5 ms·

Someone really ought to start patenting every awesome piece of technology that we love from sci-fi, then license them for free to anyone who can actually use th

Someone really ought to start patenting every awesome piece of technology that we love from sci-fi, then license them for free to anyone who can actually use them. Maybe we could get a kickstarter going for it! I say we start with battlemechs and work our way down from there.

shmerl 11y ago
Doesn't the patent imply realistic implementation? I don't think you can patent just anything without any idea how to make it. For example a teleporter? I agree however that preemptive defensive patents that are released for free is a good idea.
- djrogers 11y ago
  I seriously doubt Samsung has any the ability to overcome the hurdles in storage, communication, and video projection to make these in a reasonable timeframe either.
  - Bluestrike2 11y ago
    They'd also require significant advances in materials science in order to get to the point where they can even try and overcome those hurdles. Bionic contact lenses are going to be hard enough to develop. Including viable camera functionality is going to be an even greater task.
- talmand 11y ago
  No, not really. There are many, many, many patents that are obviously not a working invention. You just have to be able to tell a good story and pay the fee.
  - rayiner 11y ago
    You need to reduce it to practice. Which means something less than a fully working product, but more than just the idea of what the product would do. You need to know how the invention works.
    - talmand 11y ago
      I agree that's the idea, but based on many patents I've seen it's not the reality.
Jerry2 11y ago
>Someone really ought to start patenting every awesome piece of technology that we love from sci-fi That's actually Nathan Myhrvold's, ex-CTO of Microsoft, business plan for Intellectual Ventures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Myhrvold#Intellectual_ventures https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Myhrvold#Intellectual_v... He basically gathered around a bunch of visionaries, 'industry leaders' and sci-fi people and then they started patenting ideas that they thought would end up as products a decade+ later. Some accused him and IV of being patent trolls... because they patented all kinds of general stuff.
- sheepleherd 11y ago
  nice try, Nathan. Intellectual Ventures charges money for licensing, nothing free about it. I'm not saying they should be free, just saying they aren't.
- hkmurakami 11y ago
  I recently learned that IV has 3 arms of operation: Patent trolling, basic research, and health/disease related tech. People know about their trolling but little about the other two. I must say they are not particularly adept at PR.
- caycep 11y ago
  Sadly, IV is known as one of the most egregious patent trolls out there...
x1798DE 11y ago
Why do you need to patent them rather than just publish the idea? One there is prior art you can't get a patent in an idea (simplifying).
- zeeZ 11y ago
  "Shouldn't be able to get", not "can't get". I don't know how that business works, but it may be cheaper than having to legally establish that there has in fact been prior art.

shmerl 11y ago

Doesn't the patent imply realistic implementation? I don't think you can patent just anything without any idea how to make it. For example a teleporter? I agree however that preemptive defensive patents that are released for free is a good idea.

djrogers 11y ago
I seriously doubt Samsung has any the ability to overcome the hurdles in storage, communication, and video projection to make these in a reasonable timeframe either.
- Bluestrike2 11y ago
  They'd also require significant advances in materials science in order to get to the point where they can even try and overcome those hurdles. Bionic contact lenses are going to be hard enough to develop. Including viable camera functionality is going to be an even greater task.
talmand 11y ago
No, not really. There are many, many, many patents that are obviously not a working invention. You just have to be able to tell a good story and pay the fee.
- rayiner 11y ago
  You need to reduce it to practice. Which means something less than a fully working product, but more than just the idea of what the product would do. You need to know how the invention works.
  - talmand 11y ago
    I agree that's the idea, but based on many patents I've seen it's not the reality.

Jerry2 11y ago

>Someone really ought to start patenting every awesome piece of technology that we love from sci-fi That's actually Nathan Myhrvold's, ex-CTO of Microsoft, business plan for Intellectual Ventures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Myhrvold#Intellectual_ventures https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Myhrvold#Intellectual_v... He basically gathered around a bunch of visionaries, 'industry leaders' and sci-fi people and then they started patenting ideas that they thought would end up as products a decade+ later. Some accused him and IV of being patent trolls... because they patented all kinds of general stuff.

sheepleherd 11y ago
nice try, Nathan. Intellectual Ventures charges money for licensing, nothing free about it. I'm not saying they should be free, just saying they aren't.
hkmurakami 11y ago
I recently learned that IV has 3 arms of operation: Patent trolling, basic research, and health/disease related tech. People know about their trolling but little about the other two. I must say they are not particularly adept at PR.
caycep 11y ago
Sadly, IV is known as one of the most egregious patent trolls out there...

x1798DE 11y ago

Why do you need to patent them rather than just publish the idea? One there is prior art you can't get a patent in an idea (simplifying).

zeeZ 11y ago
"Shouldn't be able to get", not "can't get". I don't know how that business works, but it may be cheaper than having to legally establish that there has in fact been prior art.