4 ms·

As long as we have Shenzhen, no tool/screw will remain proprietary for long...

criddell 9y ago
I don't understand what can be proprietary about a screw. Is the design of the screwdriver protected by a patent or something?
- falcolas 9y ago
  Limited need, and thus availability, of driver heads. While possible, it's not simple (as in I have a set in my house already, or can get them as part of a regular set of drivers) to get pentalobe and tri-wing driver heads.
  - criddell 9y ago
    That may be true, but it doesn't make it proprietary.
- NikolaNovak 9y ago
  Few years back Apple 'silently' switched to a variation of Pentalobe screw which some thought might be patented. Stories also abounded about people going to their store for unrelated repair, and coming out with their regular screws replaced by pentalobe screws. There are of course "compatible screwdrivers" out there, per the original post, but whether patented or not, it was a fairly transparent way of Apple keeping people out of their own hardware.
  - bpicolo 9y ago
    Honest question, how can you patent a screw shape? Isn't literally every other screw shape prior art?
    - Domenic_S 9y ago
      The geometry of the head can change, and that is patentable. E.g. phillips vs flathead vs Torx, etc.
      - bpicolo 9y ago
        But wouldn't you need a purpose more substantive than "DRM" for it to be a real patent? Or is it covered under a design patent?
        NikolaNovak 9y ago
        Sorry, can't really answer; I read articles as an interested computer geek, but I'm definitely not an IP lawyer. And most of us tend to make a mess out of patent/copyright/trademark issues when we try to stray outside of our expertise... I tried to disambiguate that lots of people claimed new design was patented; it may however have just been rare / impractical to obtain initially.
        Domenic_S 9y ago
        The purpose is generally an improvement -- ease of fastening compared to other heads, faster assembly time, easier to manufacture the heads, etc etc. Check out the history of Robertson and Phillips.
- dawnerd 9y ago
  Yep. Well, they try to keep it that way at least. (First google result) https://www.google.com/patents/US20140150613 https://www.google.com/patents/US20140150613

I don't understand what can be proprietary about a screw. Is the design of the screwdriver protected by a patent or something?

falcolas 9y ago
Limited need, and thus availability, of driver heads. While possible, it's not simple (as in I have a set in my house already, or can get them as part of a regular set of drivers) to get pentalobe and tri-wing driver heads.
- criddell 9y ago
  That may be true, but it doesn't make it proprietary.
NikolaNovak 9y ago
Few years back Apple 'silently' switched to a variation of Pentalobe screw which some thought might be patented. Stories also abounded about people going to their store for unrelated repair, and coming out with their regular screws replaced by pentalobe screws. There are of course "compatible screwdrivers" out there, per the original post, but whether patented or not, it was a fairly transparent way of Apple keeping people out of their own hardware.
- bpicolo 9y ago
  Honest question, how can you patent a screw shape? Isn't literally every other screw shape prior art?
  - Domenic_S 9y ago
    The geometry of the head can change, and that is patentable. E.g. phillips vs flathead vs Torx, etc.
    - bpicolo 9y ago
      But wouldn't you need a purpose more substantive than "DRM" for it to be a real patent? Or is it covered under a design patent?
      - NikolaNovak 9y ago
        Sorry, can't really answer; I read articles as an interested computer geek, but I'm definitely not an IP lawyer. And most of us tend to make a mess out of patent/copyright/trademark issues when we try to stray outside of our expertise... I tried to disambiguate that lots of people claimed new design was patented; it may however have just been rare / impractical to obtain initially.
      - Domenic_S 9y ago
        The purpose is generally an improvement -- ease of fastening compared to other heads, faster assembly time, easier to manufacture the heads, etc etc. Check out the history of Robertson and Phillips.
dawnerd 9y ago
Yep. Well, they try to keep it that way at least. (First google result) https://www.google.com/patents/US20140150613 https://www.google.com/patents/US20140150613