Re: TrendMicro goes Douchebag

["Alex Shipp \(elist\)" <elist-alex () starlabs net>]

> i'd love to learn that it's not to late to patent the ideas of an RBL (in my
> case) or AVAS (in drsolly's case) but i really don't think the patent system
> works like that.  is anybody an actual patent lawyer around here?

I'm not a patent lawyer, but am going to comment anyway ;-)

Once something is public, anywhere in the world, in any language, it becomes
prior art, and it is then too late to patent it.

...except in the US, where if you can prove you were thinking of it first,
you get a grace period of up to a year before the date you actually file.

So, given that more than a year has elapsed, it's too late to patent it,
even in the US.

...except, if you use sufficiently confusing language, or if the public knowledge
was only in some arcane place (like this mailing list) it might be possible
to slip it by the patent office in some county, and you then have your patent.

Even though there may be umpteen examples of prior art, it is then
up to everyone else to try and knock your patent down.
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