Apple now owns the patent for "Touchscreens" on devices like cell phones and tablets

[Chris Fowler]

Originally Posted by Wadoka

That's pretty much what I was discussing with Thrakk. The USPatO has been allowing companies and entities to patent concepts, even though they do not yet have a way to implement the concept.

So... ideas are patent-able; if you can come up with a concept and figure out how to describe the concept in acceptable patent-ese, you can stake your claim to the idea, even though you don't possess the skill or technical capability to produce the idea/effect in the real world yet.

This could slow innovation.

Say you figure out how to do something you think no one has ever done before. You're all fired up. Then you find out someone has already patented the conceptualization of your idea even though they can't pull it off themselves.

What do you do?

You go to the patent holder and tell them you can show them how to implement their concept, for a certain consideration.

Or.

You decide not to pursue the concept any further, because the existing patent means you have to negotiate with the patent owner in order to produce something which, in your view, should be 100% yours.

While I can't disagree with what you said, assuming that's true in this case is, possibly, a little off.

They applied for this patent in 2007...the same year the iPhone came out.

It seems likely to me that, whether or not they had released the functionality, there is a good chance they were at least working on it, as they had the device it works on already.

[SnikPlosskin]

Originally Posted by Wadoka

That's pretty much what I was discussing with Thrakk. The USPatO has been allowing companies and entities to patent concepts, even though they do not yet have a way to implement the concept.

So... ideas are patent-able; if you can come up with a concept and figure out how to describe the concept in acceptable patent-ese, you can stake your claim to the idea, even though you don't possess the skill or technical capability to produce the idea/effect in the real world yet.

This could slow innovation.

Say you figure out how to do something you think no one has ever done before. You're all fired up. Then you find out someone has already patented the conceptualization of your idea even though they can't pull it off themselves.

What do you do?

You go to the patent holder and tell them you can show them how to implement their concept, for a certain consideration.

Or.

You decide not to pursue the concept any further, because the existing patent means you have to negotiate with the patent owner in order to produce something which, in your view, should be 100% yours.

I thought that's the way it's always worked. Nobody would patent something after they started manufacturing it. That would be too late. It's always been the idea that gets patented.

[lander]

Originally Posted by Thrakk

I thought that's the way it's always worked. Nobody would patent something after they started manufacturing it. That would be too late. It's always been the idea that gets patented.

Winner! You don't waste time creating something that's already patented!

Originally Posted by TxAg

Which is fine, until you have these pathetic scum patent houses which do nothing but buy up/get patents and wait for someone to create the object(s) which MIGHT violate said patent, then sue.

IMHO, those type of companies should be illegal.

These are the companies that are the scourge of developing new products.

[Thud]

Originally Posted by Will

Patenting touch screen is like patenting automobile or toothbrush or more aptly here keyboard.

In 2007 when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone, he actually said "and boy, have we patented it!"
Now the patent office has finally awarded that patent.

Apple didn't actually invent multi-touch but the patent is for using multi-touch to interact with a UI on a mobile device.

[MattW]

Originally Posted by Thrakk

I thought that's the way it's always worked. Nobody would patent something after they started manufacturing it. That would be too late. It's always been the idea that gets patented.

(I am off tangent now; I'm not arguing this in relation to Apple's patent.)

You can't - or shouldn't - be able to patent a concept for which you have no strategy to realize.

I can have a blue million ideas. In fact, I do. But I have no way to realize them. Should I nevertheless patent them, because at some future date, someone - probably not me - will develop a way to realize the idea?

"Patent proposal: A device using directed quantum radiation transmitted in a narrow focused beam, which, when applied directly to a cloth, fabric, textile or organic film layer covering human flesh, will cause the cloth to disintegrate without harming the underlying flesh..."

So now I have a patent on the concept of a "Nude Ray"... so if anyone ever actually figures out how to *make* a nude ray, they can't manufacture it without compensating me for my "original" idea.

Thus.

[lander]

Originally Posted by Wadoka

(I am off tangent now; I'm not arguing this in relation to Apple's patent.)

You can't - or shouldn't - be able to patent a concept for which you have no strategy to realize.

I can have a blue million ideas. In fact, I do. But I have no way to realize them. Should I nevertheless patent them, because at some future date, someone - probably not me - will develop a way to realize the idea?

"Patent proposal: A device using directed quantum radiation transmitted in a narrow focused beam, which, when applied directly to a cloth, fabric, textile or organic film layer covering human flesh, will cause the cloth to disintegrate without harming the underlying flesh..."

