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The money in question was royalties on a patent (eventually invalidated) covering the idea of a microcontroller (CPU, memory, and communication on one chip). It

by tlb 9y ago

The money in question was royalties on a patent (eventually invalidated) covering the idea of a microcontroller (CPU, memory, and communication on one chip). It was a 20 year submarine patent: issued in 1990 but with priority date 1970. It almost certainly could not have been built with 1970s lithography. https://www.google.com/patents/US4942516 https://www.google.com/patents/US4942516

jacquesm 9y ago
Interesting concept, you pay royalties on a patent that is invalidated at a later date but you are still out your royalties.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
winter_blue 9y ago
How is the priority date so old? Did he invent this in 1970? Does the USPTO allow you to put in anything you want as the priority date?
- URSpider94 9y ago
  Prior to 1995, the term for patents in the USA was 17 years from the issue date - and patents were not published until they issued. It was possible, through legal maneuvering, to prevent the issuance of a patent for a long time - in some cases decades, while the underlying markets grew and matured. Post-1995, patent terms in the USA are 20 years from date of filing, and applications are published after 18 months (unless the applicant waives the right to file overseas), which incentivizes companies to get their patents to issue as soon as possible.
- tlb 9y ago
  That was the terrible calculus of submarine patents [0]. Submit a broad patent application today for something conceptually simple that's not currently possible (so nobody has bothered to patent it). File continuations and extensions for years until it is possible and people start doing it. Get patent with early priority date. Profit. Fortunately, the rules were changed in the 1990s to limit extensions. Still, you get 20 years from the initial filing. So if you think something will happen within 20 years but hasn't been explored yet, you too can submit a patent. Enforcing such patents is dirty work, so you basically have to dedicate the rest of your career to rent-seeking. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_patent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_patent

by tlb 9y ago

jacquesm 9y ago

Interesting concept, you pay royalties on a patent that is invalidated at a later date but you are still out your royalties.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

winter_blue 9y ago

How is the priority date so old? Did he invent this in 1970? Does the USPTO allow you to put in anything you want as the priority date?

URSpider94 9y ago
Prior to 1995, the term for patents in the USA was 17 years from the issue date - and patents were not published until they issued. It was possible, through legal maneuvering, to prevent the issuance of a patent for a long time - in some cases decades, while the underlying markets grew and matured. Post-1995, patent terms in the USA are 20 years from date of filing, and applications are published after 18 months (unless the applicant waives the right to file overseas), which incentivizes companies to get their patents to issue as soon as possible.
tlb 9y ago
That was the terrible calculus of submarine patents [0]. Submit a broad patent application today for something conceptually simple that's not currently possible (so nobody has bothered to patent it). File continuations and extensions for years until it is possible and people start doing it. Get patent with early priority date. Profit. Fortunately, the rules were changed in the 1990s to limit extensions. Still, you get 20 years from the initial filing. So if you think something will happen within 20 years but hasn't been explored yet, you too can submit a patent. Enforcing such patents is dirty work, so you basically have to dedicate the rest of your career to rent-seeking. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_patent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_patent