EFF targets ‘stupid’ voting-for-videos patent

It may not be as stupid as the patent issued for filming a yoga class, but this one covering the operation of an online-video voting contest comes darn close.

Maybe we should take a vote on it.

From an Electronic Frontier Foundation press release:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), together with Durie Tangri LLP, is defending a photo hobbyist against an outrageous patent suit from a company that claims to hold the rights to online competitions on social networks where users vote for the winner.

“Our client has been running ‘vote-for-your-favorite-photo’ polls for years, just for fun and the love of photography,” said EFF Staff Attorney Daniel Nazer, who is also the Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents. “The idea that you could patent this abstract idea — and then demand a settlement to go away — goes against both patent law and common sense.”

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