, and to any other animal with a chase instinct.&rdquo;<\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/boingboing.net\/2012\/08\/03\/patent-on-a-method-for-exercis.html\" onclick=\"PS.Core.Popup(this, 800, 600);return false;\" title=\"Opens in a new window\">As is pointed out<\/a>, amusing your cat with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/health-safety\/other-safety-products\/l-5589\">torch<\/a> is recommended in a 1982 book <i>One Hundred and Eighty-Seven Ways to Amuse a Bored Cat<\/i> so Amiss and Abbott&#8217;s idea is hardly original. It also turns out extremely similar patents have been issued several times.<\/p>\n<p>Slightly more sinister are the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/blogs\/money\/2012\/08\/01\/157743897\/can-you-get-a-patent-on-being-a-patent-troll\" onclick=\"PS.Core.Popup(this, 800, 600);return false;\" title=\"Opens in a new window\">separate attempts of IBM and halliburton to patent patent trolling<\/a> &ndash; the practice of aggressively trying to profit from patent ownership without any intention to manufacture the patented invention.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.freepatentsonline.com\/crazy.html\" onclick=\"PS.Core.Popup(this, 800, 600);return false;\" title=\"Opens in a new window\">Click here for a satisfying list of mad patents<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent post on Boing Boing highlights the silliness of some patents. Did you know, for example, that when you tease your cat with a laser pointer, you are using a patented The exercise method is described by them thus: &ldquo;A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Fun","category-Presentation_Equipment"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Patent Madness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patent Madness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A recent post on Boing Boing highlights the silliness of some patents. Did you know, for example, that when you tease your cat with a laser pointer, you are using a patented The exercise method is described by them thus: &ldquo;A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"paperstone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-07T00:35:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paperstone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@paperstone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@paperstone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paperstone\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/patent_madness#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/patent_madness\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Paperstone\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b\"},\"headline\":\"Patent Madness\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-07T00:35:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/patent_madness\"},\"wordCount\":200,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Fun\",\"Presentation Equipment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/patent_madness#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/patent_madness\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/patent_madness\",\"name\":\"Patent Madness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-07T00:35:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/patent_madness\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"Paperstone - Office life, work and fun\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b\",\"name\":\"Paperstone\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Paperstone\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\",\"paperstone\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/paperstone\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Patent Madness","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Patent Madness","og_description":"A recent post on Boing Boing highlights the silliness of some patents. Did you know, for example, that when you tease your cat with a laser pointer, you are using a patented The exercise method is described by them thus: &ldquo;A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness","article_author":"paperstone","article_published_time":"2012-08-07T00:35:13+00:00","author":"Paperstone","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@paperstone","twitter_site":"@paperstone","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Paperstone","Estimated reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness"},"author":{"name":"Paperstone","@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/#\/schema\/person\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b"},"headline":"Patent Madness","datePublished":"2012-08-07T00:35:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness"},"wordCount":200,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Fun","Presentation Equipment"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness","url":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness","name":"Patent Madness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-08-07T00:35:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/#\/schema\/person\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/patent_madness"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/","name":"","description":"Paperstone - Office life, work and fun","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/#\/schema\/person\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b","name":"Paperstone","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Paperstone"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk","paperstone","https:\/\/x.com\/paperstone"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}