Patents

8:24 PM

@waxeagle Your question is far too broad

@Gilles ok, how do we narrow it and still make it useful? It's a question a lot of people are going to have.

@waxeagle first read the Wikipedia on the topic

Who is the audience for this site again? Is this the one for trolls we've all been waiting for?

@random no, it's a serious site in collaboration with the USPTO

read the faq (you have to have an account, it's a private beta)

Software patent

A software patent has been defined by the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) as being a "patent on any performance of a computer realised by means of a computer program". The FFII and other campaign groups argue that such patents should not be granted. Most countries place some limits on the patenting of invention involving software, but there is no legal definition of a software patent. For example, U.S. patent law excludes "abstract ideas", and this has been used to refuse some patents involving software. In Europe, "computer programs as such" are excluded from pa...

@Gilles reading now

8:30 PM

Wonder if most of the users are going to be from the same office

@waxeagle it's like if I went on Gardening and Landscaping and asked “how do I grow orchids? And what colors should I strive for?”

Anonymous

8:47 PM

Is the private beta only open to people who committed to Software Law, or is the other eligibility criteria?

@JeremyBanks it's open to anyone who finds out about it

Anonymous

Ah, I just realized that I misread a chat message -- I thought someone said they weren't allowed in.

@JeremyBanks you do have to register, like for a private beta, but you don't need an invitation

Anonymous

@Gilles Understood, thanks.

Rory Alsop

the FAQ has the normal text, which includes >This site was created through the open democratic process at Stack Exchange Area 51, and it is currently in beta. The site is still in the process of being defined and constructed, so a temporary placeholder

might want to edit that :-)

8:52 PM

@RoryAlsop meta.patents.stackexchange.com/q/5

@RoryAlsop it's already on meta (or it was)

someone cleaned out meta a bit ago

Michael Mrozek

Robert deleted it:

> Thanks for the heads up. I'm going to remove these "How is this different from the rest of the network?" questions for now. With a new, non-SE audience coming in, this just adds noise and confusion to the mix. These questions will be asked soon enough, once the site is open to the public

Apparently the confusion of having wrong FAQ entries is less than the confusion of mentioning them

@MichaelMrozek why not have them asked and answered already? That just seems silly

Anonymous

Is this site unique in having no other sites listed in the footer, or is that the case for all private betas?

@JeremyBanks not sure on that, it's unique in a number of other ways though

Rory Alsop

8:55 PM

@waxeagle and @Gilles - sorry, hadn't seen that. Guess it was already gone

@RoryAlsop yep

Anonymous

@waxeagle Yeah, the about page is fantastic and the expanded FAQ is nice. Have you noticed any other differences? (edit: the semi-private-ness of the beta is a mild uniqueness, I suppose.)

@JeremyBanks real design from day 1 , Collaboration with USPTO

@waxeagle That's not how you calm the waters, don't be silly

@random although if you anticipate them coming adding them to a FAQ would be a good start....