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“Users will only be able to view patents via HTTP. HTTPS will no longer work”

uspto.gov

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Re: “Users will only be able to view patents via HTTP. HTTPS will no longer work”

#61

Post by shimon_e »

a3n wrote: post #34
popey456963 wrote: post #4

Why on Earth could they possibly feel it necessary to do this? The United States Patent Office doesn't have a complex system of sub-domains or even an EV license, if money were the object then they could just go with Let's Encrypt (not to mention the current license continues until 2018 anyway). The amount of computing power it takes to encrypt with SSL is minimal, especially if you use some of the newer systems like…

Maybe they fired or lost the only person left who understood how it works, it broke, and whoever they yanked across the hall to get it going again could only do it this way. I think there's still a govt-wide hiring freeze.

Hiring freeze was lifted on April 12, 2017.

Re: “Users will only be able to view patents via HTTP. HTTPS will no longer work”

#63

Post by shimon_e »

cjhanks wrote: post #15

Also, at the bottom of the page "This page is owned by Service Desk." What does that mean? And it's legal to publish a .GOV site using Drupal?

Its not just the US government using Drupal. The Australian Government loves it and pays its contractors very well.

Re: “Users will only be able to view patents via HTTP. HTTPS will no longer work”

#64

Post by r00fus »

shimon_e wrote: post #61
a3n wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe they fired or lost the only person left who understood how it works, it broke, and whoever they yanked across the hall to get it going again could only do it this way. I think there's still a govt-wide hiring freeze.

Hiring freeze was lifted on April 12, 2017.

Plenty of time to hire someone and sort out all the issues!

Re: “Users will only be able to view patents via HTTP. HTTPS will no longer work”

#65

Post by Eridrus »

Does anyone here actually read patent filings?

I've been involved in writing a few and the result was useless drivel. Combined with the fact that there are penalties for willful infringement, I'm not sure what the benefit to reading patents in your field would be.

Re: “Users will only be able to view patents via HTTP. HTTPS will no longer work”

#66

Post by jagger27 »

jbob2000 wrote: post #13
popey456963 wrote: post #4

Why on Earth could they possibly feel it necessary to do this? The United States Patent Office doesn't have a complex system of sub-domains or even an EV license, if money were the object then they could just go with Let's Encrypt (not to mention the current license continues until 2018 anyway). The amount of computing power it takes to encrypt with SSL is minimal, especially if you use some of the newer systems like…

Well if you put on your tinfoil hat - maybe someone wants to track who's viewing which patents, which they can't do when it's encrypted. You're right, it doesn't make any sense to do this, so there must be an ulterior motive.

Tracking users over HTTPS is a solved problem, so I doubt that'd be it. Something about "never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence"?

Re: “Users will only be able to view patents via HTTP. HTTPS will no longer work”

#67

Post by jhwhite »

vesinisa wrote: post #22

The USPTO databases have to be one of the most torturous services to their users in the whole of internet. The UI of both the patent and trademark search is archaic, but not in a HN way but in a really bad way. In patent search, there is no "search" box. Instead, the "quick search" forces you to specify two (and exactly two) text queries on the database columns with obligatory boolean operation.[1] Even if you happen…

For patents what about: https://assignment.uspto.gov/patent/index.html#/patent/searc...

Re: “Users will only be able to view patents via HTTP. HTTPS will no longer work”

#69

Post by mwfunk »

Eridrus wrote: post #65

Does anyone here actually read patent filings? I've been involved in writing a few and the result was useless drivel. Combined with the fact that there are penalties for willful infringement, I'm not sure what the benefit to reading patents in your field would be.

The patent system has evolved in a way that has practically inverted its original intents. You're exactly right, practitioners in a given field (ex: engineers in the tech industry) often avoid looking at patents, because no good can come of it. Most are too vague to be useful for licensing, but it opens one up to willful infringement claims later on.

Re: “Users will only be able to view patents via HTTP. HTTPS will no longer work”

#70

Post by 0xcde4c3db »

chrisatumd wrote: post #18

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/06/08/https-e... Has this been superseded by a new policy?

An excellent question. I tried looking up the current policies, but the "IT Policy Library" [1] is provided in an iframe that doesn't load for me ("The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading.").

[1] https://cio.gov/resources/it-policy-library/

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