Smartphones patented

An application filed for a patent on “mobile entertainment and communications device” was approved and issued last week by the US patent and Trademark Office. If you read the description of the device you realize that it basically outlines the smartphone concept ("... a mobile phone with removable storage, an internet connection, a camera and the ability to download audio or video files”). Only a minute after the application was approved, the patent holding company filed three separate lawsuits against all major companies producing or offering smartphones, including Nokia, RIM, Sprint, AT&T, Motorola, HP and more. We think that’s absurd! It's time for a change in our legal/patenting system, allowing people like these, to get the rights for something they didn't even invent or think of first.

source: United States Patent and Trademark Office via Slashdot