And of the paltry 37,559 beds that remain nationwide, half are really part of the correctional system, not at all available for ordinary patents unless they commit a crime.
In ordinary cases, the patent holder must prove infringement.
According to U.S. law, the results of "ordinary innovation" cannot be patented.
The effort was borne out of two developments: the first is the America Invents Act came into effect on September 16 and lets ordinary people provide feedback on patent applications; and the other is the fact that the USTPO actually reached out to Stack Exchange to develop the site.
The Officers in Ordinary are appointed by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm, and the Officers Extraordinary by Royal Sign Manual; all appointments are announced in the London Gazette.
MercExchange CEO Thomas G. Woolston plans to appeal: "We will deal with this office action, like all previous office actions during the prosecution of our patents, in the ordinary course," he said in a statement.
Trolls, to switch metaphors, are like cancer cells: they mimic ordinary activity, namely the assertion of patent rights.
"At the same time, you have to also protect those patents, because you have people, ordinary people, ordinary Canadians who are not wealthy that may invest $1000 or whatever, and hold one or two shares in a variety of companies, including maybe pharmaceutical-based, research-based pharmaceuticals.
As chief swinger justice Anthony Kennedy put it in the majority decision: "The results of ordinary innovation are not the subject of exclusive rights under the patent laws… Granting patent protection to advances that would occur in the ordinary course without real innovation retards progress".
The key for enforcers is focussing on conduct that goes beyond the ordinary, such as the outlandish accumulation of seemingly worthless patents for their extortionary value, or a pattern of frivolous demands.
