Apple patent conflicts with APRS?
Displaying 1-3 of 3
| Nov 27th 2011, 17:36 | |
AB1AWTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Would like to know if this Apple patent conflicts with APRS? http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57326207-37/look-out-here-comes-apples-killer-location-services-patent/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple |
| Dec 6th 2011, 14:52 | |
AC7ZNTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I don't think we have much to worry about: Bob WB4APR reported on the APRS mapping system in the 1993 TAPR conference essentially placing it in the public domain: http://www.aprs.org/APRS-docs/ARTICLES.TXT The patent application was filed five years later. If anything it is Apple who should be worried. For a patent so general extensive prior art probably exists. |
| Jan 29th 2012, 20:40 | |
K8WHBTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
This brings up one very BIG failing of the PTO - their review of submitted patents for "prior art" is pitiful. And I say that having a brother-in-law that is a Patent Examiner for the PTO. Apple, Microsoft & numerous others have filed for & have been granted patents for stuff that is plainly "prior art". The way the patent laws are skewed now days a patent is deemed valid until it is proven invalid. So Apple patents something that is prior art, then sues someone for infringement and that person is going to have to expend the $100K plus to prove the patent invalid. The patent departments of most of these technology companies (and this was actually stated in a book written a few years ago by the former head lawyer of Microsoft, who has a really appropriate last name: Nukem) take the attitude of using patents as an offensive weapon - patent everything in sight, ignore prior art, and just bulldoze anyone that gets in the way. One shining example is Microsoft's patent on the "FAT" file system - the prior art on that goes back to before Microsoft was even a company!! Somehow I don't think this is what Madison & Franklin had in mind when they placed the patent & copyright clause in the Constitution. |
Displaying 1-3 of 3
