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Originally Posted by pilotbob
No, obvious things can not be patented. Neither can the combination of two existing things.
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You're not supposed to be able to patent that stuff, but companies get away with it all the time.
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Then again, was is obvious to Steven Hawking is not necessarily obvious to a patent office clerk.
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The main problem is that the patent clerks are so swamped with new patent requests, that they don't have the time to research (or even understand) them. They basically just rubber stamp everything that comes across their desk and let the courts figure it out later.