Re: Patents and the "look and feel" suits of yore

From: Edward G. Nilges (spinoza1111_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 11/27/04

  • Next message: Toon Moene: "Re: Systems software versus applications software definitions" 
    Date: 26 Nov 2004 23:28:38 -0800

    "Thomas G. Marshall" <tgm2tothe10thpower@replacetextwithnumber.hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<JqJpd.60$cF3.55@trndny09>...
    > I have a fundamental product creation patent question.
    >
    > Can a company patent the organization, and/or rough user interface used in
    > their product. I think (but do not really remember clearly) that the look
    > and feel suits attempted by Apple were dismissed, but am not sure.

    Today, companies can and do patent the organization and GUI, often
    pre-emptively during development, as well as algorithms and their
    implementations.

    Apple lost its lawsuit in the 1980s. In the 1990s under Clinton, large
    companies moved to strengthen patent and intellectual property
    protection.

    Today, the closed source shrinkwrap entrepreneur needs to be very
    aware that even if he dreams up a new approach, if it is patented he
    will be as liable for infringement as if he'd copied code.

    Suppose Billy Bob the Bush Voter dreams up a Bubble Sort, and vends it
    as the Billy Bob Bubble Sort. IF any company has already patented the
    bubble sort, Billy Bob is out of luck.

    Many startups for this reason employ as many attorneys as developers
    to pre-emptively file patents.

    >
    > For example, if I wanted to create a movie editing application that laid
    > frames out from left to right, is it possible that some other company
    > patented such layout/UI?
    >
    It is quite possible. Things like "proceed to checkout" have been
    indeed patented.
     
    > If I wanted to create a competitor to WinZip, I would have to find
    > non-violating algorithms for compression/decompression, but am I forbidden
    > from having the contents displayed in a similar window, and allow (for
    > example) the drag and drop of files into it?
    >
    Here, you need to do a patent search.

    Your alternative is to make the code open source and then hope some
    company will hire you to make private modifications.
     
    > I've never fully understood where this particular line is drawn for sw
    > patents.
    >
    Under the Clinton administration, privatization of intellectual
    property went out of control, and it is still out of control under
    Bush.

    For example, in a recent book project (not for Apress), I was warned
    by a major publisher not to use quotes from ANY pop tunes since most
    are still under copyright. The legal fact is that this is protected
    "fair use" but the expense of a suit still exerts a chilling effect.

      
    > Thanks!

  • Next message: Toon Moene: "Re: Systems software versus applications software definitions"

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