8kobe - 3:46 pm on Jan 7, 2008 (gmt 0)

Just because it can be done doesn't mean you cannot file a patent. It is quite possible that they figured out a way of doing it better, faster, or possibly in just a different way. Many of the above arguments are just incorrect.

An example:

A camera takes a picture. There are hundreds of cameras on the market. Most if not all have 1 or more patents on them. It could be something as stupid as something to deal with the lens cap or something as unique as a new type of image format. It doesn't matter, as long as it is different from past inventions in some manner.