Here come the Patent Busters!

One of the many offshoots of the arrival of the internet has been the enormous clientele that has become available to small businesses and self sustained ventures. Patents are now playing a significant role in curbing this growth. If everytime somebody uses your website to buy something, a part of it goes to these "creative geniuses", more often than not you will be left twiddling your thumbs. Of course, some really complex and smartass applications deserve to be patented. But, a patent for the hyperlink? For a pop-up? Seriously, the US has granted patents for these. The Electronic Frontier Foundation [EFF] has recently launched a project to confront these issues with the Federal Trade Commission and like minded organizations. Check it out here