Googles Doodles - now a patented idea.

Reading at Creative Review: Why Google has oodles of doodles a paragraph jumps out at me and tries to stab me.

In March of this year, the US Patent and Trademark office granted Google a patent for its doodles but, surprisingly, that patent does not cover the individual doodle designs, instead, it relates to the invention of the idea and method of periodically changing the logo to entice people to the website. You might wonder how a company could be granted exclusive rights to the concept of frequently varying its logo, but that seems to be what has happened.

Squizme!? Fluid branding is not a new idea, and Google patented that? Yes, they did. How did I miss this back in March?
Google Gets An Absurd Patent For Its "Google Doodles"

If you needed any more proof that the U.S. patent system is totally out of control, here it is: after ten years of lobbying, Google was granted a patent on Google Doodles this morning.

Oh wow. Here's the invention summary opening paragraph;

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Systems and methods consistent with the present invention address this and other needs through the use of an animated story line or a modified/customized company logo ("special event logo") displayed on a web page. The story line may change periodically (e.g., hourly, daily, or weekly) to entice users to repeatedly access the web page to view the next episode in the changing story line. The special event logo may be provided for special occasions, such as holidays and other special events. The special event logo may be selectable by a user and lead to a page of search results related to the holiday or special event.

Glad I got rid of the ever changing Adland Logo we used for ten years here, or Google might find it time to sue me for infringement.