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Ever wish you could come up with a million-dollar idea, but don’t think you’ve got the brains for it? With Pat RePend you don’t have to worry, all you’ve got to do is make a few changes to a pre-existing invention and voila, you’re in business. Pat RePend is a new game for the DS where you can search through millions of patents looking for inspiration. Some of these patents are expired, and some of them are recent and can be used for entirely different purposes than originally intended. Many just need some simple tweaking. With Pat RePend, you don’t have to worry about being original or even smart, someone has already baked the cake, and all you’ve got to do is put the sprinkles on top and rename it. All of the patents in the game are real. Each one is accompanied by an interactive patent diagram that explains exactly how the device works, with detailed drawings of each component. By moving some of these pieces around, or introducing new ones from the included random items list, you can essentially create an entirely new invention. Legally all you have to do is change the original by at least ten percent. Then email it for approval and await your virtual patent. If you receive a virtual patent, you can file for a real provisional patent through the patent office. Should you be awarded an actual patent, you can start marketing and selling your invention to the world. The developers claim that Pat RePend is the only game in the world that can make you rich. Chairman of the American Inventors Society claims that Pat RePend is nothing short of thievery. “This game is an outrage,” says Barbara Bredenbudder. “It’s intellectual-property piracy. People have spent their lives and life savings to create and patent their inventions. To think that some kid can come along and put a balloon on a Doppler machine and be granted a patent for an entirely new invention is nothing short of criminal,” Bredenbudder yells. “We’re just helping the world create better mousetraps,” chuckles Pat RePend creator Saul Rubegold. “There’s no reason to get mad just because somebody comes up with a better idea. Where would we be if someone didn’t put marshmallows in Count Chocula, wheels on a bicycle, or dots on dice? To be fair, a lot of inventions are the result of hard work and lots of money, but sometimes the inventors didn’t think things all the way through. Can you imagine going though all the trouble to invent the modern car and then forgetting to add those cool, spinning hubcaps? That’s just sad,” Rubegold adds. “Some people are so concerned with the big picture that they don’t see the small print.” Pat RePend is also being turned into a TV reality series where would-be inventors present their creations before a board of investors. The series hopes to feature Oprah, Simon Cowell, Gary Coleman, and Carrot Top’s cousin Pumpkin Ass. *This article is presented as an exclusive Cheat Code Central feature titled “Are you dumb enough to believe this?” Please check back each Friday for the newest edition. |