Hello,
After all of my years posting on the internet, I have discovered that this is no longer a safe place to discuss ideas. I have posted many many ideas, and public access information does not allow for concept patents to exist. A concept patent is the basic description of a device. For example patenting a statement like this one: a rotory motor that uses electromagnets and brushes to maintain the attraction or repulsion of several or more permenant magnets to keep the rotor in motion and provide mechanical power to a drive shaft.
Some-one is mining the newsgroups, and patenting anything and every idea mentioned on the internet. I know that it is an invention submission company, and a series of patent attorneys that are doing this. But, they are only literally establishing concept patents. This means, that if you can find the post in the newsgroup that pre-dates their application for a patent, you can prove that the information is public access, and was and void the concept patent. Once, the concept patent is voided, a device patent can then be applied for, and the attorney cannot demand royalties. The theory behind a television set and how it works is public access, and anyone can design and build a television. Any time the entire concept or theory behind how a device works becomes public access information before a patent is applied for, the concept patent is null or void, and only the device patents are acceptable.
You see newsgroups, and the News. If an inventor tells the world via the news how his new device works, and it wasn't patented, he cannot apply for a concept patent. In that case, no-one can. All the individual has done, is for all practical purposes is fire a starting gun, and allow for competition.