Re: copyright web 'look'

>I think the patent office needs to hire some
>computer-savvy people, so they can determine what's "not obvious" which
>AFAIK is a requirement for a patent.

         Yes, indeed, "non-obviousness" (along with newness and usefulness) 
is a requirement of U.S. patent law.  You may be interested in "How the 
Patent Office Has Responded to E-Commerce Patents," 
http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/kirsch-2000-08-p1.html .  Among other 
things, the article states that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is 
trying to improve prior-art searching and patent-examination quality by

"Enhancing technical training for patent examiners;
"Revising the existing examination guidelines to include business-method 
inventions; and
"Expanding current search activities, to provide for mandatory searching in 
certain databases, and to provide a second level of review by senior patent 
examiners for patent applications relating to business methods."

Doug Isenberg, Esq.
Editor & Publisher, GigaLaw.com
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