DOCUMENT: Crime

They'll Give Anyone A Patent

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They'll Give Anyone A Patent

A few months ago, the U.S. government issued patent number 5,878,155 to inventor Thomas Heeter for a bizarre method of conducting e-business that relies on the tattooing of a bar code on a consumer's forearm. In the description of his invention, Heeter not only addresses the similar tattooing of Jews during the Holocaust, but refers to an "X-Files" episode involving an alien abduction! Trust us, you gotta read it to believe it. (4 pages)

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