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Nowadays you just google for other patents and done. But back then, I guess that searching for prior art was quite a lot more difficult. Gifting the patent to an university so that they defend open access to the patent sounds like a more reliable plan.

I mean, even nowadays patents are greenlit my patent offices even though there’s clear prior art (Nintendo’s recent patent for catching monsters in a ball in a game comes to mind, which Nintendo would have to have patented before publishing their first game with that mechanic around 30 years ago), and even today it’s really difficult and expensive to get such a clear nonsense patent invalidated.

So difficult that e.g. Palworld opted to change the mechanic instead of fighting the patent.

So I do understand why someone would instead gift the patent to an university under the condition that they keep access to it open, especially 100 years ago.

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Devial@discuss.online ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
That logic applies identically to an existing patent. For the issues you mention, there is no distinction between the patent being filed at the PTO and still valid, or being filled at the PTO and disclaimed. In terms of the enforcibility, and patentability of a ““new”” inventions with prior art, there is no legal distinction whatsoever between the prior art being a disclaimed and valid patent, so I don’t think that’s a valid reason to not disclaim it.

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- squaresinger@lemmy.world ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  
  That logic applies identically to a valid patent.
  
  The difference is that in the case of transferring the patent to the university, there’s a legal department at the ready to defend the patent. The same is not the case for a disclaimed patent.
  
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