While we’re fighting the stupidity in the copyright law here in Finland something even worse is bound to happen in the US. Free Culture – the international student and youth movement has begun a new campaign against patenting business methods. You heard me; business methods.

Patenting business methods is something I haven’t heard of yet, but the following case will prove that it’s being tried in the US. Gavin Baker came across an article in his university paper about a restaurant whose aim is to sell cereal, he thought it was interesting until he read the following;

When (Bowls owner Rocco) Monteleone took the first steps toward making his novel little idea of a caf?© a reality in October of last year, he never thought about competition.

Gainesville had never seen a cereal caf?©.

Other states had though. (Cereality founder David) Roth and his business partner Rick Bacher were the first business owners to sell cereal in a restaurant setting in 2003 with Cereality locations in Arizona, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

While Cereality hasnǃÙt patented selling cereal, it is pretty close.

Roth and Bacher have pending business-method patents for six specific elements of how they sell cereal, including ǃ?displaying and mixing competitively branded food productsǃ? and adding ǃ?a third portion of liquid.ǃ?

FC.o’s new campaign Cereal Solidarity is being put up to show solidarity against patent bullies who try to patent simple concepts of everyday life and through that hurt competition and innovation.

You too can help by signing the petition and showing your support against stupid business patents that will hurt all of us.

Disclosure: I am a supporter and an early participant in the Free Culture movement.