Things like this simply shouldn't be patentable. A patent system that allows such things does nothing to serve the interest of innovation (which is what it is supposed to do).

Yes, a few people can get rich on a daft system like this, but the huge majority of people just suffer from the 'patent tax' that is levied on anyone trying to do anything at all useful with software.

Patents should be for real inventions that required real research, which _wouldn't get invented_ without the incentive of a patent. I don't believe that's true of _any_ software, and it certainly isn't true of this earth-shattering idea.

The patent is not for URLs in general, but for the following:

email address:
sub@domain.com

accompanying URL:
sub.domain.com

This is not just any old URL, but a special use where the URL and email address are connected like this.

It's not email or URL syntax that was patented, but the linking of the two in this specific manner.

We might think patent officers are idiots, and that lawyers are evil. And in some cases, we might be right.

But when it's you that gets a patent, and your lawyer that helps you enforce it, then you'll sing a different tune altogether.

The problem though is more with the cretins in the patents office than the lawyers. Lawyers are just doing what they do best, cooking up convincing stories.

Tort Reform Now!