Mises Wire

Banksters versus Patent Monopolists

Banksters versus Patent Monopolists

Who to side with? What a dilemma! On the one hand, we have Claudio Ballard and his company Data Treasury, which uses patent monopoly privileges granted by an agency of the central state to shake down banks for “violating” “its” check image capture and storage technology. On the other hand, we have the banksters, quasi-agents of the same central state, being accused by Ballard of bribing the legislature of the same central state to water down the “business method” patent aspects of patent law in a targeted attack on Data Treasury’s shakedown techniques. (See The Tea Party should stop this bank bailout; Banks Buy Another Patent Reform Amendment.)

Now I am not sure if the conspiratoidal allegations of the Data Treasury defenders are correct. “Business method” patents are relatively new and there has been a movement to choke them back for some time. I don’t think Section 18 of the Patent Reform Act of 2011 is aimed just about Data Treasury (beside, I doubt most of the Tea Party neanderthals whining about this can even understand Section 18). If only allegorical representatives of the Banksters and Patentees could have a metaphorical duel to the death at dawn and both mortally wound each other.

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