Stranger than fiction

victoriastrauss · Nov 3, 2005

Suppose I presented you with the following paragraph:

Knight and Associates is the first patent prosecution firm to attempt to obtain utility patent protection on fictional plots. Knight and Associates consists of Andrew Knight and a team of independent contractors comprising skilled writers and experienced patent attorneys, ready to turn valuable new fictional plots or storylines into U.S. utility patent applications.

Would you think I was making it up--channeling Philip K. Dick, perhaps?

Well, you'd be wrong.

- Victoria

mdin · Nov 3, 2005

Well they're only going to get eight patents, then.

katiemac · Nov 3, 2005

Somebody start up the popcorn. I want to see how this plays out, and then laugh. :popcorn:

emeraldcite · Nov 3, 2005

Think this is a scam? Get green authors to contract their services?

It seems that it'll just clog the justice system with more frivolity.

My official opinion: [bleck]

LightShadow · Nov 3, 2005

Does the patents include one for the Hero's Journey? Hooya.

jules · Nov 4, 2005

There was a story a while back about Uri Geller patenting the concept of a kind of reality TV show. I believe that was based on a novel he wrote about a TV show that works like that.

This is just the next step.

jules · Nov 4, 2005

I just went and looked up the patent application. If anyone's interested, I've posted an analysis over on Slashdot's discussion:

http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=167277&cid=13948876

Garpy · Nov 4, 2005

sheeeshh....patenting story ideas? You could kiss goodbye to the book business if that madness went any further.

Jamesaritchie · Nov 4, 2005

Patent

The trouble I see with this is that nothing can be patented if it's already been done, or even written about. Good luck is finding a plot or storyline that hasn't already been done.

FolkloreFanatic · Nov 4, 2005

I refuse to believe that anything so obviously unqualified for patent protection could ever receive a patent.

CaoPaux · Nov 4, 2005

Jamesaritchie said:
The trouble I see with this is that nothing can be patented if it's already been done, or even written about. Good luck is finding a plot or storyline that hasn't already been done.

My thought exactly. :crazy:

Button · Nov 4, 2005

Someone should write to them and explain all this.

Button · Nov 4, 2005

You know, I think some lawyers sit around all day with nothing better to do than to try to invent new ways to sue people. Welcome to America. (I'm being cynical, yes.)

Button · Nov 4, 2005

From his website, these movies have plots he thinks he could have put a patent on:

Memento, The Thirteenth Floor, Being John Malkovich, Butterfly Effect, The Game, Fight Club, The Matrix, Total Recall, The Truman Show, Minority Report, The Village, Groundhog Day, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Now does anyone else see old plots in these films?

Richard · Nov 4, 2005

He'll get his.

On a dark and stormy night...

emeraldcite · Nov 4, 2005

Memento functions quite a bit like Martin Amis' Time's Arrow, which functions quite a bit like...

Still sounds like a new author scam to me...

jst5150 · Nov 4, 2005

Quick! Let's band together and patent the ways you can convince a woman to sleep with you. Anytime some guy tries to steal a move (al la Seinfeld and "The Swirl"), you can drag them into court and make 'em pay.

But (and this is a J-Lo sized but), we'd really have to do a thorough amount of research to ensure what were getting aren't false positives.

"Why yes, I AM listening." Patent No. 7,654,321
"I'd love to meet with your Mom." Patent No. 7,654,327
"Yes, I LOVE Oprah, too!" Patent pending

Peggy · Nov 4, 2005

ButtonTheCat said:
From his website, these movies have plots he thinks he could have put a patent on:

Memento, The Thirteenth Floor, Being John Malkovich, Butterfly Effect, The Game, Fight Club, The Matrix, Total Recall, The Truman Show, Minority Report, The Village, Groundhog Day, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Now does anyone else see old plots in these films?

For a reasonable hourly fee I would be willing to review the potential prior art in both film and literature.

Actually wasn't Minority Report based on a Philip K. Dick story?

pepperlandgirl · Nov 4, 2005

Doesn't The Matrix owe an awful lot to Plato?

clintl · Nov 4, 2005

Peggy said:
Actually wasn't Minority Report based on a Philip K. Dick story?

So was Total Recall.

Celia Cyanide · Nov 4, 2005

clintl said:
So was Total Recall.

And Fight Club was based on a Chuck Palaniuk novel. As for the Butterfky Effect, I think he might want to patent Donnie Darko first.

jules · Nov 4, 2005

clintl said:
So was Total Recall.

And both Total Recall and another PKD story filmed recently, Paycheck, share one of the key claims he has in his current application: a character who has forgotten about everything they have done over some period of time.

brinkett · Nov 4, 2005

I'd love to hear Jaws' take on this.

WerenCole · Nov 4, 2005

The plot of the Matrix is based loosely on decades of Manga and Anime, the Wachowski brother's readily admit that they aren't that original, but made a good idea out of existing ideas. If I were going to patent something I would but a breathilizer on a cell phone to prevent drunk dialing. . . but I think it has already been done

CaitlinK18 · Nov 5, 2005

'Matrix' also takes many plot points (The Matrix itself vs. the Real World, Zion, intelligent, personified computer programs) from Neuromancer by William Gibson.

Gibson did it better.

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