Google Patents Browser Highlight All Button 150
An anonymous reader writes "Google has picked up another patent on a technology that you might think basic to the web: the highlight all button for searches in browsers. The patent will backdate to 1999 and presents an interesting problem for such software as the Firefox browser and FeedDemon RSS reader. And, in an interesting twist, Microsoft uses a similar mechanism in Windows Explorer. But Microsoft itself said that browser technology can't be separated from the operating system. Does that mean the company owes a royalty to Google for all those copies of Windows?"
Does that mean the company owes a royalty to Googl (Score:2, Insightful)
No, it means software patents are shitty.
Seriously (Score:4, Insightful)
What a Mess.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Because there are quite a few 5 year olds who could have thought this up.
Re:What a Mess.... (Score:5, Insightful)
That'd be the "Person of Ordinary Skill in the Art" standard for obviousness. Of course, that standard is applied to a POSITA at the time of invention (i.e. 1999) rather than a POSITA today.
Re: am I missing something? (Score:2, Insightful)
> am I missing something?
Yes. Deep pockets.