Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

Techdirt

from the conversation-pieces dept

This week, both our winners on the insightful side come from our story about how a stupid patent is interfering with a new crowdfunded toy. In first place, it’s samuelhopkins, who got lots of well-deserved votes for tracking down the specific patent:

found it

US10,850,205 – Marble track piece with triggered light and/or sound
https://patents.google.com/patent/US10850205B2/en?oq=10%2c850%2c205

In second place, it’s an anonymous comment raising the obvious question:

Could that patent be invalidated by pin ball machines, where balls hit triggers that start sound and light displays?

That question got an answer from Rocky, which is our first editor’s choice for insightful:

There are certainly a plethora of prior art, but as we know, invalidating patents is expensive and this guy has to comply or being sued which is also expensive and spending kickstarter-money on a lawsuit isn’t really what the backers paid for.

It sucks.

For our next editor’s choice, it’s That One Guy with some thoughts on the failures of FOSTA:

It all depends on the metrics used…

If you take the supporters of FOSTA at their word for what the bill was supposed to do it is worse than an absolute failure, as not only did it not accomplish it’s goals it made things drastically worse for the very people that were being held up as ‘victims in need of rescue!’

On the other hand if you look at it as nothing more than a ‘Look at what I’ve done!’ PR stunt it worked out great, the people writing and supporting it got to brag about how they super-duper cared about people being exploited and sex trafficked and since the number of press outlets that are likely to call them out on this report could be counted on a single hand it’s not like it cost anyone who matters anything, so it’s a win-win from their perspective.

Over on the funny side, our first place winner is an anonymous suggestion for a new Peloton slogan:

Peloton: We don’t give you a run for your money.

In second place, it’s another anonymous comment, this time responding to someone who tagged their comment with the assertion that “any counter-argument is plainly illogical, denialist, and short-sighted”:

That?s the adult version of no touchbacks

For editor’s choice on the funny side, we go back to last week’s top comments post for a brief exchange, starting with this comment from Bobvious:

About that cow

Now expecting Devin Nunes and/or family to have the farm declared an amusement park.

And finally, it’s the anonymous rejoinder to that comment:

They’re certainly in the entertainment business.

That’s all for this week, folks!