
Transform any text into a patent application - dvanduzer
http://lav.io/2014/05/transform-any-text-into-a-patent-application/
======
kbaker
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
They should patent the algorithm using their own generator.

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

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ntakasaki
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

~~~
zw123456
I work for a company that pays a reward for patent submissions so I have done
a fair number of them, and what has amazed me since I started doing them is
that I prepare a submission that by most estimations if a readable,
understandable explanation of the invention and I usually include some
diagrams. The company evaluates it and they deem it patentable, they then pay
special outside council, firms that specialize in such things, and they
proceed to turn it into incomprehensible legaleeze babble. They also take my
nice diagrams and turn them into those patent stick diagrams. It is too bad
that my nice understandable synopsis could not be included. But that is the
process, I think reversing the process seems almost impossible.

~~~
Angostura
> It is too bad that my nice understandable synopsis could not be included.

I suspect the issue here may be the same as the one that besets people who
want to - for example - include a nice human readable version of a EULA
alongside the legal version.

It introduces the opportunity for conflicts between the two version. Which is
the actual legally binding version?

Your nice understandable synopsis should be used by the PR department for the
press release that goes out explaining the newly awarded patent (if the PR
department does such things).

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dmd
I ran this on my thesis: [http://ix.io/cfV](http://ix.io/cfV) and it's scarily
good.

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zw123456
The ultimate irony would be to submit a patent application on this software
that generates patents.

~~~
fuckedup
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
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..

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

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StringyBob
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
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.

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

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sytelus
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.

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ww520
While it's a neat exercise, the most important part of a patent is the claims.
Everything else is fluff.

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espinchi
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/)

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kijin
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)

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drawkbox
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.

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

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iamsalman
Software eats law?

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everyone
Is this what apple uses?