So now I have a patent on the concept of a "Nude Ray"... so if anyone ever actually figures out how to *make* a nude ray, they can't manufacture it without compensating me for my "original" idea.

Thus.

Well, patents are only good for 20 years...so there's that.

But beyond that, yes, if you have a blue million ideas, then file patents for them. So what if you can't bring them to market? Maybe someone else can, and comes along and does. It was your idea first, and you hold the patent on it, so why shouldn't you then be compensated for your idea?

Again...there are some here that aren't grasping the whole patenting concept.

[ChasC5]

Originally Posted by MEANZ06

I love my IPhone...

And iPad

[ChasC5]

Originally Posted by TxAg

So technically he lied.

They didn't patent it, at the time.

It was "Patent pending".

Hell ... I have bunch of those.

[prospero63]

Originally Posted by lander

Well, patents are only good for 20 years...so there's that.

But beyond that, yes, if you have a blue million ideas, then file patents for them. So what if you can't bring them to market? Maybe someone else can, and comes along and does. It was your idea first, and you hold the patent on it, so why shouldn't you then be compensated for your idea?

Again...there are some here that aren't grasping the whole patenting concept.

Correct. It's what every tech company does. Essentially they try to poison the well by either a) filing patents on pretty much any and everything or b) publishing it so that it can't be patented by others.

In the latter case, that tends to get used to defeat the patent claim when the litigation starts. Company A says "we patented this" and company B says "yeah, but we published this before the patent".

Hell, I've got a patent on some network monitoring mechanisms that were by and large to protect a process we were using... it took something like 7 years for it to get awarded, and that was after having to defend it against an initial rejection. It actually took so long, I'm not sure how relevant it would actually be today in most cases...

[prospero63]

Originally Posted by TxAg

7 years. That's ancient in tech years.

Kinda sucks the process isn't just a wee bit faster in those cases.

Yup. I guess it was actually 6 as I look at the plaque hanging on the wall. Here it is if you want to be bored out of your skull...

[BuckyThreadkiller]

Originally Posted by Wadoka

(I am off tangent now; I'm not arguing this in relation to Apple's patent.)

You can't - or shouldn't - be able to patent a concept for which you have no strategy to realize.

I can have a blue million ideas. In fact, I do. But I have no way to realize them. Should I nevertheless patent them, because at some future date, someone - probably not me - will develop a way to realize the idea?

"Patent proposal: A device using directed quantum radiation transmitted in a narrow focused beam, which, when applied directly to a cloth, fabric, textile or organic film layer covering human flesh, will cause the cloth to disintegrate without harming the underlying flesh..."

So now I have a patent on the concept of a "Nude Ray"... so if anyone ever actually figures out how to *make* a nude ray, they can't manufacture it without compensating me for my "original" idea.

Thus.

Sure go for it -- but the nice thing about the patent application and discovery process is that it weeds out alot of people who just have "a great idea" but don't necessarily think its great enough to hire a lawyer, get the app submitted deal with the BS involved...

If you don't move to actively commercialize it then you've most likely just wasted your time and money.

[Chris Fowler]

Originally Posted by BuckyThreadkiller

If you don't move to actively commercialize it then you've most likely just wasted your time and money.

Or if you don't protect it.

I've got a patent with my last company that we received and Amazon violates.

But the company was too small and didn't just want to be bought by Amazon (this was in the days of them being hopeful of being purchased) that they just let it slide.

Now it's worthless...but I do have a mousepad and a cool plaque.

[SnikPlosskin]

Originally Posted by Wadoka

(I am off tangent now; I'm not arguing this in relation to Apple's patent.)

You can't - or shouldn't - be able to patent a concept for which you have no strategy to realize.

I can have a blue million ideas. In fact, I do. But I have no way to realize them. Should I nevertheless patent them, because at some future date, someone - probably not me - will develop a way to realize the idea?

"Patent proposal: A device using directed quantum radiation transmitted in a narrow focused beam, which, when applied directly to a cloth, fabric, textile or organic film layer covering human flesh, will cause the cloth to disintegrate without harming the underlying flesh..."

So now I have a patent on the concept of a "Nude Ray"... so if anyone ever actually figures out how to *make* a nude ray, they can't manufacture it without compensating me for my "original" idea.

Thus.

I would like to buy one of your Nude Rays, sir.