Patenting by the diyaudio.com?

[gpapag]

Hi all

This site performs the function of a virtual room where people from all over the world meet, read and learn, write and receive response, exchange ideas, communicate their thoughts on some topic, agree-dissagree, argue about them.

Sometimes, through all this and due to all this, they are been led to form a concrete idea about a theoretical or a practical subject.

Other times, this same process leads collectively to the generation of a unique idea.

In the later case, there is a possibility that this idea has a merit for patenting.

Individuals-hobbyists find it prohibitive to apply for a patent.
Thinking over the possible cost and the difficult –lawyerish- procedures to follow, make this a repelling idea.

I write all this because I have thought of a chance that this site - functioning as an informal Open University - might provide a function similar to a formal University's Patent Department.

If an idea is collectively formulated and has a patendability quality, it might be forwarded by the site for patending, if the participant agree to this.

The rights of this patent would be granded to the forum together with the possible future financial incomes of it.

This would provide a financial income for supporting the operation of the site.
It would also raise the "image" of diyaudio.com

The forum might decide to reward participants contributing to a patendable idea .

This can act as a motivation for more productive thinking and more positive participation attitude for the members.

What do you think?

Regards
George

[SY]

To paraphrase your sigline, IP law is a bitch. Discussions here constitute public disclosure, which prevent patentability in most jurisdictions. The US is a little different in that you have a year after disclosure to file something, but then that patent isn't valid anywhere else, which makes it of questionable value.

Reality: the only patents worth pursuing in audio are those which affect mass market stuff.

Usual IANAL disclaimer.

[Dave Jones]

Funny thing. I was thinking along an opposite line. My thought was to start a thread where people could post their ideas and will them to the public domain. The object would be to prevent someone from coming along and getting an enforceable patent. You see, I HATE PATENTS! There. I said it.

To get the ball rolling, I offered up an idea. It might not be a world-shaker, and maybe it is obvious, but it is more practical and less obvious than 99.9% of the patents I have been perusing at freepatentsonline.

variable baffle step device

[Dave Jones]

Originally Posted by gpapag

The forum might decide to reward participants contributing to a patendable idea .

This can act as a motivation for more productive thinking and more positive participation attitude for the members.

What do you think?

Regards
George

Studies have shown that financial reward does not motivate, and is actually a DIS-incentive for this kind of "think up something new and great" challenge. It's weird. I doubt that I could chase down the article, but it convinced me. Informal peer-recognition works best.

Edit: I found it. Not an article. A TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/da...otivation.html

[DF96]

I'm with Davy Jones. Let's publicly air ideas to stop others from patenting them (or at least, render them unenforceable). Patents generally protect the big boys wih deep pockets from the small boys (i.e. us).

If you really have a good idea and want to patent it, don't mention it here and pray that none of us accidentally stumbles across it independently and publishes.

[kevinkr]

Originally Posted by DF96

I'm with Davy Jones. Let's publicly air ideas to stop others from patenting them (or at least, render them unenforceable). Patents generally protect the big boys wih deep pockets from the small boys (i.e. us).

If you really have a good idea and want to patent it, don't mention it here and pray that none of us accidentally stumbles across it independently and publishes.

FWIW I totally agree. I believe far too many meritless or minor variants on a previously patentable idea are getting patented.

[Sheldon]

Originally Posted by kevinkr

FWIW I totally agree. I believe far too many meritless or minor variants on a previously patentable idea are getting patented.

If they are meritless or minor, who cares if they are patented?

Sheldon

[Dave Jones]

I fought a patent suit that had no merit for a year. I had the stone proof of prior art, and I had the inventor of the prior art on retainer to testify. Still, the proceedings crept along, draining money. It cost the company where I was CTO over a million bucks, and was instrumental in us finally going belly-up. We had a great product, and the crew was honestly like a family. A good family. So I am not without prejudice.

[Dave Jones]

Originally Posted by Sheldon

If they are meritless or minor, who cares if they are patented?

Sheldon

The people who get sued for infringement care. See above.

[SY]

Originally Posted by Dave Jones

I fought a patent suit that had no merit for a year. I had the stone proof of prior art, and I had the inventor of the prior art on retainer to testify. Still, the proceedings crept along, draining money. It cost the company where I was CTO over a million bucks, and was instrumental in us finally going belly-up. We had a great product, and the crew was honestly like a family. A good family. So I am not without prejudice.

An identical experience here as well. Worse yet, the plaintiff committed fraud on the patent office in their applications; since the case settled out of court (a million dollars and a summary judgment against them later), the fraudulent patents still stand and have been used against at least one other company. That pretty much cost us our company, despite the utter lack of merit. In a loser-pays system like in the EU, we would have continued to pursue the case until the plaintiff's patents were declared invalid and our legal fees paid.

In any case... I am also heartily in agreement- there's no societal urgency in hifi, no big bucks to be made, so let's do what we can to get the ideas out there and make life harder for nuisance litigants.