Re: [still OT] Patenting the wheel

On Tue, May 28, 2002 at 10:31:42AM +0200, KH.Ranitzsch@t-online.de
wrote:
>Apparently, changes in Australian patent law have made it possible to
>claim a patent on such long-standing inventions as the wheel - though
>not neccessarily that it would stand up in court.

The USA has, in effect, had a similar system for a while - their patent
office is so flooded with applications that they grant anything that
might be vaguely usable, and wait for it to be tested in court.