It's like domain squatting.However, there's a concept called 'Reducing to Practice' in which you get a bunch of credit because you made a zany idea actually work and perform the functions.
I hate patents. They piss me off at work on a daily basis. The fucking patent offices are too busy and understaffed that they put anything through, and figure that any disputes will be settled in court. Then, the juries make the assumption that the patent clerks know what they're doing, and there's a presumption toward the holder of the patent, even in cases of prior art or other shit.
And the 'Doctrine of Equivalence' can kiss my ass.