No joke: Google wants a patent on splitting the restaurant bill

It's a good thing actually that such an obviously defective and abusive patent is now on the record.

The more such obvious abuses become visible, the quicker we can get on with reform of the patent system.

Along this line I'm thinking of several other ideas which we could rush to the patent office:

1. A method of steering wheel manipulation sequences for stowing an automobile (parallel parking)

2. A method and apparatus for separating food into smaller pieces (a knife)

3. An algorithmic method by which numbers may be reduced to smaller components (long division)

You see, once the Google precedent is accepted, we can then proceed to acquire numerous other broad and fundamental patents which somehow have escaped attention up to now as being too obvious.

I did not read the article, partially because I was laughing too hard just reading the summary yesterday. However, to be "fair" the method* involves itemization attributed to the person that ordered and a computation based upon pricing, i.e. not a simple average.

Nonetheless, I can state with certainty this will never be allowed in the Netherlands.

YBT

* Source some ./ comments.

Well, this story was submitted late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. Evidently, someone at LXer decided it was not worth posting.

Thanks for getting it posted, bob.

txt: not allowed in the netherlands in what sense? not allow the patent? not allow the method to be used (agains the law? which law?) or do you simply mean that dutch people will refuse to employ such a method?

greetings, eMBee.

Well, if they get it, it will be great ammo for the anti-software patents fight.

(Heck -- it's even possible (?) that that's why they're applying for the patent, in the first place).

It all reminds me of the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy where the splitting of the restaurant bill is used as a method for powering the spacecraft

eMBee,

In the States (U.S.A.) it was common to refer to splitting a restaurant bill by what was ordered and a proportionate tip as "going Dutch*." That in the vernacular of States' side language refers to Holland, i.e. the Netherlands. Thus, the technical details of such a patent rejection was based solely upon the absurd not law and certainly not logic**.

YBT

* Not to be confused with the Amish (and similar sects) that were mistakenly referred to as the Pennsylvania Dutch when they were asked for their origins and responded as Deutsch, meaning Germans.

** Did I allow some serious thought to slip in here? If so I sincerely apologize.

Not serious, just to set the record straight:

As usually the English language is totally clueless about the original and true meaning of the words Netherlands, Deutsch and Holland. The confused speakers of the English language should all be obliged to watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE_IUPInEuc

before making themselves look like idiots again by messing up - someone has to teach them Holland is not a country!

Anyway, as you might know, both paying half of the bill is referred to as "going American" in South America, Pakistan and Thailand, referring to what they see tourists do. Turks refer to going German and Egyptians to going English.